The default file manager used on the Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems.
42
votes
4answers
2k views
Where did the ~/Library folder go in Lion?
I just installed Lion, and I can't find the Library folder in my user folder.
Does the folder no longer exist? If it doesn't, where are my preferences? If it does, how do I get to it?
40
votes
3answers
2k views
Consequences of deleting .DS_Store
If I manually delete a .DS_Store file from a directory, what's the worst that can happen? What important information might I lose?
31
votes
8answers
6k views
Why is it not possible to use the “cut” command to manipulate a file in the Finder?
I don't seem to be able to us the "Cut" command on a file in the Finder, like you can do in Windows Explorer on Microsoft Windows. (In Windows, once you select a file and "cut" it, you can then move ...
29
votes
5answers
8k views
How do I remove duplicate “Open With” context menu items in Finder.app?
For whatever reason, the "Open With" context menu in Finder is always listing every app four times (exactly).
I've read about (and tried) rebuilding the Launch Services database to restore the ...
23
votes
11answers
14k views
How can I open a Terminal window directly from my current Finder location?
I was wondering if there was any was I could right click inside any instance of a "Finder" window such that I have an option that says "Open Terminal Here". It would be really helpful.
23
votes
2answers
556 views
How did this ominous file end up in my Application Support folder?
Deleting this file will break the whole internets, for the sake of our children don't do it!.
The above quotation is the content of a text file called STR8369805638PUB6932583035105 that I found ...
22
votes
8answers
75k views
How can I view hidden files in the Finder?
I noticed that whenever I add files and delete them, their physical space remains on the disk drive. I uninstalled NTFS Tuxera and I still have the same problem.
So I had to insert the disk under my ...
21
votes
7answers
18k views
How can I mount SFTP/SSH in Finder on OSX Snow Leopard?
My Question is seemingly simple. I need to mount an ssh/sftp volume and make it visible in finder to be able to use it as if it were a local volume (think smb share). I have tried everything I could ...
18
votes
6answers
3k views
How do I prevent document preview over slow connections?
Once in a while I have to work over a 3G network, which is reasonable, until I mount a file system on the other side of the world.
When that happens OSX tries to show me "previews" of every single ...
17
votes
3answers
21k views
How to always show “Library” in the Finder its “Go”-Menu without holding a modifier key?
I often use the "Library" folder in my home folder ~/.
The Library folder there (~/Library/) is shown (unhidden), and that is not the question.
I would like to also always show the menu point ...
16
votes
4answers
4k views
Can Finder delete a file directly and bypass moving it to the Trash?
Is it possible to really delete a file (ie, bypass the Trash) from Finder? Currently, when I want to reclaim space from a USB drive, I rm files/folder from the Terminal, but I'd like to do it from the ...
16
votes
4answers
889 views
Why does “Copy” replace stuff instead of merging it?
This is started to be really annoying to me
If you have an original folder with 2 files and you copy something into it's parent folder where the folder name is the same, and, let's imagine you are ...
15
votes
8answers
2k views
Anyone know of a Finder replacement?
I am starting to dislike the Finder. Does anybody know of a good Finder replacement, something Unixy or Nexty which will still work with all Mac OS X applications?
15
votes
4answers
1k views
What happened to the Finder window 'jellybean' in OS X Lion?
Before I updated to Lion, whenever I would mount a disk image (.dmg) the Finder window that would pop-up would always have a little 'jellybean' in the top right corner that would expand this window ...
14
votes
2answers
2k views
How to show hidden files and folders in finder?
I have a folder that starts with a dot . but unable to display them in finder.
How can I say that for folder X finder should also display hidden files/folders?
14
votes
4answers
3k views
Never create a .DS_Store file again
I'm tired of finder creating these .DS_Store metadata and finder view tracking files in all of my directories. How can I disable this in Finder?
14
votes
2answers
1k views
File sizes greyed out (strange extended attributes) in Finder on Lion?
I just got a new machine with Lion preinstalled. After transferring all my applications, I noticed that the file sizes (and only the sizes) of some applications and folders are greyed out:
Does ...
