Submission details
Finder: No way to refresh a window
There is no way to refresh a Finder window's view. This is a big problem particularly when accessing network volumes when other people or processes have modified files, because the current view of a folder cannot be relied upon to reflect the actual contents of the shared folder.
A related problem is that when 'Calculate all sizes' is turned on in List view, the sizes do not automatically update if another application or user modifies the enclosed files. Often a folder is shown as being 'Zero KB' even though it contains items. Pressing Command-I or Get Info does not force a refresh and still displayes Zero KB even when the folder contains items.
Add a Refresh Window menu item and keyboard shortcut.
(Apple's KnowledgeBase suggests opening the folder, creating a new folder inside then trashing the new folder, which will force the Finder to update the folder's size. Apart from being a pain in the neck, this is not possible if you don't have write access to the folder.)
High
High
Not fixed
Discussion (5 comments)
The finder window auto refreshes, for instance in a network volume if changes are made on the host computer of the network volume they will appear instantly in the Finder. This has been true for me since Tiger. Leopard is even better. I have seen it work, I have tested it. It works flawlessly.
The host computer must also be running Tiger or Leopard for auto-refresh to occur. In the real world, 95% of network servers do not run Apple software. Hence the need for utilities like Refresh Finder which Grey_Podder so kindly mentions. This utility would simply not exist if Leopard was flawless.
Apple even have a page relating to the problem, with no proper solution:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302902
Unfortunately, Refresh Finder still does not refresh the file sizes for folders. It only refreshes the number of items in the window, not file sizes.
If i'm not mistaken, Finder refreshes when you activate the window. I usually mount smb network drives and I only need to select any other window or the desktop and select back the first window to refresh it.
This issue is an incredible good example for screwing up the whole "What You See Is What You Get" philosophy of modern operating systems! I recommend using a different file manager anyway (e.g. PathFinder) due to all the other flaws finder has (e.g. still Carbon!?).
Grey_Podder wrote on October 1, 2008, 5:36am
I know you want this to be part of the OS, but there is a third-party utility.
Refresh Finder: http://www.soderhavet.com/refresh/