10.6.4: refresh Finder window?????

Poppycock, this turns out to be easy. Found it at http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2009091413423819

1. Run Automator, create a new Service (follow instructions).

2. Open Prefs, go to Keyboard / Shortcuts.

3. Disable current F5 key (under Keyboard and Text, moves focus to the window toolbar)

4. Go to Services, scroll to the bottom, and click on the service you created. Click in the add shortcut, and press F5 (keeps it compatible with Windows).

Voila. You are done. Now press F5 in a Finder window.

I agree with Thor HoG in that it would be a great practice that people learn why somebody needs that feature inspite of suggesting that he/she should not be needing it.

Anyway I find it awful that the machine I spent 1200 bucks is behind my 250 buck windows in several ways...one of them is NOT having REFRESH option in finder.

In my case this can happen with any finder folder

Sometimes I'll have a terminal shell open and use wget to retrieve files over HTTP, in others I use an OS X application to create a folder e.g. Word, Pages etc. and the folder isn't visible from Finder.

Only was to overcome the problem is to relaunch Finder.

It appears something somewhere is corrupted but I've not found where, a refresh button would make life much easier in this situation

OK. Today I was editing some RAW photo files which I've downloaded from the camera to a directory on my local hard disc. I worked my way through to the directory with Finder to list the files, and opened them one by one for editing with GIMP.

Once I'd done some cropping and editing of the files, I saved them as drafts in GIMP's XCF format, and also exported JPG versions for transfer to a website.

Going back to the Finder window I'd started the process from, I found no sign of the files I'd just saved, only the original RAW image files.

In a Windows environment, it's a simple matter of pressing F5 to refresh the directory listing, and in Linux the listing is refreshed automatically with no user intervention.

Closing down and re-opening Finder works, but it's tedious to have to traverse the directory tree to get back to get back to the directory my images are stored in.

I'm using OS X version 10.8.4.

The utility mentioned above ( http://www.soderhavet.com/refresh/ ) works fine for me, but I think there should be a built-in facility to refresh directory listings, or an automatic refresh feature.

Changing the definition of the F5 key for compatibility with Windows strikes me as "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

Short answer - I put the edited files in the same directory as the originals, and they end up there, as instructed.

Longer answer - images I took today are imported into a directory like ./Pictures/.../.../2013/06/20. I open this directory with Finder, and select the images I want to work on one by one, saving the edited versions in whatever form I'm going to need as I go.

Once I've finished one image, I go back to Finder for the next one. I would like to see the edited versions listed there to keep track of the work I've already done, and I'd also like to see them there after I've completed the editing, so that (for example) I can drag-and-drop them into an email or a website etc.

Having to shut down Finder and find my way through the directory tree again works, but is very tedious.

I was having a similar problem with Lion, but I'm on 10.8.4 now and it works perfectly for me. Even if I'm in photoshop eding a tiff or jpg, if I have finder open in coverflow or icon view, even the icon previews update immediately in the finder window while I'm still in Photoshop. I would look somewhere other than the OS itself.

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Once I've finished one image, I go back to Finder for the next one. I would like to see the edited versions listed there to keep track of the work I've already done, and I'd also like to see them there after I've completed the editing, so that (for example) I can drag-and-drop them into an email or a website etc.

Well, you may be having a different problem since you said you do put them in a folder - that is the workflow I use (I don't use icon view (ever), but that should not matter). I also do not ever use iPhoto as I do not care for its filing system, but have my own folders/subfolders, but that should not matter either. If I save a photo or file, it will be immediately available in the folder I directed it to as soon as I make that folder active (I may have it open in the background behind my Aperture window for instance and will minimize/move over the Aperture window to expose the folder. If I move over my active Aperture window, I can see the saved copy appear in the (inactive) folder just as it should.

I've just tried an experiment to exclude applications other than those supplied with the OS.