13
votes
3answers
2k views
How do so set “date added” metadata in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
The Finder in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion shows a new piece of file metadata, "Date Added," which tracks the date an item was added to a folder. After upgrading to 10.7, none of the items in my ~/Downloads ...
12
votes
5answers
1k views
Are there any free alternatives to finder?
Relatively new to the Mac world, I still find the 'Finder' not really that user friendly.
What free alternatives to Finder exist?
*I mean really file browsers, not application launchers like ...
11
votes
5answers
388 views
How can I rename multiple pictures simultaneously?
For example,I have 20 pictures downloaded from the Internet. They have some crazy names like "XFGHDHR345" or "SDEREWQ230", and I want to name them:
"Picture 1"
"Picture 2"
"Picture 3"
"Picture 4"
...
11
votes
5answers
5k views
Why does the enter/return key rename a file/folder, instead of opening it? [closed]
Is there some sort of known logic behind Apple's choice to make the enter key rename a file/folder, rather than open it as is standard on Windows and Linux?
For those of you coming here for the ...
11
votes
5answers
6k views
How do I show hidden files in Finder with a keyboard shortcut?
What is Ubuntu's CTRL+H equivalent in OSX Lion Finder to toggle display hidden files?
My all searches point me to use: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE which is not exactly the ...
11
votes
2answers
5k views
Why does my Mac's list of “Open with” applications start listing the apps twice and sometimes three times?
When I right-click on a file on my Mac OS desktop and then in the contextual menu, I move to the "Open with...", the list of potential applications to "open with" has applications listed multiple ...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
How to set PATH for Finder-launched applications
Apps launched via Finder seem to not respect the PATH as set in .bash_profile. So when I try to run code from an IDE (Intellij) I no longer have access to programs in /usr/local/bin, which is ...
11
votes
1answer
8k views
How can I remove the Finder icon from my Dock?
I've started using Forklift as a Finder replacement, so I don't need Finder in my Dock. In fact, I would much rather have Forklift be the farthest left icon so I don't accidentally click on Finder.
...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
Is there a way to access iCloud's Photo Stream from the Finder, similar to Windows?
On Windows, Photo Stream works in a way that all the files are automatically copied to your 'My Pictures' folder or the like.
I currently have Photo Stream working in Aperture, but every once in a ...
11
votes
2answers
678 views
How to determine original location of file that is currently in the Trash?
Suppose some file "Any File.pdf" is in the Trash (aka ~/.Trash).
How can I determine its original location?
By "original location" I mean the folder where that file would be moved to if one were to ...
10
votes
4answers
1k views
What is this symbol? ⎋ (it is listed as menu shortcut)
The shortcut that is reported in the -menu, for Force Quit menu-item, is ⌥⌘⎋ (the last character is the Unicode broken circle with northwest arrow). What key should I press to invoke the Force Quit ...
10
votes
7answers
2k views
Add an up button to the Lion Finder?
Is it possible to add a button to the Lion finder that goes up a directory? I looked at the buttons available under customize and didn't see one, but thought there might be a hack out there.
10
votes
4answers
4k views
Is it possible to run Nautilus on OS X?
Is it possible to run Nautilus instead of Finder on Mac OS X Snow Leopard? How?
10
votes
5answers
16k views
How to remove an accidentally dropped file shortcut icon from Finder toolbar?
I accidentally dropped a file in the Finder toolbar instead of the destination folder (the ZIP icon on the right of the screenshot):
How can I remove it from the toolbar?
10
votes
1answer
681 views
With the “small” Mac keyboard, how to simulate a HOME, END, and PageUp, PageDown key?
My desk is a little too narrow for the long type of Apple keyboard -- the one that has the keypad and the Home ↖, End ↘, Page Up ⇞, Page Down ⇟ keys... (it will take up the space for the mouse).
So ...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
How can I make all folders in Finder “snap to grid”?
I don't like how in Finder, you can drag a folder and drop it anywhere, even overlapping on another folder. For example:
That is just annoying. And when I resize the window, the files stay how they ...
10
votes
4answers
847 views
Choose a default app for opening files with no extension?
