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Archive for the ‘Default Folder X’ Category
Monday, January 21st, 2019
 Version 5.3.3 of Default Folder X is now available! I’ve been resistant to adding labels to the icons in the toolbar, but have finally been convinced – the improved usability for some people (especially casual users) trumps the aesthetic “messiness” of having the text there. The icon names are now turned on by default, but you can easily turn them off in the prefs, or just by Control-clicking above the “D” icon and choosing “Icon Only”.
This release also lets you set keyboard shortcuts to quickly hop to the Tags or Comments field below a Save dialog. And if you hold down the Option key while clicking the “Save” button to dismiss a Save dialog, Default Folder X will automatically open the folder you just saved your file to, letting you do whatever you need to do with it in the Finder.
There are also bug fixes to resolve several crashes that have been reported, tweaks to clean up the user interface in the Preferences window, and a compatibility fix so that the Finder Windows feature now works with the version of ForkLift distributed through the SetApp subscription service.
Check out the Default Folder X release page for a complete list of changes, as well as download links. Or if you’re already a Default Folder X user, just choose “Check for Updates” from its menu in your menu bar.
Posted in Default Folder X, Mojave | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 16th, 2018
 There were a couple of issues with Mojave that merited a quick update to Default Folder X.
Most importantly, the Finder Windows menu and Finder-click feature would ignore Finder windows that had their tab bar showing but only contained one tab. All your Finder windows would show up except for the single-tab ones. The behavior seemed almost random to the first people that reported this bug, and it was a maddening shortcoming to those who’ve become addicted to the Finder-click feature. At any rate, my apologies for the issue – the Finder’s handling of tabs changed in Mojave and I goofed when I updated Default Folder X, missing this case.
The second change seems minor to some people, but Default Folder X’s buttons in the Finder toolbar were the wrong size. They were designed using an early Mojave beta, and although Apple changed the button size afterwards, our beta testing failed to catch that. I know, I know – once it was pointed out to me, it drove me crazy. So it’s fixed now.
You can see the change history and download Default Folder X 5.3.2 from the Default Folder X release page.
Posted in Default Folder X, Mojave | No Comments »
Friday, September 28th, 2018
Version 5.3 of Default Folder X didn’t quite get it right with respect to some changes in the Mojave Finder: Its Finder-click feature omitted windows that contained multiple tabs. This release fixes that – if you use tabbed Finder windows in Mojave, Default Folder X will now list the windows as it should in its Finder window menu and will recognize them when you click on them.
Default Folder X 5.3.1 also resolves a couple of crashes (on all versions of macOS) and makes Default Folder X’s exclusion list apply to files that you’ve recently opened as well as excluding Default Folder X from that app’s Open and Save dialogs.
You can grab the new version on the Default Folder X Release page.
Posted in Default Folder X, Mojave | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 19th, 2018
 Default Folder X 5.3 is now officially out!
The big deal is, of course, full support for Mojave. That includes Dark Mode, Mojave’s new privacy controls, and the latest changes to the standard Open and Save dialogs. Default Folder X 5.3 should just work, though you will be prompted by Mojave to give it permission to control the Finder — that access is necessary to make Default Folder X’s ‘Finder-click’ feature work.
In addition, I’m excited to have found a way to improve Default Folder X’s tracking of recently-used files. In previous versions, Default Folder X relied largely on the ‘recent items’ tracking that’s built into macOS. That method had some significant limitations, mainly that it didn’t “see” files that were opened in apps that lack an ‘Open Recent’ menu item, like Safari and Firefox. Given how much stuff we upload to websites and open in web apps (like gmail) these days, that was a pretty big shortcoming. With Default Folder X 5.3, you’ll now find those files included in your Recent Files menu as they should be.
And on the how-many-times-has-this-been-requested front, you can now add separators to Default Folder X’s Favorites menu. That helps keep things visually organized so you can quickly get to the Favorite folder you’re after. To add a separator, open your Default Folder X preferences, click on the Folders tab, select Favorites, then click the ‘+’ button at the bottom. There’s now an option to create a separator. Once you’ve added one, just drag it up and down in the list to place it where you want.
There are also user interface improvements for the drawer that Default Folder X attaches to Finder windows, compatibility with iBooks and Newtek Lightwave, and a number of bug fixes and little tweaks.
There’s a list of changes along with download links on the Default Folder X Release page – go get your copy now!
Posted in Default Folder X, Mojave | No Comments »
Friday, September 7th, 2018
There’s a new public beta version of Default Folder X available – it’s Default Folder X 5.2.6b7.
You’ll want it if you’re running Mojave 18A384a or higher, as the new Mojave builds require “usage statements” built into applications as part of their privacy controls. Previous betas of Default Folder X didn’t have these, resulting in newer iterations of Mojave summarily killing it if it tries to access protected folders, like those containing your contacts or music.
