John Dorsey

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

I am old and set in my ways.  I like having the Finder open a new window when I double click a folder.  Since 1984 I've arranged Finder windows in positions and sizes that suit me and I have never seen any reason to change.

 

In Mavericks however there does not seem to be a way to default to, "double click opens new Finder window".  My choices under Finder preferences are, open in the same window; or open in a tab.  I don't care for either.

 

Does anyone know of a way to restore the traditional Finder behavior in Mavericks?  Thanks in advance.

Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9), 18 GB RAM

Posted on Oct 22, 2013 5:54 PM

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

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  • by John Dorsey,

    John Dorsey John Dorsey Jan 7, 2014 12:02 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 2 (426 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 12:02 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    I am the original poster.

     

    I want to do one simple thing, which is to double-click a folder in a Finder window and have the folder open into a new window.  I do not want to open the folder into the current window or into a tab.  "Open into same window" may have been the default since Snow Leopard, but it is only with Mavericks that the original, well-understood and widely employed "open into new Finder window" option has been removed entirely.

     

    I know that I can use a modifier key to spawn a new folder window, or I can remove the (otherwise useful) toolbar and sidebar from each of my (hundreds of!) Finder windows to force the behavior, but I do not want to do either.  I want to be able to use one finger to double click a folder, in a fully-functioning Finder window, and get a new window.  Just like I'd been doing for 30 years.

     

    I am sure that Apple has its reasons for shifting the Finder paradigm on us, and if they want to create tabbed windows or fuss with default behaviors, it's fine with me.  What I don't understand is why Apple removed a very simple switch in the Finder interface that allowed me, without much trouble, to do what I'd been doing for so long.  Now I have to jump through hoops and it's a PITA.

     

    (I have filed feedback on this issue and urge all other posters to do as well.)

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Jan 7, 2014 12:19 PM in response to John Dorsey
    Level 8 (37,897 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 12:19 PM in response to John Dorsey

    I want to be able to use one finger to double click a folder, in a fully-functioning Finder window, and get a new window.  Just like I'd been doing for 30 years.

    Then please read my post again. It describes what to do to get Mavericks to do exactly what you want. With the Toolbar hidden, double clicking any nested folder will open in its own window without having to hold down a modifier key. It's not difficult, just annoying to first have to hide the Toolbar of each folder window one at a time. There doesn't seem to be a way to keep it hidden on all folders without manually hiding them folder by folder.

  • by John Dorsey,

    John Dorsey John Dorsey Jan 7, 2014 12:28 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 2 (426 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 12:28 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Yes, I saw that, and I said that I do not want to 1) have to accept a less-than-fully-functioning Finder window to accomplish this or, assuming that I didn't mind the compromise, 2) laboriously reconfigure a couple hundred (or more) Finder windows.

     

    This simple thing used to be simple.  Now it's not.  I don't get it!

  • by Adam Woodhams,

    Adam Woodhams Adam Woodhams Jan 7, 2014 12:46 PM in response to John Dorsey
    Level 1 (30 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 12:46 PM in response to John Dorsey

    John Dorsey wrote:

     

    This simple thing used to be simple.  Now it's not.  I don't get it!

    Bingo!
    The OS 'upgrade', 'advancement' and 'improvement' has created a significant productivity decrease for many users.
    Apple were also deceitful by omission in not telling users in any way that they had removed long-standing and well used functionality from the OS.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Jan 7, 2014 12:52 PM in response to John Dorsey
    Level 8 (37,897 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 12:52 PM in response to John Dorsey

    1) have to accept a less-than-fully-functioning Finder window to accomplish this or, assuming that I didn't mind the compromise

    A Finder window that isn't behaving as you would prefer by default isn't the same as less-than-fully-functioning. It functions just fine. And not just fine, but with more options than in previous versions of the Mac OS. If you like them, that is. Personally, I don't, either. I much prefer the simplicity of OS 9 and set up every folder I use on my drives to behave that way.

     

    Manually changing every single one? Why? If it's a folder I would normally never open, like the hundreds/thousands in the System and main Library folders, and even my user account, why bother? Change them when you need to.

