Mavericks Finder - how default to "double click opens new window"?

I need open the folders in new windows too, taps are not a option to my work.

Apple, we need it again please.

And I thought the doing away of coloured labels was awful,but here is another bad Apple that's been forced upon us...........

There was nothing wrong,but everything right,with the double clicking on a folder to bring up a new folder. Not only that,but let's say we have the Applications folder open,and then go to the menu bar (and I used to do this) and click on 'Go' and select another folder,even this way does not bring up the new folder of my choice. The existing folder changes. It's ridiculous beyond belief.

I have let Apple know my annoyance about this.

I have also contacted utilities developers (Onyx/MacUtil and others) to ask if they can find a solution to this pain in the backside problem.

You can double click to open, .........if you hold down the CMD key.

Id be betting an option for this is added soon for simplex double-click to open 😍

Hi...see my responses in bold in quote area below:

Wizard_Magic_Spell wrote:

And I thought the doing away of coloured labels was awful,but here is another bad Apple that's been forced upon us...........

There was nothing wrong,but everything right,with the double clicking on a folder to bring up a new folder.

It still does this, as far as I can see....you dbl click and a new folder opens separately

Not only that,but let's say we have the Applications folder open,and then go to the menu bar (and I used to do this) and click on 'Go' and select another folder,even this way does not bring up the new folder of my choice.

it does in my mavericks and 'open folder in tabs instead of new windows' is checked.

Am i missing something here?????

The existing folder changes.

the apps folder changes?.....guess this is not what is happening to me. It is all just like it used to be in snow leopard for me:

I have 'Open folders in tabs instead of new windows' checked.

still that does not happen unless, one command clicks to open a folder in an open window.

or if I command t a window to create a tab, then i can drag other windows into that window and it makes tabs....

It's ridiculous beyond belief.

I have let Apple know my annoyance about this.

I have also contacted utilities developers (Onyx/MacUtil and others) to ask if they can find a solution to this pain in the backside problem.

Just to clarify, since I've seen one or two people on the threat mention it seeming to work normally under Mavericks... The majority of users on the thread (including myself) are saying the following.

1. If you double click a folder to open (not the hard drive on the desktop, but any typical folder on your heirarchy, it does not open in a new window, and there is no way to open it in a new window unless the keyboard is used in addition (or the gesture + conextual menu approach). The idea is to be able to simply double click and it pops up. If you are experiencing this as working, then you're seeing something which is not the standard. If you could find some way to reproduce this on other macs besides yours running Mavericks, by all means... tell us!

2. Arguably just as important for me, command-O should simply open in a new window as it used to, not command+control+O. Same argument with this.. if you're seeing it work for you, then please let us know if you can reproduce it elsewhere.

In both cases, the idea is to be able to do both of those with one hand, no matter what mac you're on. Personally, I spend about 14 hours a day working on a desktop with a wacom tablet. I haven't upgraded that machine to Mavericks, simply because if I can't double tap to open a folder, that wacom tablet becomes 100% useless to me, since a high majority of the time, my left hand is either holding a soda, a phone or something else while I'm navigating through my computer.

After thinking about it a bit, this does give me a thought. Typically in the past, I've seen users frustrated with some of the changes in how Apple updates their OS X UI/UX. I've personally remembered minor things like this happening a number of times and usually the answer was doing a "defaults write xxxx" setting via command line.

Does anyone here know enough about the Finder NSGlobal settings like that to see if maybe some of the users who are experiencing the old functionality in Mavericks perhaps have a setting like that which didn't update like the rest of us upon upgrade (and as a result, have things working how we would expect them to)?

See answers in bold:

Alex Geis wrote:

Just to clarify, since I've seen one or two people on the threat mention it seeming to work normally under Mavericks... The majority of users on the thread (including myself) are saying the following.

1. If you double click a folder to open (not the hard drive on the desktop,

(---This is all in 'icon' view----:

AND...all the folders have the tool bar at top and the side bar:)

even a desktop folder you are referring to above? I have 4 desktop folders, for example. When i dbl click them. they each open in a new separate window. the preferences are set to 'open folders in tabs instead of new windows'. that does not happen.

otherwise, if a window is open, with folders in it, if I dbl click one of those folders it opens that folder and the old window is not showing, as the new folder's things are now showing....like has always been the case.

however if i dbl click a folder in an open window, while folding down the command key, then it becomes a tab. In the past it would have become another separate window, which it will also do now, if the 'open folder in tabs....' option is un-checked.

but any typical folder on your heirarchy, it does not open in a new window, and there is no way to open it in a new window unless the keyboard is used in addition (or the gesture + conextual menu approach).

The idea is to be able to simply double click and it pops up. If you are experiencing this as working, then you're seeing something which is not the standard.

yes, this is what is happening in mavericks.

If you could find some way to reproduce this on other macs besides yours running Mavericks, by all means... tell us!

