chenchao

Q: Enter key does not open the file

whenever i hit the enter key on a file in finder, the highlighted file does not open rather is ready to be renamed. how can change this? thanks.

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Jun 25, 2011 5:39 AM

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Q: Enter key does not open the file

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  • by applhayter,

    applhayter applhayter Aug 12, 2014 10:27 PM in response to identd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 12, 2014 10:27 PM in response to identd

    Christian analogy is apt - although perhaps not in the way that you mean it.  Apple users certainly seem to consider their choice of computing tool to be a religion, and declare a holy war on anyone who criticizes it!  Lol

     

    Despite the screen name I actually like Apple but really really really cannot stand their fanboys, either.  It's so true that they seem to feel their whole identity is bound up in their use of a Mac.  Ironically it's their defensive attitude that probably holds Apple back from dealing with its design flaws and getting into the top industry position.  Why do the work to stay on top of your game when you've got a horde of mindless worshippers praising your every mistake? :-/

  • by Meteorash,

    Meteorash Meteorash Dec 6, 2014 3:09 AM in response to chenchao
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 6, 2014 3:09 AM in response to chenchao

    Going through this thread I just cannot believe there are people insisting not allowing the users to change the shortcut they like is a good thing.

     

    Dog eats **** doesn't mean human needs to eat **** to be superior to dogs. Same thing applies here, you are able to switch between Windows and Mac with different shortcuts to enter into a folder, good for you. I just don't want to bother changing my mind back and forth and feel that windows' shortcut to enter a folder is more intuitive and convenient. What was wrong? Am I not allowed to use Mac just because of this? You apple fanboys amaze me.

     

    When you enter into a restaurant and find the food very good but it is a little bit too spicy for you. Will you ask for less spicy or you never come back again?

  • by jhey11,

    jhey11 jhey11 Dec 12, 2014 5:32 PM in response to chenchao
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 12, 2014 5:32 PM in response to chenchao

    its rather amusing seeing the mac users responses on here...... one thing they are failing to realise is we are all speaking english and although the language of windows and macs are different the rules of english should surely still apply - the word enter, in some other languages its similar entre sometimes its not similar but the purpose is and the word enter surely means to enter that folder or enter that file............

     

    so i agree with you enter should be to enter ! simple...... command and down that in a sentence clearly is not as concise as ENTER

     

    ENTER = TO ENTER when i folder is highlighted and hit ENTER - i would like to ENTER it !!

     

    irregardless of the way people have been using / speaking mac english has been used for longer !!

  • by jhey11,

    jhey11 jhey11 Dec 12, 2014 5:36 PM in response to Meteorash
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 12, 2014 5:36 PM in response to Meteorash

    agreed !!! they are up their own a r s e s !! I have to use windows for a lot of work i do and find the transition between mac and windows frustrating because of these silly differences. ENTER means ENTER if a folder is highlighted and hit enter its because i want to ENTER , go into that folder.

  • by swatibajaj,

    swatibajaj swatibajaj Jan 6, 2015 10:40 PM in response to chenchao
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iCloud
    Jan 6, 2015 10:40 PM in response to chenchao

    I am new to Mac. Why is such a big button on the keyboard "enter / return" dedicated for renaming? What does "enter" or "return" mean in case of mac?

  • by Camelot,

    Camelot Camelot Jan 7, 2015 1:25 AM in response to swatibajaj
    Level 8 (47,300 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2015 1:25 AM in response to swatibajaj

    What does "enter" or "return" mean in case of mac?

     

    Just as it has always done since the very early days of computing: It tells the OS (or, more correctly, the current application) to process the input.

     

    Now, just how that application processes the input varies greatly.

     

    In a text editing application, 'enter' is usually interpreted as "Finish the current paragraph and start a new line"

    In a shell-based application (such as Terminal.app), 'enter' is interpreted as 'take the command/data I've just typed and execute it'

    In the Finder (and the crux of this thread), 'enter' is interpreted as 'allow me to rename this file/folder'


    So, what is the purpose of the key? To process data in whatever way the current application determines is appropriate.

  • by sandeeparora78,

    sandeeparora78 sandeeparora78 Feb 20, 2015 6:06 PM in response to timnicholson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 20, 2015 6:06 PM in response to timnicholson

    So Finally can u explain will the Enter key work to open the files or not ?

  • by swatibajaj,

    swatibajaj swatibajaj Apr 1, 2016 2:33 AM in response to Camelot
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iCloud
    Apr 1, 2016 2:33 AM in response to Camelot

    It is natural for most % of people to understand that when a folder is touched with finger on any smart phone screen it opens the folder and similarly it comes in mind by default that when enter key is pressed on a folder it should open the folder... i.e. I enter a new level or I execute the command or execute the app/file.


    For me Enter key is for execution. To go to the next level.

  • by itstonycap,

    itstonycap itstonycap Apr 6, 2016 5:44 PM in response to timnicholson
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 6, 2016 5:44 PM in response to timnicholson

    I agree with you entirely!!! The best answer so far!!  hands down

  • by itstonycap,

    itstonycap itstonycap Apr 6, 2016 5:38 PM in response to dhirajkumar
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 6, 2016 5:38 PM in response to dhirajkumar

    That is correct.

  • by dcinpa,

    dcinpa dcinpa Jul 5, 2016 1:36 AM in response to itstonycap
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 5, 2016 1:36 AM in response to itstonycap

    I am about a week into using my first Mac, coming from Windows.  And while I would very much like to be able to customize the Enter key in Finder to enter folders and execute files, I certainly wouldn't want to force that choice on folks that prefer to use Cmd-O or Cmd-Down.  I think the 'key' here is that we'd all like to be able to use the software in the way it feels most comfortable to us.

     

     

    I'm sure I'll learn the Mac keystrokes eventually.  It would be somewhat easier if there were more customization available.  But it's not the end of the world, and certainly not worth some of the name-calling I've seen here and in other threads.  I'm very grateful to the help I've gotten here from the long-time Mac users.

     

     

    Thanks,

    Doug

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