Default Folder X 5
Power up Mac file management. US$34.95; UPGRADE FROM V4, US$14.95 | STCLAIRSOFT.COM
Apple’s drive towards minimalism can prove frustrating in Open and Save dialogs, which have barely changed as OS X has evolved. Aside from some stashed favourites and a handful of recent places in a pop-up menu, they do little to speed up your workflow. By contrast, Default Folder X is chock-full of features that power up these dialogs in a major way and boost other key areas of OS X.
The first time you use Default Folder X, its presence is felt. It surrounds the Open and Save dialogs, adding several new menus. These house all manner of commands, including the means to change a selected item (rename, duplicate, compress, etc), and access to recent files, folders and open Finder windows and tabs. A less obvious but hugely useful transformation is the switching of the menu for one that lets you browse the entire file system at speed. This menu is optionally mirrored in the menu bar and Finder’s toolbar, and there are other goodies lurking outside of Open and Save dialogs.
Folder X’s extensive preferences enable you to define keyboard shortcuts for menu commands and favourite folders. You can also create folder sets (e.g. to have unique folder shortcuts for individual projects), which can be selected from the aforementioned menus. In addition, default folders can be defined for individual apps, and limited to a specific extension. So if you usually save TIFFs in one place but JPEGs in another when working in an image editor, you can configure the app to automatically go to the correct initial location to open or save a file according to its type.
However, Folder X sometimes feels sluggish. It’s noticeably slow to appear when activated and lags a touch when shortcuts are invoked. We also found the new features hit and miss. It’s great to have a recent files list and fast access to Finder tabs, but the new sidebar for stashing documents seems superfluous. Also, while we appreciate the app adding a tagging system for files and folders, we didn’t use it much after our initial curiosity wore off.
There’s also an ongoing nagging feeling that Default Folder X can be initially baffling and overwhelming — something that new features and added complexity fail to dispel. Still, as ever, it remains an app that rewards investment. Spend some time learning the ropes and setting things up, and you’ll gain many more savings in the long run. Chances are, Default Folder X will become one of those apps your Mac feels naked without.