
If Mac OS X has a secret shame, it's the Finder (2003) - Wowfunhappy
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2003/04/finder/
======
enitihas
Finder is such a bad file manager that you sometimes start doubting your
intelligence, thinking that something so trivial it should be possible, and
you are the one not being able to figure out it.

For example, it is the only file manager I have ever used which doesn't show a
consistent view of files in a directory. The view sometimes seems to be
cached. Let's say I downloaded a file. I can do ls for it from a terminal
window. However, finder doesn't see the file. Cp or mv to another folder and
boom, finder can see it now.

Also, the search in finder is pathetically bad and totally unintuitive. I
sometimes think apple might be internally using something different, that's
why they don't realise or care how bad it is.

Off course, all this is valid if you have used other file explorers. If you
come from a walled garden without any file system, anything can seem to be a
boon, even Finder.

------
Wowfunhappy
I'd encourage everyone to read at least the first few pages of this article
before reacting to the title. It was written at a time when OS X was super
new, and some of the features requested by the author, like Smart Folders,
have been implemented almost verbatim.

He makes a good case for the importance of a "Spacial Finder", but I'm not
convinced it would be worth the trade-offs. I like having the same folder open
in two windows.

Some parts of the article were a bit hard to follow because I've never used
classic Mac OS (discounting some _very_ brief experiences). If anyone would be
willing to help put some of his descriptions in context, I'd appreciate it.

~~~
kitsunesoba
I’ve never really understood the seemingly widespread dissatisfaction with the
Finder in macOS 10.5 and newer. Over the years I’ve used it alongside WinXP,
Win7, Win10 and various Linux environments and while the Finder isn’t perfect,
I find myself bothered by it much less frequently than with
Explorer/Nautilus/Dolphin/etc.

It’s a must to enable the status bar and pathbar (both under the View menu)
but after that it’s fine.

~~~
Wowfunhappy
What do you use the status bar for?

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arkanciscan
Have you tried to use Windows Explorer recently? It's maddening! Just dragging
files to the "Quick Access" bar will have you pining for Finder.

~~~
Rury
It has always bothered me that I can't simply click on finder in the dock to
bring up a window for the first time (as it'll only toggle what windows are
already open).

I have to either right-click on it and select new window, click on file in the
menu and drag my mouse to new window, or hide/move what's on my screen to
double click on Macintosh HD on the desktop. At least on windows I can simply
just click on explorer on the taskbar to bring up a first window.

~~~
Wowfunhappy
You can also click the Finder icon in the Dock and then ⌘N.

I understand why this bothers you but I do think the current behavior is
better than the alternative. I often click the Finder icon to bring my
existing Finder windows to the front.

The alternative is to risk creating extra Finder windows the user didn't want,
and that's a bad outcome. Too many windows get hard to manage, especially when
you're not sure where some of them came from.

~~~
Rury
Don't see why it would risk creating extra finder windows the user didn't
want. If I click safari, and safari is not open, it opens a safari window. If
I click it again it doesn't open another safari window, it just activates my
current window. If I want more than 1 safari window, then I right click and
click new window. I don't see any reason finder shouldn't behave the same.

~~~
Wowfunhappy
> If I click safari, and safari is not open, it opens a safari window. If I
> click it again it doesn't open another safari window, it just activates my
> current window. If I want more than 1 safari window, then I right click and
> click new window.

...I believe that's exactly how Finder works? If there are zero open Finder
windows, clicking the Finder dock icon does create a new one.

It's just, if you have Finder windows open already, it focuses the existing
ones rather than opening another new window.

I just tested this in both High Sierra and Mavericks, was it different in very
old versions of OS X? Under what scenario would you like Finder to behave
differently?

~~~
Rury
>...I'm believe that's exactly how Finder works? If there are zero open Finder
windows, clicking the Finder dock icon does create a new one.

It's not, or if it is then there's a bug somewhere that breaks this behavior
after doing something, as it's been a problem I've had on multiple macs I've
owned for almost a decade now, and it just annoyed me yesterday.

~~~
PandawanFr
I don't understand, you seem to contradict yourself: > It has always bothered
me that I can't simply click on finder in the dock to bring up a window for
the first time (as it'll only toggle what windows are already open).

I've never encountered any issues similar to what you're mentioning. It opens
a new window if none are open, and shows the currently existing windows if
some are already open.

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mcraiha
Finder is so bad that I had to buy a license of ForkLift 3. Finder is easily
the worst default program included in OS X.

Windows Explorer isn't perfect, but at least with that you can ALWAYS see
where you are (and open the location of chosen file). You can cut/copy/paste
easily with mouse right click. You can create new files with right click.

~~~
Wowfunhappy
> at least with that you can ALWAYS see where you are

Have you tried enabling the path bar in Finder? View → Show Path Bar.

> You can cut/copy/paste easily with mouse right click.

Finder lets you copy and paste with a right mouse click. You can't cut, which
is occasionally annoying, although I understand why.

> You can create new files with right click.

Ah, but you can add that to Finder! Make an automator service that will run
the touch command in the front Finder window. It will appear in the right
click menu. Or download the one I already made:
[https://github.com/Wowfunhappy/Automator-Quick-
Actions/blob/...](https://github.com/Wowfunhappy/Automator-Quick-
Actions/blob/master/New%20Text%20Document.workflow.zip)

I _love_ Automator services! They provide a built-in, native way to add your
own functionality to existing Mac apps.

~~~
kitsunesoba
While you can’t cut, you CAN move via keyboard shortcuts. Just copy the file
in question (⌘C), navigate to your desired destination, and move-paste
(⌘-Option-V). You can see this shortcut by opening the Edit menu with
something on the clipboard while holding down Option.

------
mijkal
I've used the omnipresent Spotlight as my primary means of navigating macOS
for years, greatly reducing my time in Finder.

(Same on iOS / iPadOS and SpringBoard.)

~~~
Wowfunhappy
Worth noting, Spotlight as we know it today didn't exist when this article was
written!

------
dzhiurgis
I think nowadays it's iCloud Photos that are disaster

\- When your family shared photos getting compressed - fucking mint

\- When you can't edit photo on your device, because of indescript error -
fucking mint

\- When you can't get iCloud link for large videos because it won't "upload"
it even it's already on iCloud - fucking mint

\- When you can't share iCloud storage with family members that lives abroad -
fucking mint

\- When "export unmodified originals" does nothing - fucking mint

------
soganess
Finder is bad, no argument, but modern macOS (vs OS X) has way more to be
ashamed of.

I'm not going to rattle off some list grievances, but sometimes I really am
floored by how much of my mac workflow is simply working around macOS because
some xyz is either a pain in the youknowwhat to correct or is just plain
broken without recourse.

