Apple announced yesterday that macOS 14 Sonoma will be released on September 26. That’s a little earlier than I’d anticipated, but version 6 of Default Folder X – which will be necessary on Sonoma – should be ready by then.

Today, the 6.0b5 public beta of Default Folder X is available and includes more improvements and fixes. The expanded filename edit field in Save dialogs now animates to its larger size, and the toolbar appearance settings include a more logical array of options to get the look you want.

Most importantly, the 6.0b5 build includes a number of bug fixes to address various problems, including making switching between folders in Open and Save dialogs faster and more reliable.

If you’re already running a beta version of Default Folder X, just choose “Check for Update” from its menu in your menu bar. Otherwise, you can read the full release notes and download the latest build on the Default Folder X Testing page.

Back to work!

A new public beta of Default Folder X 6 is available, sporting two new styles for the toolbar that it attaches to Open and Save dialogs. In macOS 11 Big Sur and higher, you can now choose a translucent look. I have to admit that I didn’t think I’d personally like it because I expected it would impact legibility, but it actually works well – Apple deserves kudos for the latest incarnation of the visual effects view!

Default Folder X’s existing bezel and toolbar styles also gain a hint of translucence, but it’s much more subtle.

In addition, beta 3 includes a host of user interface improvements, including updating the “computer” icon to an M1 iMac, better harmonization of icon and font sizes and colors, improved support for the macOS “increase contrast” mode, and fixing issues on older versions of macOS.

Drag and drop has been improved, supporting Command+drag to always move items even when dragging them from one volume to another. And the menu that you’re given to choose a destination for the dragged items has been stripped of extraneous menu items.

Several annoying bugs have been fixed, including the keyboard focus being incorrect after using a Save dialog in some apps. This would result in the app’s keyboard shortcuts not working until you clicked on one of its windows.

The full list of changes and download links are on the Default Folder X Testing page, as usual. And if you’re already running a beta build, just choose “Check for Update” from its menu to get the new version.

And yes, to reiterate, the Default Folder X 6 betas support macOS 14 Sonoma.

Version 6.0b1 of Default Folder X is available for public beta testing. It includes a number of refinements and enhancements to various features, as well as making the wider filename edit box an option in the settings. It also corrects bugs found in the previous build, and presents a welcome screen after launching to highlight some of the new 6.0 features.

We’re finally heading into the home stretch, and feedback has been great so far. Please keep your suggestions and bug reports coming!

Release notes and download links are available on the Default Folder X Testing page, though if you’re already running an earlier pre-release build, just choose “Check for Update” from Default Folder X’s menu to get the new build. Thanks!

Version 6.0a8 of Default Folder X is available. This is another pre-release build of Default Folder X 6, and primarily fixes bugs and stays in step with Apple’s beta releases of Sonoma.

macOS Sonoma Beta 3, released yesterday, includes fixes for several bugs I reported to Apple. That allowed me to remove some ugly workarounds and generally make Default Folder X function better. But true to the spirit of beta releases, there’s also a new bug in Sonoma B3 that impacts DFX, so there’s a workaround for that included in 6.0a8 😁

Long story short, if you’re running Sonoma Beta 3, make sure to use Default Folder X 6.0a8. But DON’T use it if you’re still running Sonoma Beta 2, as I’ve removed the ugly code that gets around the bugs in B2.

A list of changes and fixes, as well as download links, are available on the Default Folder X Testing page.

The latest preview release of Default Folder X 6 offers preliminary support for macOS 14 Sonoma, which Apple made available as a developer preview at WWDC.

Default Folder X 6.0a6 also gives you better management of folder sets. Folder sets are a frequently-missed feature that some users find invaluable when switching between multiple workflows, clients, or projects. Since it’s frequently-missed, these changes won’t excite all Default Folder X users, but I know some of you have been asking for this repeatedly. You can now keep folder sets in whatever order you want, not just sorted alphabetically, and managing them is easy with multi-select and drag-and-drop:

Version 6.0a6 also adds multi-select to Default Folder X’s menu customization dialog, making it quicker to reorganize DFX’s menu in your menu bar, as well as addressing several bugs.

As usual, if you’re already running an earlier preview build of Default Folder X 6, just select “Check for Update” from its menu. If you’re new to Default Folder X 6, you can get more info and grab a copy from the Default Folder X Testing page.