Version 2.7.3 of App Tamer is now available, fixing a couple of problems.
First, my apologies to folks using versions of macOS older than Big Sur: Changes in the last App Tamer update tightened up the spacing of its menu bar icon to comply with modifications Apple made to Monterey and Big Sur. Unfortunately, it also did that on pre-Big Sur systems, often making its icon too close to adjacent ones in the menu bar. I’ve fixed that in 2.7.3.
Second, internal changes that Apple made in macOS resulted in App Tamer reporting the CPU usage of one particular process – kernel_task – incorrectly. App Tamer would show either zero or astronomical values for kernel_task’s processor use, neither of which was correct. In App Tamer’s defense, the system’s approved public API was supplying those numbers and it dutifully reported them without prejudice. Some hunting around in the macOS source code (thank you Apple for making darwin Open Source!) revealed an alternate method that correctly reports the CPU usage of all processes, including kernel_task. So that fix is now available in App Tamer, making it a reliable source of CPU information for all processes again.
As usual, release notes and download links are on the App Tamer release page, or if you’re already using App Tamer, just choose “Check for Update” from its menu. This update is free if you’ve already purchased an App Tamer 2.x license.
Version 1.0.6 of Go64 is now available, bringing intelligent updating that refreshes the data in Go64’s list of applications when you update an app on your Mac. This version also now runs on versions of macOS all the way back to Yosemite (10.10), so even if you’re updating to Catalina from a really old version of the system, you can still prepare with Go64.
If you’ve already got Go64, just choose “Check for Updates…” from its menu to get the new version. If you still haven’t downloaded it, you can get it from the Go64 page – it’s completely free (though donations are still appreciated).
Oh, and about that update-checking mechanism… I do know that the modal alerts that pop up in Go64 stall the installation of updates until you click “OK”. That’s also been fixed in version 1.0.6, so shouldn’t be a problem for updates after this one.
Version 5.0.6 of Default Folder X is officially out! It’s the product of a lot of bug-chasing and wrangling of little details, especially where Sierra is concerned. I know there are still features that some of you are waiting for – I still have a long To-Do list – I haven’t forgotten.
In addition to supporting macOS 10.12, this update delivers a few often-requested features, including the ability to keep your Favorites sorted by name and better interoperability with LaunchBar. It also addresses some occasional glitches and compatibility issues, and starts up more quickly than previous versions.
If you’re running Sierra, El Capitan or Yosemite, you should update to this version, as most of the improvements apply to all versions of macOS, not just Sierra.
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?)
So there was some faulty logic in 5.0b2 that caused the shortcuts for Favorites to be pretty flaky – sorry about that. They’re fixed in b3, along with numerous other things (some of which didn’t make it into the release notes, now that I’m looking at them again). The biggest changes in b3 are internal – I spent quite a bit of time tightening up Default Folder X from top to bottom to make sure that no resources are left open, in hopes of fixing the “The application Default Folder X is not open anymore” error message that some of you have gotten. You may see that error one more time (and will have to restart to make it go away), but it shouldn’t occur when Default Folder X auto-updates in the future (from b3 to b4, for example). If it does, please let me know!
Progress has been slower than I’d like over the last few days – mostly due to the aforementioned analysis of Default Folder X’s internals – and now that’s done and the flaky shortcuts are fixed, I should be able to get back to forward progress.
As always please let me know if you encounter any issues or have any suggestions!
Oh yeah – you can get the new build with “Check for Updates” if you’ve already got b2 running on your Mac, or go to http://stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/beta.html and download it from the link at the bottom of the page.
– Jon
P.S. Yes, I know that the buttons at the top of the beta page download version 4. If you’re beta testing, you should certainly be patient enough to read through the page and find the link at the bottom. Let’s just call that a first-order filter to get into the beta program 😉
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.
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 🙂
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”.
For those of you testing (or interested in testing) the new version of Jettison, I’ve got a new build that corrects some timing issues with driver reloading and with the handling of SD cards. Grab it at:
The 10.10.3 release of Yosemite fixed most of its “Attack of the 50 foot save sheet” issues, but a few remain. Specifically, in Photoshop and Illustrator there are still dialogs that grow larger each time you use them. Version 4.7.2 of Default Folder X fixes these problems.
Version 4.7.2 also adds additional safeguards to keep Default Folder X from hanging when it encounters damaged alias files, fixes some graphical glitches, and addresses a number of bugs and compatibility issues.
A full list of changes is available on the Default Folder X Release Page, along with links to download installers in English, German, French, Danish and Japanese. Because Default Folder X 4.7.2 includes a fix for possible freezes when it encounters bad alias files, we recommend that anyone who’s using Default Folder X upgrade to this version. Download your copy now!
Version 4.7.3 of Default Folder X just went live, bringing you a number of compatibility fixes, 
The 10.10.3 release of Yosemite fixed most of its 
