I tend to prefer command line Linux and full window OSX for my work. The development and data handling tool chain is a bit better in Linux and the user interface reliability of the complete vertical stack is a bit better in OSX. I repeat here a couple of tips I found to improve the OSX finder.

A key feature missing from the OSX finder is a convenient “open another finder in the current directory.” The finder does have the “open a new finder on each folder-click option” but that litters your desktop with many useless intermediate finders. You can also right click on a folder in the Finder pathbar (which defaults to not visible) to get a menu up allowing a new finder to launch via “Open Enclosing Folder.” For me (even with the path bar on) nether of these methods really flow.

Fortunately Apple does supply the user with incredibly powerful tools such as AppleScript. This will allow us to add an always present single click (no control or right-click and no menu) action to our Finder toolbar.

To add the ability to open a new finder as a click all one has to do is the following (we are not distributing this as finished code as it is not our work and we don’t wan’t to encourage people to download and use unexamined code).

1. Open the AppleScript Editor
2. Select File->New
3. Paste the the following into the AppleScript Editor (from: dtomasch (Daniel T) on Macword Mac OSX hints
   

   -- From: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20080108144434753
   try
   	tell application "Finder"
   		activate
   		set this_folder to (the target of the front window) as alias
   		set {x1, y1} to position of front window
   		make new Finder window to this_folder
   		set position of front window to {(x1 + 50), (y1 + 150)} --This offsets the new window more than the average Finder tiling does
   	end tell
   end try
   

4. Press the compile hammer.
5. Select File->Save As, choose file format Applicaton and save as “OpenFinder.app”.
6. (optional, for a nice icon)
   With a finder right click on the new application and select Show Package Contents. Then replace Contents/Resources/applet.icns with Pieter Stroink’ finder icon (the file Finder_without_Bag.icns from the downloadable zip file Finder_Icon_by_eggy.zip).
7. On a Finder right click on some blank space in the upper toolbar and select Customize Toolbar. Drop the new application in the toolbar.

Now all of your finders show the new application as an icon in the upper toolbar. When you click on this icon you get a new finder in the current context.

But you can do more, you can repeat this pattern with other applications. In my case I really like being able to open the command line terminal in the current finder directory. One of the really cool things about OSX is it has a good command line terminal. If you already are a terminal user you will like the following.

You can get the terminal in on this game by using TomWoozle (Tom Anthony)’s Macword Mac OSX hint in the same pattern as above to create a button that open a new terminal shell at the current finder location. You just use this block of AppleScript code:

-- from: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20020426093503563
on run
	tell application "Finder"
		try
			activate
			set frontWin to folder of front window as string
			set frontWinPath to (get POSIX path of frontWin)
			tell application "Terminal"
				activate
				do script with command "cd "" & frontWinPath & """
			end tell
		on error error_message
			beep
			display dialog error_message buttons ¬
				{"OK"} default button 1
		end try
	end tell
end run

and get the icons from /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app/Contents/Resources/Terminal.icns.

The absolute icing on the cake is OSX’s built in "open" command. You can open a Finder pointing to the current terminal’s working directory by typing "open ." in the terminal (completing the circle).

Note: we have seen the open terminal app “stutter” or sometimes open two terminals.

Categories: Public Service Article Tutorials

Tagged as: Computers Finder OSX

jmount

Data Scientist and trainer at Win Vector LLC. One of the authors of Practical Data Science with R.