Forwarding Address: OS X

Friday, October 08, 2004

The Finder and directory traversal

Over on AnandTech Anand Lal Shimpi has written an excellent, seriously in-depth article on a die-hard Windows user's first foray into OS X:  A Month with a Mac: A Die-Hard PC User's Perspective. Great reading, even for Mac power users. Until I read Anand's article I had no idea that you could traverse the Finder's folders with Cmd-arrow keys: Command-Down arrow to open a folder (the same as Command-O) and Command-Up arrow to move up a level.

It's moments like this that make me love OS X.

posted by Chris at 6:56 PM

4 Comments:

  • I'm not trying to sound smug, but Command Up/Down arrow has been a means of traveling up & down the Finder since System 7 (6? 5? dunno, but it's been awhile).

    Just like the backspace key goes up in Windows Explorer (Windows equivalent of the Mac Finder).

    By Blogger Clay, at 9:58 PM  

  • So I've learned. Nex they'll be telling me "Cmd-W to close a window". Ha! Imagine, Cmd-W.

    By Blogger Chris, at 10:25 PM  

  • One thing this illustrates is how Help has gone downhill. Pre-OSX there used to be a nice little help item for keyboard shortcuts in the Finder. Other good ones that have been around since System 7: cmd-opt-up goes to parent folder and closes the child window behind you; cmd-opt-down opens the selected folder and closes the parent window; cmd-right expands the selected folder (in list view), cmd-left collapses it; cmd-opt-right expands the selected folder and all subfolders; cmd-opt-left collapses the selected folder and all subfolders. These last for work in a lot of programs with outline view, e.g. OmniOutliner.

    By Blogger pbx, at 6:46 AM  

  • great post as usual!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:05 AM  

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