Global Finder Window Problems...

Question

Greetings Forum Members,
If I change one folder from column to list view, all others Globally throughout the entire system change to list and follow suit. Any way to have one folder on list and another in column? Or is this a bug in Leopard? This feature works very well in Tiger OS-X 10.4.11. Any solutions for Leopard? Thank you all!

Answer 1

This is actually the default viewing system in 10.5. I little weird at first, but read on for my take on why I think 10.5 is much nicer than 10.4 and preceding OXSs.
I started using Macs in the pre-OSX days, so was used to the completely dependable and always predictable "spatial" Finder of OS9 and down. Spatial meaning, folders all opening in new windows with every window position, view setting, icon position, even scroll bar (if there is one) remembered without exception. Also, no browser mode at all.
So I tried to recreate the old OS9 default folder view in 10.4... First, create a desktop folder, set to icon view, turn off Toolbar/Sidbar, which causes nested folders to open in their own new window. Great! Now all folders within created within that folder adopt that view, right? They do, but not if you drag one to the desktop, at that point the Toolbar/Sidebar magically reappears. It also reappears if you navigate to the same folder via Dock's cascading menu system (assuming you've placed a hard drive or folder there). Another 10.4 oddity...if you have Finder set to open at the top level "Computer" when activated from it's Dock icon, it would never remember icon size and position. Sometimes even forgetting window size/position (at least my install of 10.4 did this). On and on....life with the forgetful, stubborn OSX Finder.
However, 10.5 is fantastic at remembering folder view settings. Only thing is, that's not turned on by default. Instead, the default behavior is for folders to adopt the previous folder view setting. This is actually not a bad thing if you prefer to use the browser style navigation the Finder offers. You alter a view setting, list view for example, browse a while, then change it to icon, continue browsing, etc, etc... Thats 10.5's default behavior. To make a specific folder remember a view state, all you have to do is set the view you want, open the Show View Options and check the Always Open In... check box. Now, it will very dependably remember it's view state.
Personally, I've always had my own ideas about how the Finder should behave, and have suggested them to Apple. I've always thought there should be a separate Finder/Browser app that boots up from the Dock Finder icon. It always opens with the Toolbar/Sidebar on (ie: all folders are navigated to via a single browser window). You set it to some browser friendly view (ie: list, column), and it retains that view state as you browse no matter what view settings you may have set for an individual folder. That's the Finder/Browser. To see unique pre-folder view settings, you open the hard drive icon from the Desktop. It opens with the Toolbar/Sidebar off (ie: all folders open in new windows). You could consider this to not even being the "Finder application". Just think of it as "manually looking at the contents of the hard drive". As you drill down, opening new windows, you can create view states which are always remembered when opened via double click the hard drive from the Desktop.
I attempted to created this behavior in 10.4, but the Finder was just forgetful enough, and stubborn enough, not to cooperate fully (see explanations above). However, in 10.5 it works beautifully. I first set the Finder Preferences to open "Computer", opened the Finder via the Dock icon and set it to Column view. From re-boot to re-boot, this set up is remembered exactly, even the window size and position. This is great for browser navigation.
For "manually exploring" (or as some referred to as "spatial"), you must first tell every window on your hard drive to "Always Open In...." whatever you want you default state to be (other wise it will just open in the state in whatever the most resent folder was opened in). I created a script for this with the settings as...Toolbar/Sidebar off & icon view. I then ran the script on the entire drive, and all sub-folders. Over time, I've changed the settings of folders I want to open differently (mainly list as apposed to icon), making sure I open the View Options and rechecking "Always open in..." to whatever adjustment I made. My drive is in great order now and remembers every view detail. Any windows I don't mess with default to a completely predictable "Icon View".
So 10.5 gives me the best of both worlds. Very reliable spatial (ie: old fashion manually opening window after window....handy for dragging files around the hard drive), and super streamlined browsing...good for navigating to and opening files quickly.
My 3 cents...sorry for the long post.
--Robb