Column view shifts (OS X)

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Level 1

5 points

Column view shifts (OS X)

I have a MacBook Pro, OS X (10.6.8). I am having a frustrating issue where I need some help. I'll give a scenario to demonstrate what problem I'm having:

- Let's say that I open a folder on my desktop. I have all of my folders in column view, which is the way I prefer it.

- I shift to a subfolder, usually by striking the left or right arrow keys. Everything works fine.

- Say, for example, I have a file on my desktop that I want to transfer to a subfolder within the already-opened folder.

- As soon as I drop the file in the subfolder, the window automatically shift/slides/reverts back to the main folder, while keeping open all of the other subfolders. The "main" folder is in view, however. So, I have to manually slide back to the subfolder if I want to add more files to that subfolder.

*Note: I find that when I have a thumb drive open to column view and move a file from that to a subfolder, the folder into which it is moved doesn't shift back to the main folder. The window remains with the subfolder as the folder in view. This doesn't work if I, say, want to move a file from my desktop to a subfolder by opening the desktop folder and manually moving files. It still retracts back to the first folder opened. This is not consistent, but it does happen.

*I have also found that if I search for a subfolder and then try to move a file into that folder, the window remains stable.

I hope I've provided enough detail to my issue. Thank you in advance for your time and help!

Posted on Jun 25, 2014 6:14 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 25, 2014 12:00 PM in response to zogite

I'm not seeing that specific behavior in Mavericks but on my old Snow Leopard install I see what you are describing.I do see other issues with column view in Mavericks where it keeps hiding the folders I want to view. I use Moom to get around this, but Moom requires 10.7 or higher.

List view does not have this problem.

Try this workaround. On a large monitor it's less than a desirable, but see if it works. Make the window as wide as the screen. Now move an item into the subfolder. Did it slide over?

If you have the disk space you could install a test partition with Mavericks and play around with it to see if it works for you. You can do this with 30GB partition. You need breathing room for your current Snow Leopard install of a minimum of 10GB free.

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Answer 2

Jun 25, 2014 1:24 PM in response to zogite

Have you tried dragging the file from the Desktop column into the Subfolder on the Path Bar? I set up a folder on my desktop and a few subfolders in that folder. I made sure I clicked View>Show Path Bar first, which shows the Path Bar at the bottom of the Finder Window. Now, when I drag a file, in my case a JPEG, from the Desktop Column down to the Subfolder I want in the Path Bar, the subfolder remains selected. Of course, you will need to navigate to the subfolder first and then drag the file into the subfolder on the Path Bar.

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Answer 3

zogite Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 30, 2014 4:35 PM in response to montyspyder

I'm afraid that neither of these suggestions helped. I tried both and they still kept on taking me back to the "root" folder (i.e. the folder I originally opened). Each of the subfolders remain gray highlighted, as they are open. I'm just still being taken back to the first folder I opened after dropping new files into subfolders. It's just a small thing, I know, but it's becoming increasingly annoying. I wish I knew what triggers the change, when I move files from a thumb drive to a subfolder, as the subfolder folder remains in view and active. Any other suggestions?

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Answer 4

zzz333

Level 1

0 points

Mar 29, 2015 8:59 AM in response to zogite

I have this problem also. Sometimes I am eight, nine, or more subfolders deep into column view. When I add an item to that subfolder the window shifts back to the original folder. This has cost me countless amounts of time and no one seems to have the answer. I even visited the Apple store and the person that I spoke with could not help. If anyone has the answer, PLEASE post. Thank you

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