I opened a Terminal session, and changed the current directory to the directory I had opened in Finder for my image-editing session.

I had already opened this directory in Finder, and it displayed the current contents of the directory (i.e. with my original image files, and the edited versions.

I now typed the following command...

ls > temp

...and confirmed with a subsequent...

ls

...that the new file ("temp") had been created.

I'm still waiting for this file to appear in the Finder directory.

It occurs to me (especially considering Thor HoG's comment about the problem going away when he moved from and earlier version to 10.8.4), that there may be some configuration option for Finder which would make it refresh its display periodically, and that it happens to be switched off on my computer.

PS Having failed to find a relevant option in Finder's preferences, I tried the same experiment as before, but this time using the system's /tmp directory. First I opened this directory with Finder, and noted the contents.

When I entered the command line...

ls > /tmp/temp

...the new file ("temp") appeared immediately in the Finder directory.

Working my way back with Finder to the image directory I was using before, I still don't see the "temp" file I created in that directory earlier.

Weird!

I'll have to investigate file and directory permissions, and look at the influence of the length of the path +- the presence of spaces in directory names etc.

Meanwhile, I can use the "refresh" utility to work around the issue.

I've been having the same issue on my new mini running 10.8.4.

I have a USB drive that I'm working on converting some old home videos into MP4. The program I'm using to do the converstions just puts the new MP4 into the same directory. But I never see the new MP4s. If I close Finder window and open it back up.. still not there.

Installing the Refresh thing mentioned, clicking on it, viola.. files show up.

So Finder maybe dynamic... but it doesn't seem to work on USB drive.

Ahhh nothing quite like Mac forums....no one can answer, just ask "why wouod you do that"? who cares? A question was asked. I have the same issue, I have multiple shares that take, sometimes, up to 10 kinutes to populate. This is way to expensive of a piece of equipment to have to wait around forever to see shares.

I'm having the same problems (mostly with services like Dropbox, but have also had it on my local drive too). Finder (and it's lacking functionality) is EXACTLY while I'll be switching BACK to Windows.

Yes, VERY frustrating all these "why would you want to do that people."

My issue is with FTP. That needs a refresh button, but one of the suggestions (Refresh Finder) does seem to be working with an FTP window, but not until I unhid the toolbar by right-clicking on the top of the window.

That soderhavet.com/refresh thing was not working simply because I could find nothing on that page related to this issue. It does not look like a page for this issue at all.

Also, if you don't use one of the suggestions, you can't even just close the window and reconnect. It still will not refresh. You have to use "Eject" from the Finder's File menu. Only then will you get a refresh. This whole thing is kind of lame. An example of how Apple does not listen and how they always put form over function.

I'm having the same problem with files not showing up in the finder and also on the desktop but I certainly never had it with Snow Leopard. It's only since I upgraded to Mountain Lion that my finder is no longer dynamic.

Prior to the upgrade earlier this year, I could drag files or browse files on my local network and files I created on another machine's shared folder would be immediately available. Now, files do not show up unless I force quit the finder. Also if I FTP file over to my desktop, they don't show up until I click my mouse on the desktop. I've got 16Gig RAM and have only used about 1/3 of the hard drive so I doubt it's a memory issue. It seesm that the Finder caches and then doesn't release it.

I'm a new mac user (software engineer / architect). Have used (forced due to corporates feeling the need to pay for software) Windows at work, Linux, BSD, Solaris, etc, etc at home and for varius other businesses for years. There are many functionalities available in all of those OS's but missing in OS X. Yes a refresh is a very simple request, but because the source is closed and apple have you by the balls (you've paid them money, surely you can't turn back now?), they can do as they please, or not do as the case may be. To be honest, Linux is at a point and has been for a few years now, that makes it more user friendly for all desk top users. Only reason I bought a mac was because I liked the form factor and hardware features of the macbook pro. In saying that, I think I've learnt my lesson... All that shines is not gold.