Is it possible to set a default application to open files with no extension? I'm not referring to files with hidden extensions, but those completely lacking an extension -- e.g. README, CHANGELOG, ...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Arrange by exact file type (not just by kind) in OS X Lion
Currently .mp3, .aac, .m4r, etc. are all looked as "Music". So when I do an Arrange or Group By in the Lion Finder, all of these files get displayed under the heading "Music". Is there an option to ...
9
votes
12answers
4k views
Copying the current directory's path to the clipboard
What's a quick way of copying the path to the directory that's currently open in Finder?
Copying that path is very easy in Linux and Windows file managers - you just need to copy it from the address ...
9
votes
4answers
3k views
How can I open a Finder window in Desktop without switching to another one?
I have these five desktops with a dozen of full screen apps and feel very happy. Say I'm at right Desktop 5 now. (Sadly my picture is deleted since it wasn't uploaded to the site hosting service)
...
9
votes
5answers
9k views
Mounting shares with Login Items at login, Finder windows popup
I have some shares that are mounted during login. I used Users & Groups' "Login Items" panel to do this. When I login, all of the shares pop up in their own Finder windows.
How can I keep the ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
What has changed Finder list view in Lion to make “Calculate all sizes” exponentially faster?
Since way before Mac OS X came on the scene, we have been able to ask the Finder to Calculate all sizes in order to determine the sum total of readable file size space contained in each folder for the ...
9
votes
4answers
5k views
Mac OS X Lion Finder Window Size
I know that when I close a finder window the next time it opens, it will open at the same size.
This works with me for a while, but sometimes all the finder windows just go back to the default size ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Finder Sidebar ordering in Lion
In OS X 10.6, the sidebar had the sections ordered:
Devices
Shared
Favorites
This worked very well for me, since I use the devices section most often. However, in Lion, apple has arbitrarily ...
9
votes
1answer
4k views
How do you customize Lion Finder sidebar icons?
I'm not looking to hack resources or use SIMBL plugins, but I would like to be able to show custom icons in the Lion sidebar.
As far as I've understood custom icons on the folder no longer show up in ...
8
votes
4answers
8k views
How can I remove a folder that no longer exists from my Finder sidebar in Lion?
There is a folder in my favorites in the sidebar of the finder on my Mac. That folder no longer exists, but for some reason it started showing up again as soon as I upgraded to Lion
When I ...
8
votes
1answer
3k views
Open Finder window from current Terminal location?
If I am in a specific path in a Terminal window, how can I open that same window in a new Finder window?
Note: This is the opposite of opening a Terminal from Finder.
8
votes
5answers
8k views
Searching by file name (as opposed to name and contents) in Lion
In earlier versions of OSX, when you search in a Finder window, it gave you the choice of searching by contents or file name. In Lion this choice seems to have disappeared, I can only search by ...
8
votes
3answers
301 views
Drag & Drop vs mv - Any difference?
Is there a difference between bulk-moving files with Drag & Drop vs mv?
Use case:
Volume External_Drive_A has about 8000 files totalling 9GB. External_Drive_B has 74GB of free space. The ...
8
votes
4answers
20k views
How to view Root directory and subdirectories in Finder?
Apparently, the Macintosh HD icon on the desktop points to the root directory but it is not showing all the contents.
Some of the files and directories are the same as those which I see when I ...
8
votes
1answer
352 views
What does the “Stationery Pad” option do?
Under the General section of a file's File Info, there is a checkbox for Stationery Pad and Locked. The Locked option is pretty straightforward, but what does Stationery Pad do?
8
votes
5answers
5k views
What's triggering my Finder's CPU binges?
A few times a week, the Finder on my Macbook shoots up to around 100% CPU use, and the fans start blasting.
I've done everything I can think of - repaired permissions, rebooted, trashed preferences, ...
8
votes
3answers
3k views
Image dimensions infos on Lion Finder Columns view
Since updating to Lion, none of my image show their dimensions in Finder column view. I tried highlighting a file for a while or opening it with Preview, as suggested by this anser without success. ...
