Save Finder window size

Create a new folder on the Desktop (CMD+SHIFT+N), open it, select View-View Options (CMD+J), set the window to your desired size and type view (either icon or list view: I prefer the latter), select always open, and then click Use as Defaults button. That should retain your setting and every other folder you open for the first time should also inherit those settings.

Once you sort this issue out, see these:

Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
Mac 101: Mac Essentials,
Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts,
Anatomy of a Mac,
MacTips,
Switching to Mac Superguide, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Lion Edition. (Applies until the Mtn Lion edition ships)

Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:

Quick Assist,
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

It's maddening that Mavericks doesn't remember Finder window size after re-boot or re-launch.

I suggest everyone submit a report to Apple, and hopefully they'll fix this:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

I'm sick of having to manually resize windows and sidebars all the time.

You might want to consider starting a new discussion. Since this one is a couple of years old and marked solved, less people are likely to look at it. You can link to this one. Post in the Yosemite community.

OS X Yosemite

I'm trying to do the exact same thing; however, feeling a little stupid here. After opening the View Options (CMD+J) and setting the window to my desired size and type view, and then selecting "always open in column view" in View Options, I don't see any option to select or click "Use as Defaults button" that is described above in this post. I'm using Mountain Lion. This obviously worked for AndreGB...what am I doing wrong? Appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks.

Got a similar problem here. When I try to follow your steps, the "use as defaults" button is either greyed out (list view) or doesn't affect future folders (icon view), at least regarding the folders size (which is the most important factor for me)...

Please Help!

Above Solution Steps I've used for years to get windows to default to list view, never noticed the process holding the size of the window.

I've always found it necessary to resize a window manually, close it, then reopen to verify the size was remembered, always did; never was concerned about new windows as I would just follow these resize steps once.

Now I'm on a brand new iMac running 10.8.4 and finding my window resize process works for most windows, but not my internal hard drive when opened from the Desktop or the Applications folder when opened from the Dock. All other window sizes and positions are remembered including Finder, Utilities, Downloads from the Dock, any folder or drive on the Desktop, etc.

Went to my 10.8.2 laptop and seeing the same thing - default size is always a smallish window (even when I follow the Solution Steps) which is fine, but Macintosh HD will not remember resized window using any steps once I logout/restart/shutdown.

Went back to my old iMac to verify I'm not crazy, and the Mac HD size and position is remembered as is the Applications folder when opened from the Dock.

Another clue to solving this is when a new session is started and the Mac HD window is opened, not only does it not remember the last size of the window, the smaller "default" window is always centered on the screen, it doesn't remember the last position either; same with the Applications.

I realize the original poster wanted a particular size to be remembered even if a resize occurred, and I don't, but is the issue I've explained (Mac HD window size and placement when opened from the Desktop and Applications folder when opened from Dock don't hold after a session) a fixable issue?

Ran these steps in multiple accounts on the newest iMac and MacBook Pro, same issue, so it appears to be the two machines since my third one doesn't exhibit this behavior.

"When I try to follow your steps, the "use as defaults" button is either greyed out (list view) or doesn't affect future folders (icon view), at least regarding the folders size"

hahah, mine is grayed out for icon view and doesn't hold for list view. Apple!? Please tell me the new finder in 10.9 is fixed.

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.

Re-launch Finder by logging out/in and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.

If the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer ones.

Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.

You might need to redo the View settings after an update.

If you just want to resize the Finder window and have it open in a specific location here is what you do:

-Open a Finder window by clicking on the Desktop and then using Command-N or File>New Window. Keyboard commands are faster.

-Without doing anything else go down to the lower right corner and size the window the way you want. Then grab the top of the window and position it where you want.

-Press and hold Command-W and the window will close. Don't use the red button in the upper left corner. Always use Command-W.

-Wait a couple of seconds and open the finder window again. It should open to where you just positioned it. If it doesn't then repeat the above and wait longer after closing the window.

This will work for any hard drive you have on your dock, I have Finder windows open in different locations for different drives, and using the Picasso Mac in your Dock, the blue smiley face, should open a different window depending on the OS you are using, and how you have your Mac set up. This may reset after a restart. It does with OS 10.6.8.

I followed the step for saving the list view as a default and then resized the window to what I wanted. But it did not stick until I went to finder>preferences>general and un-ticked the box "Open Folders in Tabs instead to new Windows". Then the folder size stayed the same.

I have had this same problem since "upgrading" to Yosemite, now to 10.10.3. and the steps outlined don't work.

I can't follow the instructions given to create a new folder etc., as the options aren't there, presumably because Yosemite has changed them.

Create a new folder on the Desktop (CMD+SHIFT+N), open it, select View-View Options (CMD+J), set the window to your desired size and type view (either icon or list view: I prefer the latter), select always open, and then click Use as Defaults button. That should retain your setting and every other folder you open for the first time should also inherit those settings.

I can't now follow these parts:

" (either icon or list view: I prefer the latter), select always open, and then click Use as Defaults button."

There is no option for icon or list view. There is a always open in columns view but no Use as Defaults button.

Also, I would like the width of each column to be as wide as the widest text in any given column. Why doesn't OSX do this automatically?

Is there a solution as its a real pain to constantly widen these?

Yes, I get the little window pop up when I hit ⌘J but it doesn't look like the one in your screen grab. Mine is quite minimal. There's several things apparently missing.

I also still haven't found a way to keep the column widths to the longest folder name or file name in a column.