How to deactivate the Finder app. Improving the Finder toolbar. Search in current folder

Finder is the main application of OS X; it is always running and cannot be closed. It's pretty powerful tool, which is both a file browser and search engine, performing many various functions. We tell you how to use its capabilities by more than 30%. Tips to help you be more productive with Finder:

1. Icons for folders

Standard folder icons are quite boring and look the same, which makes it difficult to find the desired directory among the others. It's much easier to navigate your folders when they're visually distinct. Fortunately, changing folder icons in OS X is easy, and the method works for both folders and applications:

1. Select the folder whose icon we want to replace and open its properties (click Cmd+I);
2. Open the image that will serve as an icon in the Viewer, select it completely and copy it ( Cmd+A, Cmd+C);
3. We return to the properties of our folder, click on the icon and click Cmd+V to paste the copied image and use it as an icon;

2. Tags in one menu

Tags are one of them and they are quite convenient, but it is not entirely clear how to use them. You can add a tag when saving the file, or by right-clicking on an already existing file. But the mechanism for setting and editing tags is not entirely obvious. Although it exists! Open Finder preferences and go to the Tags tab. Here you can change any of the tags, create favorites and organize their display in the sidebar. You can also delete an unnecessary tag by right-clicking on it and selecting Delete.

3. Tabs

Another great feature that came with Mavericks is tabs in the Finder. To open new tab, just click Cmd+T, habitual hotkey, familiar to all of us from browsers, or use the button «+» on the tab bar. In addition, you can combine several open windows, into one with several tabs. This is done through the menu Window - Merge All Windows.

4. Select and copy text from the Quick Look window

Quick Preview is one of my favorite features of OS X. When you press Spacebar on any file in the Finder, a preview window will immediately open. However, it has one big drawback - if you view any document, it is impossible to copy text from it. Luckily, this can be fixed with a little Terminal command:

defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableTextSelection -bool TRUE; killall finder

You can now select and copy text from the Quick View window.

5. File sorting

There are many options for sorting and viewing your files in the Finder, but they aren't always obvious and some users overlook them. By default, the view opens as a list with columns in which you can organize files by clicking on the appropriate column (Name, Date, Size, Type, etc.). You can also add additional columns to get more sorting options by clicking View - Arrange By.

In addition, you can customize the display of folders in other ways by clicking View - Icons, List, Cover flow and select the preferred one for specific folder. Your files will be displayed in the specified manner.

6. Move selected files to new folder

What do we do when we want to put some files in a new folder? Create a folder and drag the necessary files there or use shortcuts Cmd+C/Cmd+V. But in OS X there is special function for this, which by the way is easy to overlook. All you need to do: select the files, right-click and select New folder from selected (or click Cmd+Shift+N)

7. Always on display Library folders

IN previous versions OS X, the Library folder was always hidden and you had to tinker to show it. For ordinary users It doesn't matter, but for those who like to tinker with the system it was very inconvenient. In Mavericks, displaying the Library folder has become very easy.

In Finder, go to home folder(or click Cmd+H), then open properties (or click Cmd+J). Here we are interested in the Show Libraries folder option. There are other options for displaying the Library folder and I wrote about this earlier.

8. Display file extensions

By default, OS X does not show file extensions and in some cases this is annoying. In order to see the difference between your JPG and TIF files, go to Finder settings and on the tab Additionally, put a tick next to the item Always show file extensions.

9. Show hidden files

OS X likes to hide some files from the user so they don't break anything. But sometimes you need to delve into these very files in order to perform some tricks to configure the system. To show hidden files, there are many ways, mostly all of them are based on third party applications. Instead, I suggest you use the Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles true

Now you will see hidden files in all folders file system your Mac. If for some reason you want to hide them again and return everything to its place, enter this command:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles false

10. Toolbar

The Finder toolbar contains many buttons that give you access to various functions, from sorting options to setting tags. But not everyone needs all these features, and therefore it makes sense to customize the panel for yourself, removing unnecessary ones and adding necessary buttons. This is done quite simply, open the View menu and click Customize Toolbar. In edit mode, you can customize the panel simple drag and drop elements and changing their order.

