

How I like my Finder - stelian
http://stelian.firez.be/post/how-i-like-my-finder

======
mhd
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...

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JangoSteve
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>

~~~
stelian
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.

------
vladstudio
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)

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

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

TotalFinder <http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/>

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

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

~~~
TheRealPomax
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/>

~~~
stelian
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.

------
lukeholder
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.

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

------
liotier
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.

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

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

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

~~~
ygra
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.

~~~
jfb
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.

------
illbert
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.

~~~
rimantas
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.

------
unhammer
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.

------
HugoDias
<http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/>

You're welcome.

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

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

~~~
8ig8
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.

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

------
pazimzadeh
Reminds me of <http://panic.com/transmit/>

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

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

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

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racl101
Forklift v2 will do this pretty well. Sure it costs $50 but it does a lot for
a program.

