The column view - love it or leave it?

Columns View - Your input

  • Love it!

  • Learning to live with it

  • Hate it

  • I never used Macs before osx so I don't know what the "classic view" is

Results are only viewable after voting.
habilis

habilis

Ministry of Re-Education
I'm slowly learning to like osx now. After 4 PAINFUL months of morphing over from OS9 I'm really learning to love the new features such Quartz font smoothing and the improved file sharing, etc.. I hardly even notice how slow I am anymore.

But one thing that's still is a thorn in my side is this columns view. Just how long does it take before I learn to like it? I still despise it. Clearly Apple isn't known for the abundance of options it gives to its users but couldn't they have included a "classic view" along with columns?

Is there a 3rd party program out there that can return the classic view to me and get my production levels back to par?

And finally, Microsoft has had the columns view for the last 10 years along with the Classic OS9 style. Why are we stepping back in time? And why is Apple acting more and more like Microsoft, and Microsoft acting more and more like Apple?
 
Personally I like Tree-Views - "List" view being the closest it still annoys me. I can't stand Column-View and wish the "Save As" dialog boxes wouldn't use them! :(
 
personally i like the column view. it saves a lot of time once you get used to it. it took me a while to learn to think the way it works, but once i got it, it makes more sense than the classic way. but i would also suggest you look into Default Folder X, a finder enhancement which will keep all your recently used folders and your favorites and... all arranged nicely for quick opening and saving.
 
I can see how it could be more efficient, but column view just seems to waste quite a bit of space. I really only need to see one directory at a time, for the most part, and option-double click works just fine. :)

I too wish that open/save dialogs would use list view.

- Brian
 
I wish the Finder would adhere to its settings to ALWAYS open new windows in column view. I _love_ column view. Together with spring loaded folders, it's the fastest way I've ever handled files...
 
I really dislike the multi-colum view in general... but I love that when you click on an image file it shows you a preveiw of the image.

It seems like something they borrowed from WinDoze, but I like it anyway...
 
Originally posted by edX
personally i like the column view. it saves a lot of time once you get used to it. it took me a while to learn to think the way it works, but once i got it...
Click to expand...
The thing that is wrong about it to me is I always imaging drilling "down" into a directory tree... So I have sort of a vertical orientation here, but the column view is horizontal.

trying to get back "up" three levels, my brain just can't make the transition to moving left.

Also I really miss having the Path menu in Save dialogs...
 
<uh uh... this is turning into a rant>
...and another thing...

I tend to have a lot of loooooonnnnnggg filenames and I can't figure out any way to make those display correctly in the column view.

I hate seeing column lisings like this:
Code: 
short file 1.txt
short file 2.txt
really long...le name.txt
really long...le name.txt
really long...le name.txt
short file 3.txt
short file 4.txt
I know ther three files listed are different, but the column view gives me know way to know for sure. And this has got me in trouble when trying to Save a file...
</rant>
 
Column View is one of the best things in new Finder... If not the best!

Now, if they will make optional the same thing but vertically and call it the Row View then the Collumn View thing would be complete :D
 
I'm a big fan of column view as well. At first I was bummed because it meant that I wouldn't get to look at the gorgeous icons of macOSX in their full size, but when I realized how much more productive I was with it, I was sold.

The right/left concept just works for me...like going forward and backwards in a directory. It's like reading a book...natural progression going from left to right. At least that's how I see it...:)
 
I think a better question is if you like (and use) the shelf? For the longest time I just left it as the Apple default, but now I am all about customizing it. I don't think I would like (or use) column mode if it were not for the shelf.

I have enclosed a pic of my self.


Matthew
 

Attachments

  • shelf.jpg
    shelf.jpg
    88.9 KB · Views: 46
What are you talking about? Do you mean the button bar?

It's kinda sad, because I almost thought Apple had brought back the OpenStep/NeXT-Step Shelf to OS X without informing me, but they have not, I guess...
 
Column-view is really the easiest way to navigate, i think. I have two columnview-windows (one lower and one upper, obviously). Agree with previous post about the buttonbar/shelf (sorry if "shelf" refers to some long lost function, but thats the name i have come to know it by). And since we all like to show of our way of life, i include a picture of my button-bar.
 

Attachments

  • bar.jpg
    bar.jpg
    24.4 KB · Views: 41
Besides showing you my toolbar, I've attached 3 screen grabs (one altered in Photoshop) to help me articulate my ideas about column view:

1-bad.pdf: This is the default view showing my home directory. My question to you is... what path am I in? There is no way to "see" that because the "Users" folder is at the bottom of the column an unviewable.

2-better.pdf: To see the "Users" folder, I need to scroll the center columen. It would be ideal if Apple show us this by default without my needing to scroll. That way I'd be able to quickly see my path.

3-ideal.pdf: Even better than #2 would be to restore the use of the "shelf" (a.k.a. toolbar) to the way it was in Rhapsody/Next. What it did in column view was give you icons on the shelf showing your FULL path. Clicking on any of the folders navigated you back "up" the tree.

(#3 is my quick attempt at visualizing this. I'm sure racerX could post us a real Rhaposody/Next screen grab to illustrate this better.)
 

Attachments

  • 1-bad.pdf
    66.6 KB · Views: 26
Column view rocks. I know, a long time ago, when i first heard about 10. i was really worried. I didn't like the looks of it. Now i love it.

Twister
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top