You can also drag files, folders, and applications onto the panel to quickly access them. Just highlight required file and, holding cmd, drag it onto the panel.

11. Default folder

Initially, all new windows and Finder tabs open with the My Files folder, but if you would like to see another folder instead, this can be fixed. Open the Finder settings and on the tab Basic, select the desired folder in the dropdown menu Show in new Finder windows.

Smart folders are one of those features that many users often forget about. The principle of operation of smart folders is that you set certain conditions for the folder and after that, it constantly monitors the fulfillment of the specified conditions, and when opened, shows all objects that meet the specified conditions. For example, you can create smart folders to monitor new JPGs, files larger than a certain size, and a variety of other things.

To create a new smart folder, click File - New Smart Folder in the Finder menu (or Ctrl + Cmd + N). After this, a settings window will open in which you need to add the desired conditions by clicking «+» . The search criteria are quite broad; you can search by file type, content, and set time parameters. If you do not find the desired criterion in the list, select Other and add the desired one from the list, which includes about 200 criteria.

So what do we see most often when we work on a Mac? Some use Word/Excel, others Final Cut or Photoshop, but we all, without exception, see and interact with Finder! And it is precisely this, or its elements, that we see most often, and therefore by properly organizing the work of the Mac OS shell, you will achieve an increase in your productivity on the Mac!

Let's get started! The first thing I always do is go to Finder Preferences and make some changes there. By the way, I do this on any Mac, even not my own, and the user usually doesn’t notice the difference in the little things, but they exist :)

To do this, click on the left top corner on the Finder inscription and select Settings there (you can also click on the combination CMD +,). And here I start to conjure:

Basic:

— Show on the Desktop — check the boxes that I need = all the boxes;

- Show in new Finder windows - I choose my home folder, although anyone can choose the folder they use most. I strongly recommend removing “My Files”, because... They can cause a lot of confusion and are not conducive to optimizing your Mac experience!

— I leave other parameters unchanged...

If you use them, then in this menu you can sort them by importance or change their values.

Sidebar:

— Favorites — I immediately exclude the My files item from the side menu, because I don’t need it, although if you use this tab at least sometimes (which, really, tell me when and why?) you can leave it...

— General access— due to my specifics, I periodically need to use these points, so I have them turned on. Moreover, if you have more than 1 Mac computer, then you can leave them for simple file transfer. Plus, with the AirDrop feature, it will be an easy way to transfer files from one Mac to another.

— Devices — I try to always see all connected devices in the side menu, and this helps me, no matter what program I’m in, to immediately see all flash drives, disks, etc....

— Tags — check the box for quick access to popular tags.

Additions:

In my case, I leave all the checkboxes unchanged and the “When performing a search” item is also unchanged.

I would like to pay special attention to the item “Emptying the Trash irreversibly” - a very insidious option. The fact is that if you install it, then the deleted objects from the recycle bin are not just deleted, but also random bits are written on top of this data so that the information cannot be restored, but the speed of emptying the recycle bin drops many times! This is needed extremely rarely, so do not enable this checkbox.

After we're done with the basics Finder settings, I click on View in the menu bar and turn on the “Show status menu” item. Thanks to this point, in almost any Finder window you will be able to see free place on the disk (or connected drive if you opened it in a new window). A very convenient thing, so as not to make unnecessary movements to view the free space.

Well, I think I'm done with Finder. I don't make any other changes after installing the OS. And in general, Apple thought well about Mac OS in order to minimize outside interference, but as you can see, they are still needed :)

Almost everyone uses Finder only to view some files and organize them into folders. However, the capabilities of the OS X file manager do not stop there. Next we will describe 4 very useful functions, which will save you a lot of time and will certainly make your life easier.

