> As a Mac user since the 1980s, I feel feel like Finder is easily best in class

Once internal muscle memory is established, the usability problems can be easily dismissed; but for the rest of us, who got used to better file managers, Finder is atrocious.

As a Windows user in the 90s, Linux user in the 2000s, and Mac user since the 2010s, I dread the moments when I have to use Finder.

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klodolph 2 days ago | parent [-]

What do you like about the other file managers over the Finder?

Finder has column view and quicklook. If there’s something that I’m missing out on from, say, Explorer or Thunar or whatever, I’d love to hear it. Whenever I have to sort through a lot of files on Linux or Windows, I get a better experience by exporting a SMB share and sorting on a Mac.

The only file managers that I’ve used that felt competitive with the Mac are tools like Midnight Commander (or the original Norton version).

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eviks 14 hours ago | parent [-]

Ability to open a file on Enter, for starters!

But also I can use JK to navigate down/up instead of moving my hand of their resting positions to the cursor.

And NM you jump faster by 5 files.

And the ability to change shortcuts easily

And the ability to use double tap C to copy file name, and tap C then tap F to copy full file path.

And turn column view into a flat list of all files at or below the current dir for easier search

And instant search (with the help of Everything) limited to the current dir+children, shown in the same file manager list with the same navigation option

And the ability to tap Cmd-R multiple files to select rename file full name/name/extension

And the ability to autoreplace illegal filesystem file chars with my own alternative to preserve those Divide/Rule common document names

And the ability to automatically control how much space a column is wasting.

Etc., a million of other things that differentiate a real pro file manager from the toy of Finder

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klodolph 5 hours ago | parent [-]

To be honest, a lot of these seem to have the shape, “I want to be able to press button A to do action X,” but for the Finder, you have to press button B instead. I was hoping for something a little more interesting.

Things like, “In a Real Pro file manager, you can double-tap C to copy a filename, but in Finder, you have to press command-C.” Do you see why I’m a little disappointed by this list?

I’m interested to hear what file manager you’re using because it sounds like you’d hate Explorer, Nautilus, and Thunar too.

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eviks 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Don't close your mind to new knowledge and it might just get interested!

> but in Finder, you have to press command-C.” Do you see why I’m a little disappointed by this list?

Sure I do, you're doing the lazy cut. The original quote was:

> double tap C to copy file name, and tap C then tap F to copy full file path.

And of course you can't do that in Finder, that's just nonsense. Now also add a few more actions: copy file name without the extension, copy the extension, copy full path quoted for pasting in your terminal - and

A. You've run out of keys and modifiers, and definitely out of memory to remember which action does what

B. C. D. It's actually not trivial to extend Finder in this way, and of course you can't easily change the keybinds, and of course you can't group those keybinds in a conveniently located submenu, and of course you can't assigne custom key modifiers to those menus for ease of navigation..

Also pray do tell which command-C you need to press to achieve this:

> (cycle) rename file full name/name/extension

There are also a few non-keybinding-related things in the list which you've conveniently ignored

	▲	klodolph 9 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> Don't close your mind to new knowledge and it might just get interested! Please be respectful in these conversations—I’m interested in hearing more about this, but the comments you’ve been making are emotionally charged and insulting. I’m interested to hear what file manager you’re using because it sounds like you’d hate Explorer, Nautilus, and Thunar too. Sorry for repeating the question—but I’m not going to accuse you of “conveniently ignoring” the question. Accusing someone of conveniently ignoring a question is, I don’t know, at best just rude. Don’t do that. I know that there are things that Finder is not good at, that’s fine by me. What baffles me is the comparison with Windows Explorer, and that’s why I responded, and that’s the context for my comments. If you have a comparison with a specific other file manager in mind I’d like to hear it. For my use cases, I am often sorting through large quantities of media files, so I value things like column view and Quicklook. (Copy without extension is enter, command-C. Full path 95% of the time, I am pasting into the Terminal, and so I drag it in, and the terminal automatically escapes it.)