Finder (software)

Finder

Screenshot of a Finder window in macOS Big Sur displaying files in column view
Stable release	15.0 / September 16, 2024; 6 months ago (2024-09-16)
Operating system	Classic Mac OS, macOS, GS/OS
Type	File manager
Website	support.apple.com/en-us/HT201732

The Finder is the default

In a tradition dating back to the

The Finder uses a view of the file system that is rendered using a desktop metaphor; that is, the files and folders are represented as appropriate icons. It uses a similar interface to Apple's Safari browser, where the user can click on a folder to move to it and move between locations using "back" and "forward" arrow buttons. Like Safari, the Finder uses tabs to allow the user to view multiple folders; these tabs can be pulled off the window to make them separate windows. There is a "favorites" sidebar of commonly used and important folders on the left of the Finder window.

The classic Mac OS Finder uses a spatial metaphor quite different from the more browser-like approach of the modern macOS Finder.^[1] In the classic Finder, opening a new folder opens the location in a new window: Finder windows are 'locked' so that they would only ever display the contents of one folder. It also allows extensive customization, with the user being able to give folders custom icons matching their content. This approach emphasizes the different locations of files within the operating system, but navigating to a folder nested inside multiple other folders fills the desktop with a large number of windows that the user may not wish to have open.^[2] These must then be closed individually. Holding down the option key when opening a folder would also close its parent, but this trick was not discoverable and remained under the purview of power users.

The modern Finder uses macOS graphics APIs to display previews of a range of files, such as images, applications and PDF files. The

macOS Big Sur introduces a complete graphical redesign of the Finder, along with the rest of the user interface, sporting the removal of the brushed metal interface elements, a full-height sidebar and all new iconography. Big Sur also slightly modifies the Finder icon with rounded corners.^[6]

Stewart Alsop II in 1988 said "It is testimony to either the luck or vision of the original designers" of Finder that "the interface has been able to survive tremendous evolution without much essential damage" from 1984. He praised its spatial file manager as "probably a more complete definition of a PC-based universe than any" competitor, with users able to seamlessly use floppies, local and remote hard disks, and large and small file servers. Alsop said that even if Apple had stolen Xerox's technology for Finder, it was now very different. While criticizing the lack of a right mouse button and MultiFinder's clumsiness, he concluded that "Apple remains the king of user interfaces. Finder is the only interface with 1.5 million people sitting in front of it daily. Apple is spending tremendous amounts of money on both development and basic research to remain the leader".^[7]

Introducing Mac OS X in 2000, Steve Jobs criticized the original Finder, saying that it "generates a ton of windows, and you get to be the janitor."^[2]

Finder replacements

Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger the UNIX command line file management tools understand resource forks

and can be used for management of Mac files.

Timeline

There are minor differences between Finder versions and Classic OS to System 7. From System 6 onward, the version numbers are unified.

Since the introduction of Mac OS X, the largest rewrite of the Finder was with the 2009 release of

Mac OS X 10.6, into the Cocoa API, though little change was visible to the user.^[11]

Timeline of Mac operating systems v t e

See also

• Miller columns
• List of file managers
• Comparison of file managers
• File Explorer

References

1. ^ "Missing The Boat On Panther". Mac Observer. October 28, 2003. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
2. ^ ^{a b} Rothenberg, Matthew (January 4, 2000). "New OS X headlines Jobs keynote". ZDNet. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
3. ^ Gruber, John (February 14, 2012). "Walter Isaacson's 'Steve Jobs'". Daring Fireball. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
4. ISBN 978-1-118-02205-4
   . Retrieved June 29, 2014.
5. ^ Siracusa, John (October 16, 2014). "OS X Yosemite review". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
6. ^ "Apple introduces macOS Big Sur with a beautiful new design" (Press release). Apple Inc. June 22, 2020. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
7. ^ Alsop II, Stewart (January 18, 1988). "Apple's Finder: Maturity in UI" (PDF). P.C. Letter. 4 (2): 4–5. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
8. ^ Siracusa, John (April 2, 2003). "About the Finder..." Ars Technica. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2006.
9. ^ Marcin Wichary (September 2005). "Interview with John Gruber". GUIdebook. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2007.
10. ^ John Siracusa (November 9, 2003). "Mac OS X 10.3 Panther: Same as it ever was". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
11. ^ "11 major new Snow Leopard features". Macworld. IDG. August 26, 2009. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021.

External links

• Apple Macintosh before System 7
• Ars Technica: About the Finder...
• Ars Technica: Review of OS X 10.3 – discussing the lack of fundamental changes to the Finder