

Ask HN: best file manager for OS X? - nailer

Hi HN,<p>I've just switched from Ubuntu to OS X for dev purposes. Things have been going well so far, but Finder seems a little non-structural and limited, and I'm not alone - it seems there's about 20 or so different file manager apps for OS X. Is HN able to provide me with some pointers? Is there a Textmate of file managers?<p>Here's what I'm missing from Finder:<p>- Proper collapsible/expandable tree view<p>- Ability to see and create symlinks<p>- See file access, create, modify times<p>- Preview of SVG files<p>- SFTP/SCP support<p>- ACL / old style mode changes<p>- Nautilus style icon or text navigation pane (so I can 
paste a file path)<p>- General single window operation - I shouldn't ever need to open another window to move or copy files
======
stevejohnson
I think Path Finder is probably the only usable alternative, but some of your
supposed "missing features" aren't actually missing. Please correct me if I
misread you...

> Proper collapsible/expandable tree view View -> as List: Check it out, tree
> view.

> Ability to see and create symlinks Finder has this. Symlinks look like their
> originals but with a little arrow overlay. Drag and hold Command+Option to
> create a symlink.

> See file access, create, modify times Again, Finder already has this
> (mostly). While in list view, go to View -> Show View Options and check Date
> Modified and Date Created.

> General single window operation - I shouldn't ever need to open another
> window to move or copy files You don't need to. Command+C and Command+V work
> just fine with files.

~~~
jonhohle
> > Ability to see and create symlinks Finder has this. Symlinks look like
> their originals but with a little arrow overlay. Drag and hold
> Command+Option to create a symlink.

To be fair, this creates an Alias, which is a Finder/GUI level construct, and
not a file system level contstruct like a symlink. If you're just doing things
graphically, there's not a significant difference, but at the command line an
Alias won't do you any good. Symlinks work the same at the command line or in
the GUI.

(I know aliases are a holdover from classic, but I don't see why they weren't
replaced with symlinks during the OS X transition.)

~~~
rufo
There's actually a very significant difference - a symlink just resolves to a
fixed path, whereas an alias _always_ resolves to the same file/folder, no
matter where it is moved within the filesystem. They remember things like
which volume a file is on as well, so if you were to have an alias on a file
server or a disconnected drive it would automatically remount the server or
ask you to connect the missing volume. (EDIT: Or at least, used to in pre-OS X
times. Just tried it now with an external hard drive and it failed to ask for
the volume back. Still works with file servers, though.)

That alias also points to the same file no matter which Mac it is moved to, so
if you create an alias to a folder on a server, you can copy that to 10
different Macs and it will always resolve so long as it can contact the file
server.

Since they act so differently, you really can't replace one with the other
without breaking expected behavior.

------
Titanous
Path Finder (<http://cocoatech.com/>) will let you do most of what you're
asking. (tree view, symlinks, file attributes, previews, mode changes, single
window operation)

I'd highly recommend it.

~~~
DenisM
$39.95

~~~
vincentpants
and worth every penny. it even has build in terminal functions.

------
ovi256
bash/zsh, whatever shell you want. Just forget the "Proper
collapsible/expandable tree view" - why are you limiting yourself to GUI file
managers ? Get on the new old thing - command lines.

~~~
tvon
Yeah, I came to OSX from Linux and I only use Finder maybe 30% of the time,
and often I cd to a directory and just use 'open .' from the Terminal anyway.

~~~
dmix
Have you tried Quicksilver? It's a much more efficient way to open folders
then using term + open.

~~~
tvon
I think you misunderstand me. I use the terminal constantly anyway, so when I
do want to view a directory in the Finder (which is relatively uncommon), I
just use 'open' to do it.

Granted, I'm not much of a Quicksilver pro, I mostly just use it to launch
apps, but I have my doubts that I'll ever use it for opening folders unless
it's one of the few commonly named home folders (Downloads, Documents, Sites,
etc).

edit:

Though if you know some special tips or tricks to open folders with QS with
tab-complete to get the right path and all that, I wouldn't mind knowing about
them.

------
whalesalad
Regarding SFTP, I use ExpanDrive (<http://www.expandrive.com/mac>) which works
with Finder. They act as remote drives in the left pane which you can interact
with just like an external drive. It's not free, but it's pretty cheap and
really versatile. You can have drives auto mount on login, and it can be
controlled from your terminal.

------
nickb
Try these and see what you like.

PathFinder - <http://cocoatech.com/>

ForkLift - <http://www.binarynights.com/>

MacExplorer - <http://www.ragesw.com/products/explorer.html> (if you like
Windows Explorer)

------
JeremyChase
I have been on OS X for almost a year now, and the Finder windows are still
bugging me. One feature that I really miss is the ability to "cut" a file then
"paste" it into another directory. In order to move a file from one directory
with the GUI Finder you have to have both directories open in a window and
drag/drop between them. Please tell me I'm wrong.

