Archive for May, 2023

Default Folder X: Finder-click vs. Time Machine

Wednesday, May 31st, 2023

Default Folder X 5.7.8 is available, largely thanks to a single individual. Default Folder X user Andrea Bornstein discovered that browsing Time Machine backups caused Default Folder X’s Finder-click feature* to stop working.

I’ve been getting sporadic reports of Finder-click failing for quite a while, but was never able to isolate the cause of it. I tried numerous fixes based on the information I could collect from people that reported the issue (and discovered a few weird edge cases along the way), but the reports kept coming. I didn’t know how to reproduce the problem on a Mac here, so I never had a way to test locally. And people that reported it said it would come and go, so I couldn’t rely on them to test potential fixes either. Very frustrating. 😡

Then Andrea’s careful observation gave me a reliable way to make it happen, and I could finally test and debug a true fix. Hurray for smart, detail-oriented customers! 😎

And what an odd bug it was (and still is) – not in Default Folder X, but in the Finder. Default Folder X uses the macOS Accessibility API to gather information from the Finder – it’s essentially a way to programmatically say “hey Finder, give me a list of your windows”. Normally the Finder happily complies, but if an app asks that question after you’ve been browsing Time Machine backups, the Finder just says “nothing to see here!” Luckily, there’s another way to coax that info out of the Finder, so I’ve sidestepped the bug entirely while waiting for a fix from Apple (the bug is filed as FB12199998).

So – all you folks who restore files and folders from Time Machine on a regular basis, you can reliably use Finder-click without resorting to hidden settings in Default Folder X. I’m sorry it took so long to get to the root of the problem, but honestly, it’s a pretty weird one.

And in other news, version 5.7.8 of Default Folder X also adds badged icons to the Finder-click interface. If you’re running ForkLift or Path Finder alongside the Finder, you’ll see an icon indicating which of those apps “owns” the window you’re currently hovering the mouse over. Like the ForkLift 4 icon on the folder in the screenshot above.

Choose “Check for Update” from Default Folder X’s menu in your menu bar to get the update, or download it from the Default Folder X “What’s New” page. Oh, and the update’s free, as usual.


* For those that don’t know, Default Folder X’s Finder-click feature is available in the Open and Save dialogs of any app. While in the file dialog, you can click on any open Finder window behind it, and the file dialog will switch to show the contents of that folder. This works with ForkLift and Path Finder as well as the Finder.

Default Folder X 6.0a3 improves Quick Search and iCloud Sync

Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

A new build of Default Folder X 6 is available for testing. If you’re just getting on board, this is a preview release of the next version of Default Folder X, which includes a number of major new features. There’s a full description of the new features here, including instructions for configuring and using them (one of the things still coming is the on-boarding when you run it for the first time).

Version 6.0a3 brings a host of refinements to the new Quick Search feature, including support for non-roman languages and non-English-speaking locales. Searching is also more responsive, user interaction is much smoother – it just works better all around. Please give Quick Search a try and let me know what you think!

I’ve also addressed issues with the synchronization of Default Folder X’s settings between multiple Macs over iCloud. There’s still testing to be done here – mostly in terms of detecting and diagnosing iCloud configuration problems. I’d welcome more people who have an identical (or similar) file and folder structure on two different Macs and want to have your recent and favorite items up-to-date and available on both machines.

6.0a3 also brings bug fixes and support for the beta version of ForkLift 4, and support for older versions of macOS (I’ve tested as far back as Mojave so far, but it should work fine on High Sierra too). A full list of changes is on the Default Folder X Testing page, and you can download it directly here.

Default Folder X 5.7.7 adds support for ForkLift 4 and corrects several bugs

Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

BinaryNights has ForkLift 4 in beta testing, and Default Folder X 5.7.7 includes updated support for it. When you’re using ForkLift, Default Folder X treats it as an equivalent of the Finder, showing ForkLift’s windows in its Finder-click feature and in its menu of Finder windows. You can also configure Default Folder X to open folders in ForkLift instead of the Finder when you choose them from its menus.

In addition, this release of Default Folder X addresses bugs, including a problem where file dialogs in the Brave browser would freeze if you were also running a Brave “shortcut” (Brave’s name for site-specific browsers that use its engine but run as separate apps). Other, less dramatic issues were also fixed, such as moving incorrectly through the history of recent folders after folders have been moved or deleted, a failure to recognize Finder windows immediately after your display has been reconfigured, and Default Folder X’s toolbar bezel not matching the light / dark theme of file dialogs on High Sierra and Mojave. Finally, several small problems in the version of Default Folder X available on Setapp have been fixed.

As usual, the full list of changes is available on the Default Folder X release page, along with download links for English, Japanese, French, German and Danish versions. Or if you’re already running Default Folder X, just select “Check for Update” from its menu in your menu bar to get it quickly and easily.

Default Folder X 6.0a2 adds Spotlight to Quick Search

Monday, May 8th, 2023

A new pre-release build of Default Folder X 6 is available for testing, adding Spotlight search as an option in its Quick Search window.

Quick Search will find files and folders super-fast in your recent and favorite items, but there are some occasions when you’re opening a file you don’t often access. In those cases, press Command+Shift+S and Quick Search will use Spotlight to find things instead. It’s not as fast, and matching file and folder names isn’t as smart, but you’ll be able to open what you want even if Default Folder X hasn’t seen it recently.

This release also smooths the flow of moving around and searching subfolders in Quick Search, refines the icons used in Default Folder X’s toolbar and Quick Search menu, enables Command+Shift+G correctly in Save As dialogs, and addresses other bugs in the previous alpha release.

Details and download links are on the Default Folder X Testing page. If you’re already running an earlier pre-release build of Default Folder X 6, you can just choose “Check for Update” from its menu to download the new build.