- Window Views
- Working with Icon View
- Working with List View
- Working with Column View
- Working with Cover Flow
- Arranging Window Contents
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Arranging Window Contents
In addition to moving icons and sorting lists, you can also use menu commands to arrange window icons by specific fields of information, such as kind, size, or date. Items are then grouped in the window by the arrange field you chose 
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You can arrange a window’s contents by nine different fields of information:
- Name (Control-Command-1) arranges items alphabetically by name.
- Kind
(Control-Command-2) arranges items alphabetically by the kind of file. - Application arranges items alphabetically by the application that will open them.
Arranging vs. Sorting
Although both the arranging and sorting feature put window icons in a specific order—usually the same order—there is a difference.
- Arranging groups items by the Arrange By option you specify. Within each group, items can also be sorted by another field. So, for example, you can arrange (and group) items by kind and, within each group, sort by name .
- Sorting simply sorts items by the column or sort option you specify. There’s no grouping. Sorting is most often done in list or Cover Flow view by clicking a column heading (page 480), but you can also sort a window’s contents by choosing a command from the Sort By submenu under the View menu.
- Arranging groups items by the Arrange By option you specify. Within each group, items can also be sorted by another field. So, for example, you can arrange (and group) items by kind and, within each group, sort by name
- Date Last Opened (Control-Command-3) arranges items in reverse chronological order by the date they were last opened.
- Date Added (Control-Command-4) arranges items in reverse chronological order by the date they were added.
- Date Modified
(Control-Command-5) arranges items in reverse chronological order by the date they were last modified. - Date Created arranges items in reverse chronological order by the date they were created.
- Size (Control-Command-6) arranges items in reverse size order. Folders have a size of 0 for this option unless you have set the window to calculate folder sizes (page 480).
- Label (Control-Command-7) arranges items by color-coded label (if applied; page 80).
- None (Control-Command-0) removes any applied arrangement option.
As shown on these pages, the Arrange feature works in all window views.
To arrange window contents
- Activate the window you want to arrange.
- Use one of the following techniques:
- Choose a command from the Arrange By submenu under the View menu
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- Choose a command from the Arrange pop-up menu on the window’s toolbar
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- Press the appropriate keyboard shortcut (page 18).
The icons are grouped in the window based on the Arrange By option you chose.
- Choose a command from the Arrange By submenu under the View menu
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To remove arrangement settings from a window
- Activate the window you want to remove arrangement settings from.
- Do one of the following:
- Choose View > Arrange By > None
. - Choose None from the Arrange pop-up menu on the window’s toolbar
. - Press Control-Command-0 (zero).
- Choose View > Arrange By > None
To sort and arrange a window’s contents
- Activate the window you want to sort and arrange.
- Follow the instructions on page 65 to remove any arrangement settings applied to the window.
- Hold down the Option key and choose an option from the Sort By submenu under the View menu
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The items are sorted in the order you specified.
- Follow the instructions on page 65 to apply an arrangement option to the window.
The items are grouped by the arrangement option and, if possible, sorted within each group by the sort option you chose in step 3.
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This doesn’t always work. It depends on which arrangement option is selected in step 4 and whether it allows sorting. For example, you can arrange by kind and, within each group, sort by name because the kind option has distinct groups and no sorting within each group. But you cannot arrange by size and then sort by another field because within each size group, OS X sorts by size 
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You can also sort a window’s contents by pressing one of the Sort By shortcut keys 
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In icon view, you must disable the window’s sort option by choosing None from the Sort By submenu to be able to move icons out of their sorted positions.