How I like my Finder | Hacker News Reader

How I like my Finder

stelian.firez.be

28 pointsstelian42 comments

I'm still surprised how used we all got to the modern, somewhat simplistic file management metaphors. Icon/list view plus "shortcut" panel, wherever you look. I still remember that for years after Windows 95 came out, one of the first applications everyone installed was a better file manager, quite often some GUI Norton clone. Then there was the "spatial Finder" hullaballoo, echoed by GNOME, too, if I remember correctly. But in recent years, that market niche seems to be on the verge of extinction.

Probably for the same reason why keyboards are getting increasingly worse: No "hardcore" users. Pictures, music and similar files are "managed", lots of other stuff is exclusively accessed via a single application and its open dialog, leaving maybe the all-purpose Documents folder to be the target for occasional visitation.

And the desktop. Oh heavens, the desktop...

The author mentions a bunch of programs that offer similar functionality but states that "the way they're designed doesn't work for me." I'd be curious what about them doesn't work.

I use TotalFinder primarily for this functionality, and their split-pane looks almost identical to what he has set up in the screenshot, with the added benefit that it is more efficient (e.g. you can move the window around and resize it and the panes stay together, you can adjust the size of each pane relative to the other just by dragging the single middle bar, etc.).

TotalFinder split-pane screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/K6KkSws.png

The tab join looks weird(aesthetically) and the separator is too thin. I want one side in focus. But all these things have to do with taste. The screenshot you attached looks probably great to you, but I prefer the side by side windows.

I prefer TotalFinder as well, along with Divvy with a shortcut to quickly resize. I hit Command-T to create a new tab, then Command-G to connect them together. It's now just muscle memory for me, I don't even think about it.

Do consider ForkLift - http://www.binarynights.com/ - just look through the key features. I would have bought it for Multi Rename alone (but it also has Dual panes, Mount as disk, all kinds of remote connections, custom shortcuts, Merge, etc etc)

I too use ForkLift. It is especially handy if you use ssh, sftp and ftp connections on top of local browsing.

I thought it was just an FTP client, but, apparently, it works as a file browser, too. I should try it.

The multi rename (batch) rename feature is the best I've ever seen because you can use RegEx ! Yeah boi!!!!

+1 For forklift. The tabs and multipane remotes are killer features. It also feels lighter weight than a complete finder replacement like TotalFinder.

Why don't you just use one that has dual windows and tabs.

TotalFinder http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/

XtraFinder http://www.trankynam.com/xtrafinder/

Why don't you just read the second sentence in the article?

I just read that sentence, and it doesn't explain anything. It just says they're not what he likes, so here's another one that might work: http://www.mucommander.com/

The separator of TotalFinder and Xtrafinder is just too thin. I want to see right away which side is in focus. When you click on one of the two windows the other one becomes washed and is also covered by the shadow of the active one.

For me, that's better usability.

o_O Why don't you try to be less condescending?

I read the article. I stand by my suggestion. The writer does not present an argument against those existing products. This is Wheel 2.0. Stop the pain. Contribute to software that exists.

totalfinder has a split pane (actually a tab join) which works awesomely.

What I like about totalfinder is that it is not a finder replacement, but just adds some small (but massive) improvements.

highly recommend.

The tab join seems visually weird to me. But I guess it's a matter of personal taste.

I still don't understand how some people work without a folder hierarchy in the left pane... I never understood Norton's dual-file-list-pane setup - the current path is not sufficient context for me.

Mac users, by necessity, find all sorts of ways to work around missing features.

Insulting without provocation and needlessly inflammatory? I take it you're from reddit?

I'm a Mac user and couldn't agree more with the dude. On the flipside though screwing around with automator is a lot of fun!

He's not wrong. On the other hand, everybody works around limitations in their technology. It's the nature of the beast.

It's astonishing how often people don't even notice that they're working around things. After noticing that something doesn't work the way you like and finding a workaround the workaround slowly becomes muscle memory and you stop thinking about it.

And then you look over someone's shoulder and wonder why on earth they would do what they're doing the way they're doing and when pointing out to them that there is a better way they just shrug and note that what they did works too.

Funnily enough, at least regarding UX, such coping behaviour doesn't seem to register as a nuisance after you have your workaround. That being said, I still prefer getting things right enough that users stumble on the obvious and easiest way first.

In a sense, all technology usage is the child of working around limitations; when the plasticity of thought meets the annoyingly concrete world, something's got to give. The best technologies, then, are the ones that conform to our predispositions and allow us to reuse pre-existing workarounds.

No, I'm from New Jersey and it wasn't an insult - it was an observation and something that I myself experienced as a Mac user.

(I wonder if you're thinking "He's not a Mac user." - Are you? I'm betting that you are because many, many Mac users don't consider one a true user unless they're gushing over the product and company.)

I still don't understand why anyone wants to waste screen real-estate with a left pane. First thing I do on a new system is configure whatever file manager I have to live with to be as sparse as possible. I miss the Amiga Workbench coupled with DiskMaster II (Norton style dual-file-list, though configurable to as many file list windows as you like)

If I'm doing something with the files, then I know where "I am" on both panes, that's part of what I'm doing right now.

If I'm not doing something, and want to start, then I just reset to a 'known-good' location with a key or mouse shortcut.

I use Bettertouchtool's window arrangement functions which you can set to (nearly) any custom shortcut you want. I use these on all applications not just Finder (in some it will not work) and I use these all the time.

my laptop:

- fn + left middle double tap -> position/maximize window to half left screen

- fn + right middle doubletap -> position/maximize window to half right screen

- fn + top middle doubletap -> maximize window

on my desktop workstations I use keyboard shortcuts.

I also use BTT, but just drag the window to the left/right/top edge of the screen accordingly. Turns out that's enough for me so I even stopped using Moom which alows more flexibility.

I always bind super-left and super-right to https://gist.github.com/unhammer/5336830 (requires wmctrl and xorg-xdpyinfo), so I can tile any two windows left/right. Also handy when e.g. reading an article while note-taking, watching a screencast while chatting, etc.

I guess I should try a tiling window manager some day, but I almost never need more than fullscreen vs 50/50.

http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/

You're welcome.

Terminal (or better yet iTerm 2). It's the best filesystem manager out there.

I recommend spectacle instead of divvy. There were a couple problems that I had with divvy resizing and placing windows. Spectacle addresses those concerns.

I've added Spectacle to the post. It's pretty cool that it's open source.

http://spectacleapp.com/

I warmly recommend spectacle. Spectacle along with Alfred radically improved the way I interact with the Finder. Being able to summon files/applications/webpages/... and move the corresponding windows trough keyboard shortcuts alone is quite liberating.

I haven't used Spectacle, but I wanted to point out Better Touch Tool as another option to those investigating Window Mgmt apps/scripts:

http://blog.boastr.net/?page_id=1619

BTT provides the same window controls as Spectacle, configurable to your custom keyboard or mouse or touchpad actions, plus a lot more that may be useful to you. I've been very happy with BTT.

Use total commander not open source but definitely us worth every penny sold more than 25m copies

Reminds me of http://panic.com/transmit/

Oh, you mean F3 in that usability-horrorshow-totally-not-to-the-level-of-MacOS that is Ubuntu?

TotalFinder and Divvy work for me. I get exactly what he's looking for.

Hello, TotalFinder author here. I'm a HN addict too :)

Forklift v2 will do this pretty well. Sure it costs $50 but it does a lot for a program.

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