finder

When you open a document or folder in OS X, the top of the window will include the file or folder name and a small icon showing the type of item being represented by the window. Besides informing you of what documents the window corresponds with, this little detail is exceptionally useful for performing a few different tasks pertaining to the represented item.… Read more

One of the most common uses for the Apple menu has been to quickly launch utilities, system settings, and programs. Starting with its early implementations in the classic Mac OS, you used it to access the control panel, the calculator, keycaps, and other accessories. With later versions Apple added the ability to launch recent applications and documents--a feature that has carried over to OS X today.… Read more

When OS X performs some system tasks that take a little while to complete, the system will present a progress window or similar notification to keep the user informed of what is going on. This includes tasks like mounting disk images, copying files, burning discs, or emptying the trash. Despite the convenience of these notifications, there may be times when they hang up and prevent the user from interacting with the system and doing things like restarting.… Read more

A number of people are reporting an issue with the latest iTunes 9.2 update, where after installing it the Finder no longer displays album artwork for songs when previewing them in a Finder window. This is a relatively minor bug, but one that seems to happen in Snow Leopard when artwork has been added manually or with third-party tools.… Read more

This step-by-step file duplicate finder will help you quickly locate and delete redundant files; however, we recommend that novices proceed with caution when it comes to deleting any found duplicate files.

Easy Duplicate Finder uses a three-step process to quickly and easily locate and remove duplicate files from your system. Simply add the folders you wish to scan and define the file mask (all files, JPEG, MP3) from the drop-down menu. Click the Start button in Step 2 and the program very quickly displays any found duplicates. While the program is scanning your system, you can actively watch the numbers … Read more

In OS X the view options for a specific window instance are inherited from the first opened folder, which usually is the user's home folder. This means that if you have the home folder in a specific view such as icon or list, then regardless of what you have set the subfolders to be, as long as they are opened in the same window frame you will see them displayed in the current icon or list view.… Read more

A few weeks ago we wrote an article on built-in options for launching applications in OS X, which included creating a quick-launch or Windows "Run" equivalent with Automator, using Spotlight, and also using an application folder stack in the Dock. One reader e-mailed us about another option that we overlooked in the article, which is to use a Finder window's toolbar for launching applications.… Read more

As its name suggests, Extreme Picture Find lets you search for and download Web images. Though it took us a few minutes to find our bearings, this tool performed as promised.

Extreme Picture Find opens with a seemingly plain and straightforward user interface, but it took us a little while to get the hang of things. Menu and navigational commands run across the top of the window, and multiple panels take up the rest of the space. We opted to start by checking out the program's online project database, which included a long list of subjects, ranging from architecture … Read more

Apple has numerous "at your fingertips" options in OS X, including icon previews, coverflow and column-view previews, as well as QuickLook and Dashboard. Of these, QuickLook is one of the most useful in allowing you get a brief bit of information about an item that does not have a preview option, or a more detailed look at the contents if the item does have a preview. If for some reason the QuickLook feature stops working there are several things you can try to get it up and running again.… Read more