Aqua Taskforce

craig wrote on October 24, 2008, 6:19pm

I agree the two should behave the same -- pressing the button or choosing from the menu.

However, I think a folder's default display mode should apply when I open a new finder window on that folder. If I'm navigating within a finder window (back, or view menu) then I think the view mode (list, icons, columns) should stay the same as I navigate

ebaur wrote on October 24, 2008, 10:11pm

The fact is that the Finder is very non-obvious as to how it decides what view to use. I've played with it enough, that I think I get it...

But, being able to explain it doesn't make it "right" by any means. Apple needs to make it more clear what will be a permanent change and what will be temporary/

mojo2012 wrote on October 25, 2008, 7:47pm

What about making an "explorer mode" which uses a specific view mode, and an "folder mode" which alway uses the view mode of the chosen folder?

polycat33 wrote on October 26, 2008, 1:36am

I agree that if you're in a certain view mode and you nagivate around within that window, it should stay in the current view mode. It would be very odd for you to be navigating around in a certain mode and have it suddenly change just because you went to a folder whose default view mode was different than the one you were using. I think that would be much more inconsistent - imagine going through many many folders navigating this way, with each folder having a different view mode than the last. That just seems like a mess to me.

ebaur wrote on October 26, 2008, 1:43am

Part of the issue here is that many Mac users (especially those used to classic Mac OS) expect that the windows will change.

Or, to put it another way that might make more sense... in classic Mac OS, each window kept track of it's own style, position, etc. The idea that one window could affect another seemed weird for many (most?) users when the new Finder came out.

For an *extensive* discussion of this, read John Siracusa's article at http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/finder.ars/1

migueld wrote on December 13, 2008, 9:53pm

Guys, if you have a folder full of folders, and you want it in list view because of date and size attributes for example, why would you ever want the Finder to mess with it with, say, cover flow?

Some folders have interchangeable views, and some don't. I have picture folders set in icon view, and I don't want them in anything else period. I have folders with folders set in list view, and I don't want them in icon view or coverflow, period.

The Finder should respect views that are explicitly specified by the user.