Smart folders (smart folders)

Often files end up scattered throughout various parts disk. To find them, we use the search function, and it does its job perfectly. These search requirements can be saved as “smart folders”, which will be automatically updated with the appearance of fresh files that match given criteria search. To create such a folder, just click on the “Save” button.

Your own request can be expanded with additional aspects . To narrow your search, click the Add (+) button in the upper right corner (to the right of Save). You can add those parameters that you consider necessary. As you add more, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how powerful the Finder is.

By default Finder will find files that meet all of the above aspects. You will be able to formulate the logic of your request more complex. To do this, hold down the Alt/Option key. Instead of “+”, 3 dots will appear. Click on them to launch a new condition category. Select which of the criteria listed here must match the request (any, all, or none).

New folder from selected files

As soon as a lot of files accumulate, the first method of solving the problem that comes to mind is to organize them into folders. The Finder has a very convenient feature that allows you to mark a number of files by holding down the Cmd key and pressing right key mouse and create a new folder from the selected files.

Unfortunately, it works this function only within one folder. It turns out that you will not be able to mark a certain number of files from different folders.

Show results from Spotlight in Finder

Most quick method find something on Mac - use Spotlight search. You can open the search line using the Ctrl+Space button combination. After typing a query, use the arrows to move to the result that interests you. To show the found file in the Finder, you must press Enter while holding the Command button. If you just press Enter, favorite file will open in the default program for these files.

Quick navigation

Except conventional method moving through folders in the Finder there is another, much faster one. To use it, click on the title of the window of the selected document or Finder while holding Command key. A drop-down menu will open, from which you can easily expand any of the parent folders.

For example, if the document is located in the username/Documents/Work folder, then by moving the cursor and clicking on your home folder (username) from this drop-down menu, a Finder window will open with the Documents folder highlighted. If you select the very first item, the Finder will open with the selected document. This will be very convenient if, for example, you need to send it by mail.

Total Commander is a file manager (OFM) for Windows.
Some features include built-in FTP client, file comparison, navigation archive file and a multiple rename facility with support regular expressions.

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Today we will learn how to subjugate hidden possibilities built-in file browser OS X. Everyone is welcome works behind Apple computer, and does not burn through its capabilities in in social networks and collections of funny pictures.

My history

My first acquaintance with apple operating system took place during the release of Lion, so I didn’t catch Snow Leopard, which everyone praises so much.

At the very least, the breakdown of the “switcher” was over, and ordinary work at the computer began, the solution daily tasks. Somehow an update arrived unnoticed Mountain Lion, and then Maverick with Yosemite.

From the very beginning of using OS X, I was delighted with the built-in Preview feature - an instant preview of most files by simply pressing the spacebar. But gradually files began to appear that standard utility I refused to open the view. I started looking for ways to expand the functionality of the file browser and found out that it can do much more than what is offered out of the box.

I’ll say right away that this is not an instruction for dummies. Most likely, housewives won't even need these features. But those who actually work in OS X will appreciate the following five useful tips.

1. Improving “Quick View”

It's maddening to be unable to show the contents of text that doesn't have an extension, or a file with a *.nfo extension. The same Notepad in Windows was not afraid of such little things.

At the same time, the built-in viewer in OS X, Quick Look, has well-documented options for extension using plugins. And there are a great many of them in the most different categories. Let's not try to cover the whole spectrum available solutions and just consider the principle of their installation.

All actions are carried out manually. There is nothing complicated about this, just read carefully and follow the information below.

Quick Look plugins are supplied as a file with the extension .qlgenerator. Before we begin, let’s decide for which users we are going to install plugins: either for all, or only for specific ones.

• For everyone - global installation, you need to copy the file to: /Library/QuickLook/
• For a specific user - copy to the address: /Users//Library/QuickLook

After copying is complete, you need to activate the plugin by typing in Terminal command qlmanage -r– it will restart the QuickLook service, which, in turn, will load new modules.

