Did you know that you can click and drag the little folder icon in a Finder window’s title bar to copy/move the folder to another location?
A secondary click on the title or the folder icon brings up a context menu listing the parent folders of the currently selected folder.
Here’s an interesting Finder functionality built right into Leopard. If you have any windows which you’ve dragged outside the display are of your monitor, then when you move an item from one of those half-hidden windows to any another, Finder will un-hide the windows and bring them back into full view on your screen.
-Ethan.
Remember the good old days–basically 4 months ago–when you could search for a specific preference file in spotlight? Since Leopard’s release, some users have been noticing that this rather simple functionality has strangely disappeared in Leopard. But has it really?
Try a little experiment: Open the “preferences” folder in your “user/library/” directory. Pick out a preference file–let’s try “com.apple.iChatAgent.plist.” Now, close the preferences window, and go up to the spotlight icon in the upper right hand corner of your desktop. Try searching for “ichatagent.” Oddly, the preference file in question will not show up.
So how can you find a specific preference file if this is true? Well, the good news is that it can be accomplished in a couple of different ways (one of which involves tailoring search criteria using the optional pull-downs), but here’s a quick and dirty solution:
Let’s stay with the “ichatagent” example: First, you’ll need to drill down to the “library” folder in your user directory. Now enter “ichatagent” in the search field in the upper right hand area of the window. You’ll notice that the window goes blank with no results. Fear not: simply select “Search: Library” instead of “this Mac” in the thin gray bar above the search results field.
Voila! There’s “com.apple.iChatAgent.plist,” right where it should be.
So, the next time you need to find a specific preference file, remember you’ll have to actually be in your “library” folder (or the “Preferences” folder itself) to find it. A little odd, but at least you know you can still find those files!
Note: As mentioned above, there is another viable method that can be used to find your pref files which involves using the search criteria pull-downs and then (optionally) saving the search for later use. Although I prefer the method here, it’s always matter of personal taste!
When you need to save a file with a name that is close to a name you already have in that folder, just click on one of the grayed-out file names in the folder and that name will appear in the Save as… box. So now you need only a minor adjustment to complete the new name. Works in any program AFAIK.
Go to the view menu in the Finder and select View Path Bar to show exactly where your current folder lives. And there’s more: control or right-click on any item in this location list to perform functions on it. Never lose your way on your badly-organised work network again!
This is a short and simple trick that will allow you to define how Finder windows display contents based on the folder you are view.
Eg. you might like to browse your documents folder in “cover flow” mode. Press Cmd-J (apple-J) and check the box to always open in “cover flow”. Just set your folder to the view you like, hit Cmd-J and make it permanent!