This Default Folder X build also includes a bunch new dialogs to alert you when it hasn’t been given adequate access to things in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy. The biggest stumbling block is access to Automation — giving DFX permission to use AppleScript to talk to the Finder, Path Finder, ForkLift and System Preferences. DFX uses AppleScript to get lists of open windows and navigate to folders and files in Finder / Path Finder / ForkLift, as well as opening System Preferences to the right preference pane so you can update necessary settings.
While there’s definitely a need for Mojave’s increased security, it’s a bit piecemeal at present. I’d love it if Apple would provide developers with some sort of API to help inform users in one shot of everything that an application needs access to, and to help them configure that access conveniently. As it stands right now, you’ll encounter multiple alerts as you use Default Folder X — they pop up in the middle of whatever you’re doing when Default Folder X first tries to touch something that’s protected. They’re not terrible, but they interrupt what you’re doing and, as such, aren’t presented at a time when you’re likely to devote your full attention to the security choice you’re being asked to make. So be prepared for a few alerts when you first start using Default Folder X in Mojave — it’s now the price we pay for additional security.
Oh, and on top of all the security shenanigans, Default Folder X 5.2.6b7 also tracks your recently used files much more effectively, even if the Recent Items system in macOS misses them. Something I’m happy to have finally sorted out!
Release notes and a download link are on the Default Folder X beta testing page.
Posted in Default Folder X, Development, Mojave | No Comments »
Friday, August 24th, 2018
 There’s a helpful video tutorial over at Don McAllister’s ScreenCastsOnline website that details some of the keyboard shortcuts that you can use in Open and Save As dialogs. The shortcuts are built into macOS, so there’s no need for extra software, but Don does go on to point out that there are many more helpful features in Default Folder X if you really want to supercharge your Open and Save As dialogs 🙂
You can see the entirety of keyboard shortcut segment without subscribing to SCO, but you’ll have to sign up for the 10-day free trial or buy a subscription to ScreenCastsOnline to watch it through to the end and see his discussion of Default Folder X. And if you go for the subscription or free trial, make sure to check out his full-length Default Folder X tutorial.
Posted in Default Folder X, screencasts, Tips | No Comments »
Monday, August 13th, 2018
 The latest public beta of Default Folder X, version 5.2.6b6, supports Dark Mode in Mojave and all changes up through the latest developer build (Mojave developer beta 7).
In addition, this beta release allows you to create separator lines in your Favorites menu to help keep it organized and easier to use. Just choose on “Add Separator Line” when you click the ‘+’ button in Default Folder X > Preferences > Folders > Favorites, then drag the separator to wherever you want it in your list of favorite folders.
5.2.6b6 also addresses a bug when relaunching the Finder, improves the behavior of DFX’s drawer in the Finder, and adds a compatibility fix for Newtek’s LightWave applications.
Get all the details and download your copy from the Default Folder X Beta Testing page.
Posted in Default Folder X, Development, Mojave | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 17th, 2018
I got an email from a customer yesterday telling me that Default Folder X had stopped displaying preview images of his new-format Microsoft Office documents. It still worked for the older formats like doc, xls and ppt files, but not docx, xlsx and pptx. Because Default Folder X uses QuickLook to generate the big previews it shows below file dialogs, we did a little poking around on his Mac to figure out what was going wrong with QuickLook.
It turns out that a new beta of DropBox (version 54.3.86) installs its own QuickLook generator plugin that overrides the system-supplied plugin for generating a number of file and image formats – including those MS Office files. OK, fine – just delete it, right? That worked until he restarted his Mac, then DropBox launched at login and promptly (and silently) reinstalled its QuickLook plugin again. I guess it knows what’s best for us, eh?
After a little thought, we arrived at this solution:
- Delete the DropBox QuickLook generator plugin
- Create an empty file at that location to prevent DropBox from reinstalling it
Fortunately, QuickLook is smart enough to realize that an empty file isn’t going to help it generate previews, and just defaults back to the other plugins it has. Problem solved!
The easiest way to do this is to open Terminal and execute these three commands:
rm -r ~/Library/QuickLook/DropboxQL.qlgenerator
touch ~/Library/QuickLook/DropboxQL.qlgenerator
qlmanage -r
A nice simple solution once you get it figured out. I imagine this is one of those problems that’s going to crop up for a lot of people, but isn’t quite obnoxious enough to get them to hunt down a solution. So there you go 🙂
Posted in Default Folder X, Tips | 14 Comments »
Tuesday, July 17th, 2018
 Well, I had hopes that the file dialog implementation in Mojave wouldn’t change and you could just keep running Default Folder X 5.2.5 until I finished support for Dark Mode, but Apple had other plans.
Yesterday’s beta release of Mojave changed the file dialogs ever so slightly – just enough for Default Folder X 5.2.5 to say “that looks sorta like a file dialog, but not exactly” and refuse to put up its controls around Open and Save dialogs. So if you’re running the latest Mojave build, you’ll need to visit the Default Folder X beta testing page and download the latest beta build of Default Folder X.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but you know how it is – “moving target” and all that.
Posted in Default Folder X, Mojave | No Comments »
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