Let's consolidate the theory with practice. Let's take the plugin as an example The BetterZip Quick Look Generator, which allows you to view the contents of the archive without direct unpacking (a must have!). The plugin itself can be downloaded from here. Then extract the BetterZipQL.qlgenerator file from the archive and follow the instructions below:

Quickly view the archive before installing the plugin

From the Finder menu, select Go → Go to folder. An input window will appear in which you need to enter the transition address:

Go to folder

• If we install only for ourselves: ~/Library/
• If we install for everyone: /Library/QuickLook>;

Find the QuickLook directory (if installing for yourself). If it doesn’t exist, just create one of the same name, being sure to respect the case of characters. Alternative option for those who are not very confident in their abilities: open Terminal and paste this command: mkdir ~/Library/QuickLook

We copy the plugin into the created folder, this is done by simply dragging and dropping, there are no tricks. Then run the command in the terminal qlmanage -r and enjoy the result.

All is ready. It was general principle, relevant for the entire system. Now you can safely go to the Quick Look Plugins website and download plugins. A couple of useful tips:

Tip 1. Do not simultaneously install plugins that may conflict with each other - for example, archive processors or video file players.

Tip 2. It happens that plugins work with different types files, for example e-books EPUB and Archivers, but EPUB is, in fact, also an archive, so the plugins begin to conflict. You can avoid this situation by renaming the plugin for EPUB so that it is loaded first, for example 01epubql.qlgenerator.

2. Copy text in view mode

Quick Look provides excellent opportunities for viewing files: quickly press the space bar and look at the contents of the PDF. However, disappointment sets in when you realize that you cannot copy anything from there without full opening document.

To solve the problem, launch Terminal and sequentially execute the following commands:

defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableTextSelection -bool TRUE

With the first command we register a key that allows selection, and with the second we restart Finder to apply the new settings.

Unfortunately, copying a selected fragment can only be done through the menu; hot keys (Cmd+C) will not work.

If you ever need to disable this feature, simply run this command in Terminal:

defaults delete com.apple.finder QLEnableTextSelection

3. Improving the Finder toolbar

There is often a situation where a certain file format needs to be opened in an unusual or previously unused application. For example, I watch videos using MplayerX. But it happens that a video shot on an iPhone can only be played back correctly in QuickTime.

For these purposes, display the QuickTime shortcut in the toolbar and, if necessary, open the video in it, drag it onto the shortcut. Adding a shortcut to any application is done by dragging it while holding Option + Command.

Removing shortcuts is done through a standard dialog Menu → View → Customize Toolbar.

4. Smart folders

A very cool feature in Finder: the ability to create custom search criteria and save them as virtual folders.

Search criteria options:

• search for too large files;
• search for new files;
• search for files created by a specific camera based on EXIF ​​analysis, etc.

Launch Finder, open the menu item File -> New Smart Folder, appears in Finder extra line, under the tabs, on the right side of which there are items Save And + . To create selection conditions, click + .

For example, let’s create a simple filter and find all files on the computer that meet the following criteria:

• any type;
• created in the last 3 months;
• having a size of more than 30 MB and less than 100 MB;

To implement the logic of the condition for the size, there is a trick: when adding a criterion, hold down the key Option, this will allow you to create groups of rules and configure their triggering, for example, all at once or only one from a group.

Search criteria

When you have finished creating the filter, click the button Save. In the dialog, select the item "Add to sidebar» . Now you can see new files that meet the selected criteria at any time. The contents of this folder are updated automatically when opened.

5. Bulk renaming

When you work with something for a long time, every time next update you notice innovations less and less. This is what happened with Yosemite: it seems that nothing has changed fundamentally in the Finder - but no, it turns out that they added a function for group renaming of files.

Works when selecting multiple files. It renames sets of photos perfectly, but in general it has very limited capabilities due to the lack of support for regular expressions and name analysis.