Yosemite no finder preferences

I have just installed the Yosemite upgrade on both my iMacs. One is working fine. However the Finder preferences box on the iMac 3.5 GHy Intel Core 7 is now blank. The General. Tags, Sidebar and advanced are all missing. Have I deleted something by mistake? I tried reloading the upgrade but the same thing happens.
I don't think I need the functionality immediately, but it would be good to get it fixed.
However I also have lost the small window that shows the status of finder copying files. It does copy the file and there is a sound when the action is complete. But there is no widow showing progress or showing when there is a duplicate file etc...
Any help would be appreciated.

Jason
Thank you ever so much. Yes you solved my problem. Firstly creating a new user made everything work OK. Then I realised from what you said that there was a rogue app causing a clash...and that the app had to be something connected with Finder......So I went back to my originasl log-in deleted one app called thumb creator, or something like that, and all is fine again.
I am so relieved and happy
Thank you
Peter S

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WTH???? What happened to Finder preferences?

Once I finally (3 days ago) decided to take the leap and update to Yosemite, my Finder preferences window comes up blank! Help please

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Cannot get the past dialogue box to open in illustrator since upgrading to Yosemite. Click it but nothing happens. Also File Open works intermittently. Is this a finder preference issue?

Cannot get the past dialogue box to open in illustrator since upgrading to Yosemite. Click it but nothing happens. Also File Open works intermittently. Is this a finder preference issue?

one of those days --- it's the PLACE dialogue box

Cannot bring up Finder preferences and general Finder issues in Yosemite

Since installing Yosemite, I've been having multiple issues with the Finder:
Finder seems to hang occasionally when trying to delete a file
Finder seems to hang occasionally when trying to empty the trash
When trying to open the Finder preferences, it either doesn't open or opens a blank panel (with nothing in it)
Looking at the Console when trying to opening the Finder prefs, I can see this Exception being logged:
Jan 11 16:15:15 JasonMBPRetina Finder[260]: An uncaught exception was raised
Jan 11 16:15:15 JasonMBPRetina Finder[260]: *** -[__NSArrayI objectAtIndex:]: index 0 beyond bounds for empty array
Jan 11 16:15:15 JasonMBPRetina Finder[260]: (
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff899b864c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff8bfe66de objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff8989174e -[__NSArrayI objectAtIndex:] + 190
3   AppKit                              0x00007fff8d931e59 _NSAccessibilityEntryPointValueForAttribute + 1823
4   AppKit                              0x00007fff8d4b8296 NSAccessibilityChildren + 41
5   AppKit                              0x00007fff8d4b8246 NSAccessibilityUnignoredChildrenForOnlyChild + 98
6   AppKit                              0x00007fff8d4b815c NSAccessibilityUnignoredDescendant + 27
7   AppKit                              0x00007fff8d4b80e2 -[NSNibAXAttributeConnector establishConnection] + 74
8   AppKit                              0x00007fff8d90cf66 -[NSIBObjectData nibInstantiateWithOwner:options:topLevelObjects:] + 1065
9   AppKit                              0x00007fff8d41ef05 loadNib + 384
10 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d98cf80 +[NSBundle(NSNibLoading) _loadNibFile:nameTable:options:withZone:ownerBundle:] + 313
11 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d98d67d +[NSBundle(NSNibLoadingInternal) _loadNibFile:externalNameTable:options:withZone:] + 150
12 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d65efed -[NSWindowController loadWindow] + 313
13 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d664684 -[NSWindowController window] + 80
14 Finder                              0x0000000101dc5a14 Finder + 1604116
15 Finder                              0x0000000101dc59e5 Finder + 1604069
16 libsystem_trace.dylib               0x00007fff88d74cd7 _os_activity_initiate + 75
17 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d60a497 -[NSApplication sendAction:to:from:] + 410
18 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d6245da -[NSMenuItem _corePerformAction] + 382
19 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d6242f7 -[NSCarbonMenuImpl performActionWithHighlightingForItemAtIndex:] + 114
20 libsystem_trace.dylib               0x00007fff88d74cd7 _os_activity_initiate + 75
21 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d671b96 -[NSMenu performActionForItemAtIndex:] + 131
22 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d671b06 -[NSMenu _internalPerformActionForItemAtIndex:] + 35
23 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d671952 -[NSCarbonMenuImpl _carbonCommandProcessEvent:handlerCallRef:] + 107
24 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d619eeb NSSLMMenuEventHandler + 724
25 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff9593e32c _ZL23DispatchEventToHandlersP14EventTargetRecP14OpaqueEventRefP14HandlerCallRec + 1260
26 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff9593d76e _ZL30SendEventToEventTargetInternalP14OpaqueEventRefP20OpaqueEventTargetRefP14HandlerCallRec + 386
27 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff95952286 SendEventToEventTarget + 40
28 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff95987795 _ZL18SendHICommandEventjPK9HICommandjjhPKvP20OpaqueEventTargetRefS5_PP14OpaqueEventRef + 428
29 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff959bae8d SendMenuCommandWithContextAndModifiers + 59
30 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff959bae34 SendMenuItemSelectedEvent + 188
31 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff959bad06 _ZL19FinishMenuSelectionP13SelectionDataP10MenuResultS2_ + 96
32 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff959c28b1 _ZL14MenuSelectCoreP8MenuData5PointdjPP13OpaqueMenuRefPt + 702
33 HIToolbox                           0x00007fff959c249e _HandleMenuSelection2 + 446
34 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d59fd1e _NSHandleCarbonMenuEvent + 277
35 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d43ba40 _DPSNextEvent + 1843
36 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d43ae80 -[NSApplication nextEventMatchingMask:untilDate:inMode:dequeue:] + 194
37 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d42ee23 -[NSApplication run] + 594
38 AppKit                              0x00007fff8d41a2d4 NSApplicationMain + 1832
39 Finder                              0x0000000101c43960 Finder + 22880
40 libdyld.dylib                       0x00007fff8c2045c9 start + 1
41 ???                                 0x0000000000000001 0x0 + 1
Can anyone help?

Do a backup.
Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.
Re-launch Finder by restarting and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.
If the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer one.
Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.

Finder preferences: How do I just DBL click folder to get a new window

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Helgason: Thank you so much for this solution. I have been using it since March. But I just upgraded to Yosemite. And as you have noted on your website, it breaks the functionality of typing Command-Shift-A to go to Applications and such. Now that Yosemite has officially been released, are you going to create an update?
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I cannot open finder preferences

Hi There,
I am trying to empty my trash and I noticed that it was taking a very long time (hours and it still has not removed the files). I did a search for some suggestions and the one that kept coming up was to look at the "Empty Trash Securely" option in Finder Preferences. However, when I go to finder preferences, the first time I select Finder -> Preferences nothing happens and the second time I get a window that opens, but is blank (below). I have tried restarting finder and restarting the computer and I still have the same problem. So now I cannot empty the trash nor can I open Finder Preferences. I am using a iMac2011 with OS X Yosemite 10.10.1.
Does anyone have any ideas about fixing one or both of these issues?
Thanks

Start with http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html
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