Submission details
Finder: add "new files" to the context menu
Finder just offers to create a new folder or a "burn folder". But what if I want to create a textfile directly in the window where I am?
Yes, there are some contextual menu enhancers, but as you can see in the image, this not an acceptable workarround.
It would be better if such a "new file" menu would replace the "new (burn) folder" item. The two "new folder" items should be added to this menu instead.
The items shown in that "new file" menu should be customizable via preference pane. So everyone can add those items he or she most needs.
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Not fixed
Discussion (7 comments)
Jup, you're right. THis is windows functionality that Microsoft hasn't looked at yet. Also, on windows it takes ages to load the 'new' context menu (XP can last you three to four second if you just want a new folder). Start the app, save the file. Actually, what you are saying doesn't make a good point anymore. Back in the day when we had five apps, yes, that was usefull (think: Windows 3.x), but nowadays it's useless. Start using the doc, I've got texteditor in there - just one click, and I've got a new empty document to fill in.
If I'm in a folder and suddenly know that I want to make a text file there, I'm much faster, if I just have to right click, select new and new text file. If I have to launch textedit, cmd-s and then navigate to that folder AGAIN, it's costs me much more, that 3-4 seconds.
And btw, I doubt that any recent mac will need 3-4 seconds to show up a menu with a few entries ...
The idea behind this is, that everyone can customize this menu with the entries he/she wants. So if I often want to create new word files, then I would add it, say, via a preference pane.
Changed solution description.
Ouch. If you know you want to make a text file, you don't touch the Finder at all. You launch textedit, make the file and then go where you want to save it. You just turned the process around and forgot about what is what.
The Finder is a file browser and organizer. It doesn't create files. It isn't a launcher - that's what the dock is for. If you start mixing purposes, then it's going to get more complcated. Finder do what Finder does best, Dock do what Dock do best. There's a reason for existence of these concepts.
Another preference pane, another thing people don't really fully understand, another thing you have to teach people. Like I said: you just turned it around. You navigate with the Finder to a folder, and launch textedit from there, make your file and save it. Now look at the way it usually works: you launch text edit, you make the file, click save and then use the built-in Finder-like interface to save it somewhere.
(Just for the record: you are right about the loading because Windows tries to assemble a list of those files on the fly when you select the menu, wich makes it go slow, so the solution of a prefernce pane would m:ake it easier to cache these things, but still you are mixing up purposes).
I don't know what kind of windows machine you use. But on all my machines it never takes more than a second - even on vista ;-).
Organizing files means CREATING, renaming, deleting, moving, copying (and some more) ... at least to me. But I guess because this features has never been there in Finder it should never be.
No comment to the rest: we are all so dumb ... no options anymore. Different ways of doing things should not be supported anymore. This just overstrains people.
Organizing something means taking what you have and putting that in order. It only requires creating new folders to put the existing files in. If you're an accountant and one day you decide to organise your files, you don't make new file s while you're doing it. And if you want a new file you have to grab a sheet of paper and a pen and write it. When you're done, you put it away in your oragnised enviroment...
I want this feature exactly in Finder to create a layout of the few files I want to fill in, in the least possible amount of time. Pure WYSIWYG, jotting down what needs to be there, then filling the contents with the assigned app. I could also copy a template file, but that needs to places to work in.
Oh, and right after creating the file, I'd like Finder to have the new file selected, so I can instantly open and/or rename the little bastard.
ycc2106 wrote on March 29, 2009, 3:19pm
That's a Windows feature I always want to get rid of. I think if you want to create a new document, it's because you want to type text - so you need to launch the app anyway. + with the quantity of editors we tend to have now days (graphic,texte, animation...) we would have a long context menu. And for those who want it, there are plug-ins.