This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Views
A Finder window's contents can be displayed using three different views:
-
Icons displays the window's contents as small or large icons (
Figure 11
).
Figure 11 You can display a window's contents as icons,...
-
List displays the window's contents as a sorted list (
Figure 12
).
Figure 12 ...as a list,...
-
Columns displays the window's contents with a multiple-column format that shows the currently selected disk or folder and the items within it (
Figure 13
).
Figure 13 ... or as columns.
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To change a window's view
- If necessary, activate the window whose view you want to change.
- Choose the view option you want from the View menu (
Figure 14
) or press the corresponding shortcut key.
or Click the toolbar's view button for the view you want ( Figure 15 ).
Figure 14 The View menu offers a variety of options for changing a window's view, along with three new command key equivalents for switching from one view to another.
Figure 15 The view buttons in the toolbar.
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The view of the window changes.
To neatly arrange icons in icon view
- Activate the window that you want to clean up (
Figure 16
).
Figure 16 Start with a messy window like this one...
- Choose View > Clean Up (
Figure 14
). The icons are arranged in the window's invisible grid (
Figure 17
).
or Choose one of the commands from the Arrange By submenu under the View menu ( Figure 18 ):
Figure 17 ...and use the Clean Up command to put the icons in place.
- by Name arranges the icons alphabetically by name ( Figure 11 ).
- by Date Modified arranges the icons chronologically by the date they were last modified, with the most recently modified item last.
- by Date Created arranges the icons by the date they were created, with the most recently created item last.
- by Size arranges the icons in size order, with the largest item last. (Folders have a size of 0 for this option.)
- by Kind arranges the icons alphabetically by the kind of file.
- by Label arranges the icons by color-coded label (if applied).
The icons are arranged in the window's invisible grid in the order you specified ( Figure 11 ).
Figure 18 The Arrange by submenu offers several options for neatly arranging icons.
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TIPs
- A window's invisible grid ensures consistent spacing between icons.
- You can manually position an icon in the window's invisible grid by holding down
while dragging it within the window. - When one or more icons are selected, the Clean Up command becomes the Clean Up Selection command. Choosing it arranges just the selected icons.
- I tell you how to apply and customize labels in Chapter 4.
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To sort a window's contents in list view
Click the column heading for the column you want to sort by. The list is sorted by that column ( Figure 19 ).
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Figure 19 Click a column heading to sort by that column.
TIPs
- You can identify the column by which a list is sorted by its colored column heading (
Figures 12
,
19
, and
20
).
Figure 20 Click the same column heading to reverse that column's sort order.
- You can reverse a window's sort order by clicking the sort column's heading a second time ( Figure 20 ).
- You can determine the sort direction by looking at the arrow in the sort column. When it points up, the items are sorted in ascending order ( Figure 20 ); when it points down, the items are sorted in descending order ( Figure 19 ).
- To properly sort by size, you must turn on the Calculate all sizes option for the window. I explain how in Chapter 4.
- You can specify which columns should appear in a window by setting View Options. I explain how to do that in Chapter 4, too.
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