    2) laboriously reconfigure a couple hundred (or more) Finder windows.

    Couldn't agree more on that point. But until, and if Apple provides a way to create different folder defaults, you can only work with what is available. No amount of wishing will make the behavior of the OS magically change to any user's liking.

  • by petermac87,

    petermac87 petermac87 Jan 7, 2014 12:52 PM in response to Adam Woodhams
    Level 5 (7,402 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 12:52 PM in response to Adam Woodhams

    Adam Woodhams wrote:

     

    Apple were also deceitful by omission in not telling users in any way that they had removed long-standing and well used functionality from the OS.

    OS X Mavericks adds new features and capabilities to everything from the apps you use every day to the technologies that power your Mac. All of which make Mavericks our most advanced OS yet.

    Finder

    Tabs

    Finder Tabs make it easier than ever to manage files in the Finder. With tabs, you can consolidate all your Finder windows into one.

    Merge all windows

    To consolidate your Finder windows into a single window with tabs, go to the Window menu and choose Merge All Windows.

    Drag to create a window

    Create a new Finder window by dragging a tab out.

    Customise view per tab

    For each tab, you can select the view that’s most helpful to you. Keep one tab in icon view, for example, and another in list, column or Cover Flow view.

    Drag to reorder

    Drag tabs left or right to put them exactly where you want them.

    Spring-loaded drag and drop

    Easily move or copy a file from one location to another. Drag and hold a file on a tab and it will spring open so you can drop the file into any subfolder in another tab.

    Tag files

    You can tag a file from the Finder. Just select the file and click the new Tag button in the toolbar.

    Sort by tag

    The Finder includes the option to sort by tag so you can easily find the files you’re looking for.

    Full screen

    You can now use the Finder as a full-screen app and easily access all your folders with Finder Tabs. When you take the Finder full screen, it moves to its own space. You can swipe back and forth between the Finder and your other apps.

    Drag to resize columns

    In list view, you can resize a column by dragging the edge until it’s exactly the right size.

    This seemed to cover all the new features in Mavericks Finder.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Jan 7, 2014 12:54 PM in response to Adam Woodhams
    Level 8 (37,897 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 12:54 PM in response to Adam Woodhams

    Apple were also deceitful by omission in not telling users in any way that they had removed long-standing and well used functionality from the OS.

    Please stop the false rhetoric. Nothing is missing. It's just not the default behavior. If you can actually describe something that is missing, name it.

  • by Adam Woodhams,

    Adam Woodhams Adam Woodhams Jan 7, 2014 12:54 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (30 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 12:54 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Kurt Lang wrote:

     

    Anyway, to answer the OP (Original Poster), you appear to be looking for a way to make Mavericks' folders behave the same way as OS 9 and earlier. It's actually rather easy.

     

    This is not about a pre-OSX function, this is about what could quite rightly be described as core finder functionality that has been pointlessly removed in the latest version of OSX.
    It has been in the OS since get-go and remained in OSX for 11 major revisions before Apple decided to needlessly strip it out without reason or warning.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Jan 7, 2014 12:58 PM in response to Adam Woodhams
    Level 8 (37,897 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 12:58 PM in response to Adam Woodhams

    Again, name it. "pointlessly removed" and "needlessly strip it out" is not an explanation of anything.

  • by petermac87,

    petermac87 petermac87 Jan 7, 2014 1:00 PM in response to Adam Woodhams
    Level 5 (7,402 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 1:00 PM in response to Adam Woodhams

    Adam Woodhams wrote:

     

     

    This is not about a pre-OSX function, this is about what could quite rightly be described as core finder functionality that has been pointlessly removed in the latest version of OSX.
    It has been in the OS since get-go and remained in OSX for 11 major revisions before Apple decided to needlessly strip it out without reason or warning.

    You know that no one here can tell you why Apple decided to remove it, so I do not know why you keep jumping in and repeating yourself and acting like it is the fault of someone here. Options have been suggested, there is nothing more you can be told. As mentioned many times, if you have a beef with Apple then tell them.

