Q: Is Sierra's Finder icon view sort broken?

It looks like Sierra's Finder icon view has changed its sort arrangement to left to right across rows by default, which is a lot harder to read. Has anyone figured out how to set it back to sorting down the columns?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Oct 13, 2016 8:53 AM

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Q: Is Sierra's Finder icon view sort broken?

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by trevoz,Helpful

trevoz Oct 21, 2016 6:58 AM in response to Keith Culotta2
Level 4 (1,822 points)

Mac OS X

Oct 21, 2016 6:58 AM in response to Keith Culotta2

I believe this is the default -- both my wife's Mavericks system and my Sierra system defaulted to this.
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by Keith Culotta2,

Keith Culotta2 Oct 21, 2016 6:59 AM in response to trevoz
Level 1 (18 points)

Desktops

Oct 21, 2016 6:59 AM in response to trevoz

If I look back to 10.6. the sort order is down the column. It was down the column in 10.11, for my environment at least, and changed after the 10.12 update. Older systems now sort across the rows, too. Either I had not resorted since 10.6, or the last update for recent systems changed the default sort. I have a 10.6 system that still sorts down the column. Either way, it's a lot more difficult to find files now.
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by dialabrain,

dialabrain Oct 21, 2016 7:07 AM in response to Keith Culotta2
Level 5 (6,783 points)

Mac App Store

Oct 21, 2016 7:07 AM in response to Keith Culotta2

FWIW, every version of OSX until Sierra could sort by columns in icon view. Whether it's a change or an oversight I can't say.

As far as it being easier to read, I'm just glad libraries and bookstores don't sort by columns.
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by tygb ,

tygb Oct 21, 2016 7:19 AM in response to Keith Culotta2
Level 2 (418 points)

Mac OS X

Oct 21, 2016 7:19 AM in response to Keith Culotta2

Please open finder , and press command + 3 to sort down to column .
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by dialabrain,

dialabrain Oct 21, 2016 7:25 AM in response to tygb
Level 5 (6,783 points)

Mac App Store

Oct 21, 2016 7:25 AM in response to tygb

tygb wrote:

Please open finder , and press command + 3 to sort down to column .

The issue isn't how to use column view. The issue is how to sort by columns while in icon view. Which currently doesn't work in Sierra.
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by Keith Culotta2,

Keith Culotta2 Oct 21, 2016 7:32 AM in response to dialabrain
Level 1 (18 points)

Desktops

Oct 21, 2016 7:32 AM in response to dialabrain

Right about libraries. Maybe the current sort arrangement calls for a "library style vertical text below the icon" to make the ordering appear more uniform.
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by dialabrain,

dialabrain Oct 21, 2016 7:41 AM in response to Keith Culotta2
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Mac App Store

Oct 21, 2016 7:41 AM in response to Keith Culotta2

well, most cultures read from left to right. I don't think I would be comfortable read a book with the words printed vertically.
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by dialabrain,Helpful

dialabrain Oct 21, 2016 7:52 AM in response to dialabrain
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Mac App Store

Oct 21, 2016 7:52 AM in response to dialabrain

tygb, this is what everyone is discussing…
where the names of files are listed vertically. Screenshot from El Capitan.
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Q: Is Sierra's Finder icon view sort broken?

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by trevoz,★Helpful

by Keith Culotta2,

by dialabrain,

by tygb ,

by dialabrain,

by Keith Culotta2,

by dialabrain,

by dialabrain,★Helpful

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by trevoz,Helpful

by dialabrain,Helpful