~~~
DenisM
What I do is start dragging the files, then open desktop and hover files over
e.g. USB drive which then opens and allows me to do the same with folders
until I reach my target. I am afraid I would drop the files somewhere in the
middle though.

Personally I want something like Norton Commander (or the modern day FAR), but
MC doesn't cut it for me.

------
tortilla
You can also enable "path view" in Finder.

[http://www.tuaw.com/2008/12/05/terminal-tips-enable-path-
vie...](http://www.tuaw.com/2008/12/05/terminal-tips-enable-path-view-in-
finder/)

I use Quicksilver for most my navigating needs. Also you can copy, move,
delete a file using QS.

[http://www.usingmac.com/2007/10/6/moving-files-with-
quicksil...](http://www.usingmac.com/2007/10/6/moving-files-with-quicksilver)

Another tip is using command + 1-4, which will change your view.

------
windsurfer
KDE4 is approaching stable on OS X, and it has two file managers that do what
you want (dolphin and konqueror): <http://mac.kde.org/>

------
tvon
> Ability to see and create symlinks

PathFinder might let you create symlinks, though pretty much everything should
display them with a little arrow overlay.

> Preview of SVG files

I don't think any finder replacement will do this for you. If you have an app
that can edit SVG files, it should be generating a preview for you. I know
that doesn't help much but in short, look for a SVG preview generator, or
something along those lines.

> SFTP/SCP support

Likewise, I think you need a 3rd party solution. MacFuse or Expandrive (which
is basically a nice UI on MacFuse). Pity finder doesn't handle this though,
yet more insecure FTP use encouraged...

> ACL / old style mode changes

command-i, under 'sharing & permissions' gives you most of this (which you
probably know), but no non-standard options like suid/sgid. I imagine
PathFinder has a nice UI for this.

> Nautilus style icon or text navigation pane (so I can paste a file path)

Not what you asking, but fyi command-shift-G does this in Finder (even has tab
complete)

~~~
makecheck
_Not what you asking, but fyi command-shift-G does this in Finder (even has
tab complete)_

This also works in Open/Save dialogs, if you just start typing a "/".

~~~
DenisM
Better yet: "~"

------
jonhohle
\- Preview of SVG files

IANASVGE (I am not an SVG expert): while I'm surprised Finder doesn't show SVG
previews, if you use quicklook (hit space with the file selected), it will
show you a preview. You can also open SVGs in Safari.

~~~
nailer
I'm surprised too. But it doesn't - just a document with a Safari logo. I can
open the files in Safari fine, but Finder won't preview them.

------
fiaz
forklift...

I've been an OSX devotee for a long time, and I feel your pain. I use forklift
because it's relatively lightweight on the memory and it does what I need to
do efficiently. I was thinking of going with PathFinder, but I decided against
it because it was a bit too memory heavy for me. PathFinder has more features,
but then again, I'm not looking for a command-line replacement...just a more
convenient way of navigating through folders, copying things over, finding
things...

------
bayareaguy
On OSX I can do almost all of those things easily in a single window with
emacs dired-mode in a Terminal, the ! (shell) key and the "open" command.

------
ttam
Like many have said, Path Finder is probably the best alternative, except it's
costy.

I would love to have free time and make a file manager that is as light and
useful as windows explorer (imho it's much better than any *nix file manager)

------
joubert
Finder and Terminal. For mounting remote SSH / FTP, I use MacFusion
(<http://www.macfusionapp.org/>), which uses Google's MacFUSE.

------
jamesbritt
I've been trying out mu-commander. Not bad, better than Finder for actual
file/directory browsing.

Wish it had auto-complete of paths, though.

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mmphosis
Finder.

------
cubicray
check out Leap: <http://www.ironicsoftware.com/leap/index.html>

