So there’s been this long-standing issue with Default Folder X 5 – a number of people had written to say that it would occasionally beep and refuse to switch to a folder they’d selected from one of its menus. Until recently I couldn’t reproduce it here, but finally narrowed down the problem by creating an artificial test environment with several worst-case conditions all set up at once. I’m very happy (and relieved) to report that with that setup, I could get the problem to happen reliably enough to track it down and fix it. So…

Default Folder X 5.0.5 is now available, making folder switching more reliable (especially under Yosemite). Also in this release, I’ve made the Finder-click feature work more smoothly, added compatibility fixes for several applications, and addressed a few really annoying bugs and crashes.

The change history and download links are available on the Default Folder X Release page, or by choosing “Check for Updates” in your copy of Default Folder X (you are using Default Folder X, aren’t you?)

Version 4.7.4 of Default Folder X is now available, bringing several compatibility updates such as support for the latest version of  TypeIt4Me. If you’re running El Capitan, it will also detect System Integrity Protection (SIP) and let you know that Default Folder X is only compatible with El Capitan if you turn SIP off. Of course, if you’re here reading this, you already know that and don’t need the warning message, do you? In any case, details and download links are on the Default Folder X Release Page.

Speaking of El Capitan, I’ve now put together a longer explanation about what’s going on with System Integrity Protection, how to turn it off and why the current version of Default Folder X needs it turned off – you can read it here.

Happily, version 5 of Default Folder X is coming along well and we’re using development versions of it in-house. I wish I could just wave my hands and have it finished, but with something like Default Folder X there’s quite a bit of experimentation and invention involved in the development process. Some features work as expected, while others uncover bugs in OS X or quirky behavior that then requires a day or two of wrangling to get working right. It can be a frustrating process, but is exciting when things start coming together and really working well – and I’m getting to that point 🙂

Anyway, grab version 4.7.4 of Default Folder X and I’ll keep you posted on the progress of DFX 5. Oh, and just to make our policy clear, the version 5 upgrade will be free to anyone who purchases version 4 now.

– Jon

Version 4.7.3 of Default Folder X just went live, bringing you a number of compatibility fixes, as detailed in the release notes. Among the improvements is conditional compatibility with the latest El Capitan beta.

“Wait! Didn’t you just say in your last post that Default Folder X won’t run on El Capitan?” Well, yeah – that’s why I stuck the word “conditional” in there. Default Folder X 4.7.3 works fine IF you disable El Capitan’s System Integrity Protection feature. That’s a pretty big “if,” and not something that should be considered a long term solution. But if you installed the El Capitan beta without realizing you’d lose Default Folder X and are really upset about it, this will carry you through to the release of Default Folder X 5 without feeling like you’re working with one hand tied behind your back 🙂

If you need instructions on how to turn off System Integrity Protection in El Capitan, hop over to the Default Folder X FAQ. If you’d like more info about System Integrity Protection, Glenn Fleishman’s article at Macworld.com is a good primer.

Other changes in Default Folder X 4.7.3 include improvements in the way it handles iCloud, Carbon applications and support for version 8 of Strata 3D. They’re worth the minute it takes to download the update, so download it with this link or select Default Folder X in System Preferences and hit “Check for Updates”.