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December 28, 2006

software

OS X’s Finder perhaps not a keeper

Posted Dec. 28, ’06, 9:31 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software

Path FinderI’m second to none in admitting that OS X’s Finder needs a bit of an overhaul. But I haven’t quite convinced myself to replace the Finder with something else—specifically, in this case, Path Finder. Productivity guru extraordinaire (and my personal hero) Merlin Mann is a huge proponent of Cocoatech’s app, but I guess I just haven’t figured out how to integrate it into my workflow, which relies more on things like Exposé.

Derik commented in one of our recent podcasts that he doesn’t use the Finder that much anymore, and after thinking about it for a while, I realized that I don’t either. Sure, I move files around in it from time to time, but I don’t do any heavy lifting there. This had me wondering: are we exceptions to the rule? Or is the Finder, as a metaphor, kind of dying out? What say you, readers? Finder, Finder replacement, or Finder foregoing?


8 Comments

Merlin D. Mann said:

Thanks for this.

PF's awfully heavy-weight if you don't need all its geegaws, but for myself, there are still things that are easier to do in the Finder (rather than my beloved Quicksilver). E.G., "Drop Stack" is a godsend for cleaning up folders and hard drives.

That said, this is most decidedly _not_ for everyone (particularly those who treasure simplicity and clean design :-) )

December 28, 2006 10:06 AM
Dillon K. said:

Wow Merlin Mann commented on MU!

anyway, I am still using the finder, but I do have path finder installed and have played with it a little.

December 28, 2006 11:44 AM
Dan--the man said:

I think Finder is pretty well ahead of anything else out there (not including third party apps. because I haven't actually tried any) but there's always room for improvement.

I find that I use Finder once in a while to do some big organizing and cleaning. For that, it's amazing. If it's open already, I'll use it over Spotlight to search for something.

My Finder is a little screwy though, as it mixes up my User accounts and switches the deafault account randomly to save to in different apps.

...anyone else with a C2D MBP have that problem?

December 28, 2006 1:26 PM
GCarden said:

Remember, one of Apple's big selling points is ease of use. I can't imagine my parents or any other non-"power users" finding something like Pathfinder very appealing.

December 28, 2006 4:34 PM
Darryl said:

This has been a familiar lament over the past couple of years, but no one ever provides specifics about what exactly they find lacking in the Finder. I use Quicksilver and Default Folder, and as a result, avoid quite a few trips to the Finder. But for those occasions when I do venture there, I think the Finder is perfectly adequate for the job.

December 28, 2006 6:10 PM
Larry V Author Profile Page said:

I find the Finder to be adequate for 75% of what I need to do. Whenever I have to do some major work with files, I fall back to Terminal.

December 28, 2006 6:35 PM
Jack said:

There are keyboard people, and there are mouse people. At the rate the keyboard people are going, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them would ooh, and ahh if Steve Jobs "introduced" Bash at a Macworld expo. "Do anything, instantly!"

:)

The finder needs some tweaking, but I would hate to see a huge overhaul.

December 28, 2006 6:36 PM
Nick said:

I'm no fan of Finder either. It is sleek and woks well but so limited!

How about tabs to move folders and files from one place to another without having to resort to backspace buttons?

Anyone used Total Commander or whatever it is called under Windows? Not the prettiest but full of goodies.

Apple needs to continue the revolution this year.

December 29, 2006 12:41 PM

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