A lot of you have been asking for integration with QSpace so that you can use Default Folder X’s Finder-click feature to quickly access folders shown in your QSpace windows. I’m happy to report that after working with Wenda, the developer behind QSpace, we’ve made that happen!
Default Folder X 6.0.4 will automatically recognize open QSpace windows. They’ll be listed in Default Folder X’s Finder Windows menu, the Finder-click feature will jump to folders when you click on QSpace windows while in an Open or Save dialog, and you can set up Default Folder X to open folders in QSpace instead of the Finder (note that you need at least QSpace 4.2.1 or QSpace Pro 4.2.2 for all of this to work).
Oh – and a quick Finder-click pro tip: Right-click on a QSpace window to pop up a menu that shows the folders shown in all panes of the window.
And speaking of opening folders, you can now explicitly tell Default Folder X whether to open folders in the Finder, QSpace, ForkLift or Path Finder when you choose them from Default Folder X’s menus. 👉🏼
In version 6.0.4, Quick Search has gotten a few enhancements, including little icons beneath each search result to show whether Default Folder X found that item in your recent history, favorites, or a standard app location. And when you right-click on a result, you can now copy the file or folder, add or remove it from your favorites, or remove it from the recent file / folder / app history (depending on where it was found).
And last, but definitely not least, Default Folder X 6.0.4 includes several bug fixes. The biggest is the elimination of an annoying delay that could occur when a Save dialog first came up. Not only did the bug produce a hiccup that made you wait, but it could swallow a character or two if you started typing a name for your saved file right away. My apologies for not catching this problem when we tested version 6.0.3 – the conditions that caused it weren’t present on my or any of my testers’ Macs because of settings changes that we made while testing previous releases.
A full list of changes and download links are available on the Default Folder X What’s New page. Or if you’re already running Default Folder X, just choose “Check for Update” from its menu in your menu bar.
Version 6.0.3 of Default Folder X is available now, polishing up a number of details to make sure that Quick Search finds what you want and that everything works consistently. To that end, files and folders are now added to your “recent” history when you drag & drop them to Default Folder X’s menu and when you select Favorites anywhere in the app.
In addition, selecting text in the edit field of Save dialogs is now smarter, Command+S works to trigger the “Save” button as it should, and recently used tags are displayed below the file dialog in a more helpful order. In Quick Search, Option+Return copies the path of the item you’ve selected.
“This is one of the weirder bugs I have seen”
That was the subject of the email I received, detailing a problem in Default Folder X. Have a look at this animated gif for an amusing illustration of it – this is what happened if you clicked on the menu and then just paused and did nothing.
Definitely weird! When I saw it, I couldn’t even come up with a way I could have misused or abused an API to get this behavior. It turns out it was a combination of a bug in Default Folder X and a bug in Sonoma that combined to create this nice “marching menu items” effect.
First, if you turned on one of Default Folder X’s secret settings, the menus would continually re-sort themselves. That was a bug, but normally wasn’t readily apparent because the menu items just got sorted in the same order they were already in. BUT – if there’s a bug in Sonoma that moves the contents of a menu item to the right 32 pixels each time you update an existing icon, then it does this funky little slide dance. Pretty cool, eh? Anyway, the underlying sorting-all-the-time bug in DFX is fixed, and I’ve also worked around the slidey-bug in Sonoma by replacing sorted menu items with newly-created, icon-less ones before updating their contents.
Version 6.0.3 also fixes another sorting problem that occurred if you customized Default Folder X’s menu bar menu to include recent items in the top-level menu. If you did that and sorted recent items by name, the items either wouldn’t get sorted or would sort incorrectly. It also corrects problems with pop-up keyboard navigators like Raycast, LaunchBar, Alfred and Spotlight not working in Save dialogs on earlier versions of macOS (Monterey and prior).
For the full change history and download links, head over to the Default Folder X What’s New page. Or if you’re already running Default Folder X, just choose Check for Update from its menu in your menu bar.
Version 6.0.2 of Default Folder X is available, fine-tuning our app for quickly navigating your files and folders. This release offers a solution for folks that want to quickly pop up DFX’s Quick Search window and then browse back through their file and folder history. Just hit the Down Arrow key in the empty Quick Search window and you’ll get a list you can scroll through. The most recent items are at the top.
I also got a great suggestion from Martin C. to make Command+L a keyboard shortcut to get back to the filename entry field in Save dialogs after you’ve clicked away from it. That’s also in this update. We’re all so used to hitting Command+L to enter an URL in our web browsers that it’s second nature after a couple of uses. Brilliant, Martin – thank you!
Default Folder X 6.0.2 delivers a bunch of bug fixes for various issues, as well. It addresses everything from problems switching between folders in file dialogs to a bizarre bug that could cause the keyboard to stop responding until you quit Default Folder X. A full list of fixes is available on the Default Folder X What’s New page, along with download links.
If you’ve already bought the version 6 upgrade, this update is free. If you’re still running version 5, you may have to purchase the upgrade – hop over to the Default Folder X Upgrade page for details.
I was so busy getting version 6 of Default Folder X rolled out that I neglected to blog about it when it finally dropped. Oops! If you missed my earlier posts about Default Folder X 6, check out the tour of Default Folder X’s new features.
Today we’re up to version 6.0.1, adding a few nice enhancements like the new menu bar icon you see above and changeable keyboard shortcuts for the search modes in Quick Search. There are also some convenient little Quick Search additions like the ability to recall past searches, always remembering your previous search mode, and being able to flip back to “Search All” by just hitting the keyboard shortcut twice.
This update also delivers fixes for issues that have been reported since the release of 6.0. The largest of these is improved support for older versions of macOS (Monterey and prior), where Default Folder X could sometimes stumble when taking you to a new folder or file in Open and Save dialogs.
Default Folder X’s new “Make the filename editing field wider” feature in Save dialogs now works well with TextExpander macros that pop up an input window. Previously, TextExpander would often refuse to paste its text because DFX’s wider edit field confused it.
Also fixed are problems typing text in Save dialogs that had custom edit fields below the file list. Affected apps included Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft PowerPoint and PDFPen Pro. Menus showing the contents of folders containing tens of thousands of items are now built reliably, Save Actions are synced correctly via iCloud, and a number of smaller issues have also been addressed.
For a complete list of changes, check out the Default Folder X Release Page. You can also download the new version there, though if you’re already running Default Folder X, just choose “Check for Update” from its menu in your menu bar.
Default Folder X 6.0.1 is a free update if you’ve already bought a version 6 license. If you haven’t upgraded yet, there may be a cost, depending on when you last purchased a license or upgrade. Details are on the Default Folder X Upgrade Page.
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.
A new iteration in the Default Folder X 6 public beta brings improvements to several of the new features.
Drag and drop prompts at the top of Default Folder X’s menu give you context as you select a destination for the files and / or folders you’ve dropped on Default Folder X menu bar icon.
If you’ve set a keyboard shortcut to pop up one of Default Folder X’s toolbar menus, you’ll be reminded of the shortcut in the toolbar’s tooltips.
Icons in the Finder drawer and file dialog toolbar have been improved further.
In addition, several performance bottlenecks have been identified and fixed, making Default Folder X’s toolbar appear faster next to Open and Save dialogs. A number of other bugs have also been corrected in the Drag Zone, Finder drawer, and drag and drop code, making everything work more smoothly.
As always, full details and download links are available on the Default Folder X Testing page, or if you’re already running a beta of version 6, just select “Check for Update” to see the release notes and download the new build.
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!
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.
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.