2. Arguably just as important for me, command-O should simply open in a new window as it used to,

yes, that is what it does...

so maybe something is wrong w my mavericks.....

other than above the only other way I get tabs is if I drag a window on top of another window, then there are now two tabs, howerer that only happens, when the tab option to the tool bar has been activated by doing shift cmd t.

I think what u r saying is that when I open any of the 4 folders on my desktop, they, in the new mavericks system, would all open in one window as tabs.....

ain't happening.

BTW...thanks for writing all this out....really appreciate.

I know it used to be, if you had your windows configured such that the tool bar on top and the side bar was not showing, whenever you clicked a folder in that window, a new window would popup. that still happens (configure a window like that by doing cmd opt t) , but the new window that pops ups has lost that configuration, and now does have a tool bar and side bar. and when you dbl click a folder in it, a new folder does not popup, but instead, the contents of that folder is now showing.

oh boy.....

not command+control+O. Same argument with this.. if you're seeing it work for you, then please let us know if you can reproduce it elsewhere.

In both cases, the idea is to be able to do both of those with one hand, no matter what mac you're on. Personally, I spend about 14 hours a day working on a desktop with a wacom tablet. I haven't upgraded that machine to Mavericks, simply because if I can't double tap to open a folder, that wacom tablet becomes 100% useless to me, since a high majority of the time, my left hand is either holding a soda, a phone or something else while I'm navigating through my computer.

I have sent feedback on this to Apple already, too.

So let's all send feedback to have some impact on this:

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

Also, I have asked Tran Ky Nam Software to consider building in the classic folder-window behavior for the Finder in their free product "XtraFinder":

http://www.trankynam.com/xtrafinder/

(XtraFinder is a free tool that induces features into the Finder while it's running,

like it added tabbed windows to Mountain Lion Finder already - hence the opposite of what we need now 🙂)

>>...the plist entry that controlled this setting in Mountain Lion...

Workgroup Manager for 10.9 still shows the always in a new window option, and alters FinderSpawnWindow and ...-immutable, but to no effect that I see, regardless of the FinderSpawnTab setting. The first one is brought over to Mavericks from an earlier OS X when migrating a user account.

I wish Apple wouldn't change the fundamental functions of the Finder like this. First, they reversed the scroll button directions then they changed the default double-click to open a folder in a new window function.

I'm just glad that they don't make cars otherwise we would have the brake and accelerator pedal functions reversed (with a pull on the wiper lever to revert to the original) !

I think, this is really the easiest for Apple to change this behavior.

Its only the control of the command key.

For example they could change the behavior in reverse order.

When I want to open folders in the SAME window, I need to press command.

But the best way would be a new checkmark in Finder preferences.

I hope, Apple will agree and make this real. It should be very little work for the developer.

Thanks dobrojoe. Actually, your car analogy is what this is all about. If a company cares about users, it doesn't make a change just for the sake of change that wipes out thirty years of muscle memory.

Further, how many people--EVER--were saying "It just doesn't make sense to double click on a folder and to have that folder open in a new Finder window? I wish Apple would make people holder the command key while double-clicking?" How about none. Zero. Ever.

For people with hundreds or thousands of active files, they are opening folders in new Finder windows all the time. Adding the command key (or secondary mouse click + contextual menu) to this simple action is ridiculous. How is this a benefit to anyone?

BTW--as someone who does manage hundreds of very active files and thousands of semi-active files, I can't think of one single use for tabs in Finder windows. At least there's a checkbox under Finder > Preferences > General.

And don't lecture me about the proper use of these forums. I've already submitted a an Apple Feedback report. I'm really PO'd.

Inexcusably presumptuous for Apple to remove this long-standing Finder behaviour. I need it back... please.

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

You can double click to open, .........if you hold down the CMD key.

Id be betting an option for this is added soon for simplex double-click to open 😍

You are completely missing the point to this thread. No one should have to hold the command key to double click to open a folder in a new window. That was the core functionality of the OS since the very beginning, and Apple removed it to force people into a single-window environment. Even their new tab feature requires you to hold command to open a folder in a new tab. You should not have to use a key-modifier to open folders. Tabs are not useful because most prefer to see the contents of the other folder for dragging and dropping of files to manage their documents. That was the way it has always been. They need to restore the feature they removed (Always open a folder in a new window), without requiring key-modifiers to do it. Why Apple is copying Microsoft Windows with the single-window environment is beyond any comprehension. Not many want folders to look and function like a web-browser. If people want that, fine. But don't remove the core functionality of window behavior in order to do it, or require people to use key-modifiers to do it, which results in extra unnecessary steps.

If you take a folder out of your drawer and place it on your desk, you have a folder to work with. If you take another folder out of your drawer, you don't place it into the same folder to work with it. You work with it separately, and that allows you to move files between those two (or more) folders. A single-window environment does not make sense for a workflow. Forcing people to use a key-modifier every time they want to open a folder as a new window (or even as a tab) is not efficient. People do use their Macs for serious work, not just internet browsing.

This is why I rolled back to 10.8.5. I am not doing extra keystrokes or steps to get my work done.