     

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

     

    Cheers

     

    Pete

  • by John Dorsey,

    John Dorsey John Dorsey Jan 7, 2014 1:23 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 2 (426 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 1:23 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    An OS X window that lacks toolbar and sidebar features affords fewer functions than the default OS X window and is therefore, by defintion, not "fully functioning".  It might have been fully functioning in 1999, or 2002 (whenever it was that OS X introduced these features), but it is not that today.

     

    Yes, there is something missing from Mavericks, which was present in Lion and all the other cats, and in the Classic OS all the way back to System 1.0, namely, the option to choose that a double-click on a folder in a stock Finder window would spawn a new window for that folder.  We had that option before, and now we do not.  It is "missing". 

     

    I don't understand why this is controversial.  It's very simple.  There used to be a selection available in the Finder's preferences to do things in a particular way.  Apple - fully within its rights of course but inscrutably - removed that option in Mavericks.  We can't do what we used to be able to do, at least not without rejiggering a bunch of windows to look like they looked in OS 9 circa 1997.

     

    Thank you for your post explaining how to recover some of the lost functionality.  The no-toolbar trick, described a while back in this thread, is helpful and I have employed it in a couple of places, but it is at best a kludge, a second- or third-best workaround.

     

    Finally I'm not "wishing" for anything.  I've reported my concerns to Apple and they'll change it back or they won't.  I won't sue them, or drop back to Lion, or buy a Dell.  I'll get used to it.  But I'll forever be mystified by this weird little undocumented tweak to the Finder's behavior that wasn't hurting anyone and is a pain in the keister to work around.

  • by Adam Woodhams,

    Adam Woodhams Adam Woodhams Jan 7, 2014 1:19 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (30 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 1:19 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Kurt Lang wrote:

     

     

    Please stop the false rhetoric. Nothing is missing. It's just not the default behavior. If you can actually describe something that is missing, name it.

    I beg your pardon? (!!!)

     

    - You can no longer have the system open folders in a fully-functional new window. That has been a long standing function, some users say since System 1 in 1984.

    - You can no longer tag folders with highlighted coloured labels.

     

    These are  two MISSING functions that  impact my productivity & I am sure other users have found there have been other functions removed that impact on their workflow.

     

    To argue that they are not removed just changed is to use weasel words.

    If a long-standing function is gone & replaced with an inefficient & inferior substitute then that, by my definition, is 'missing'.
    Kurt Lang if I took your dual 27" LCD monitors and replaced them with a 9" monochrome CRT has your monitor gone missing?
    Technically no.

    But you have been forced to take a backwards step which is a poor substitute for the previous arrangment and it will impact on your workflow & productivity.

  • by petermac87,

    petermac87 petermac87 Jan 7, 2014 1:23 PM in response to Adam Woodhams
    Level 5 (7,402 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 1:23 PM in response to Adam Woodhams

    To be 'Missing' they needed to be there in the first place.

     

    Mavericks 10.9  =  Never there

     

    Mountain Lion 10.8 - 10.8.5   = Still there

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Jan 7, 2014 1:25 PM in response to Adam Woodhams
    Level 8 (37,897 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 1:25 PM in response to Adam Woodhams

    You can no longer have the system open folders in a fully-functional new window.

    Okay, you've shown me that you have trouble reading, or at least comprehending. I fully explained how to get folders in Mavericks to do exactly that what the OP is looking for, and is the same as the pre OS X Mac OS. It's not as simple as it should, or preferably be, but it's there. Read my post again.

    You can no longer tag folders with highlighted coloured labels.

    Different, yes. Gone, no. Admittedly a bit of hair splitting, but it isn't gone.

  • by John Dorsey,

    John Dorsey John Dorsey Jan 7, 2014 1:30 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 2 (426 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2014 1:30 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Kurt Lang wrote:

     

    I fully explained how to get folders in Mavericks to do exactly that what the OP is looking for, and is the same as the pre OS X Mac OS.

     

    I am the OP, and what you have explained how to do is not what I am looking to do.  I'd say we could agree to disagree on this point, but I'm afraid I hold the trump card here!

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