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JohnDoe98

macrumors 68020
May 1, 2009
2,488
99
They won't remove the finder. However it will loose it's importance for everyday use.

I can only see this happening if they allow things like folders within folders from within apps' file interfaces. Without that ability the Finder remains essential for many of us. It would be nice to see Finder go the way of Terminal though.
 

DeckMan

macrumors regular
Mar 16, 2011
109
6
To launch an app, I use launchpad (one gesture, one click), to access a file I use an appropriate application and hope that the file is still in the "recent files."

And if it isn't, there's always Spotlight :)

some people feel like apple is going to move away from requiring the user to create a file system with their own hierarchy.

Actually you're not even required to create a hierarchy now, are you? If you don't, apps will simply all save their stuff to ~/Documents. I don't know if anyone does that, but I think it could work - it's just kinda complicated for projects that require different file types and different apps.
 

thundersteele

macrumors 68030
Oct 19, 2011
2,984
9
Switzerland
I can only see this happening if they allow things like folders within folders from within apps' file interfaces. Without that ability the Finder remains essential for many of us. It would be nice to see Finder go the way of Terminal though.

My android phone has no finder by default, and iOS also comes without, as far as I know. Still people are able to store and access data on their smartphones and iPads. However they stop worrying where that data is actually stored, as long as they remember how to access it.

Also on the desktop it will be beneficial to move away from the "A file is in a folder is in a folder is in a folder" structure. If I open iTunes, I see all my music in a simple, organized way. I don't care that each song is stored in
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/Media/_name of artist_/_name of album_/artist.album.songname.mp3

When I got Lion, I thought "All my files" was the most stupid change they could ever make to Finder. Just right now I figured out how useful it is. I start keynote, click "Open", click "All my files", and immediately have the list of all presentations on my machine, and I can even preview them without opening them.

Right now I still have to worry about my files going into the dropbox folder, for backup purposes. In ML this will be easier, since I can decide to either have it somewhere on my filesystem, or on the cloud. I just hope that there will be a setting to keep a local copy of each cloud file, for when there is no internet.
 

scottsjack

macrumors 68000
Aug 25, 2010
1,906
311
Arizona
Actually you're not even required to create a hierarchy now, are you? If you don't, apps will simply all save their stuff to ~/Documents. I don't know if anyone does that, but I think it could work - it's just kinda complicated for projects that require different file types and different apps.

If you're just going to use your Mac to buy Apple supplied content for iTunes or fiddle around on Facebook you're OK not knowing what a file system or user Library is. However if you intend to do real work on a Mac that involves dealing with documents or images it's nice to know how to use the file system. Offices have file cabinets and drawers for a reason.
 

TheGdog

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2010
319
55
North Carolina, USA
Saving directly to iCloud is good stuff. But unfortunately it's not syncing.

So let me get this right, with ML you can save to iCloud, but there is still not a copy on my machine. So no internet, no files? I would have to save it both places and keep up with both of them? How is that helping anyone?
 

RoelJuun

macrumors 6502
Aug 31, 2010
450
209
Netherlands
That feature was useful back when you could zoom in on finder windows with two fingers. This disappeared on lion, along with the zoom bar at the bottom. I would really like to get that ability back.

I too want to be able to pinch-to-zoom in the Finder. The zoom bar is still there but Lion hides the 'Status bar' on default. Open a Finder window en press cmd + / to regain it. The slider is still bugged though…I find that really ridiculous and shameful.
 

xxBURT0Nxx

macrumors 68020
Jul 9, 2009
2,189
2
So let me get this right, with ML you can save to iCloud, but there is still not a copy on my machine. So no internet, no files? I would have to save it both places and keep up with both of them? How is that helping anyone?
why don't you just use dropbox? easy, cheap, been around for a while, syncs, can set up shared folders... really way better than iCloud in every way.
 

TheGdog

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2010
319
55
North Carolina, USA
why don't you just use dropbox? easy, cheap, been around for a while, syncs, can set up shared folders... really way better than iCloud in every way.

I do use Dropbox, but its one extra step to open a file in iWorks on my iOS device and then sending it back. Why bother when you can have it all sync in the background. I'm not complaining, but it would be really nice to see syncing like between the iPad and iPhone/iPod touch. However I don't use pages on my iPod very much.
 

notrack

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2012
446
94
I do use Dropbox, but its one extra step to open a file in iWorks on my iOS device and then sending it back. Why bother when you can have it all sync in the background. I'm not complaining, but it would be really nice to see syncing like between the iPad and iPhone/iPod touch. However I don't use pages on my iPod very much.

Exactly the same thoughts I have. I use WUALA which syncs encrypted. But with 10.8 the iCloud file sync with Mac will probably not work from finder but from files stored within iWork apps (just like on the iPad).
 

madeofchalk

macrumors newbie
Feb 18, 2012
5
0
I wonder - is it just a backup in another location, or is iCloud the only location then? Like, will copies of the files in iCloud be saved on the Mac for when you don't have internet access?

They're synced to
Code:
~/Library/Mobile Documents/
, just like Dropbox
 

thundersteele

macrumors 68030
Oct 19, 2011
2,984
9
Switzerland
If you're just going to use your Mac to buy Apple supplied content for iTunes or fiddle around on Facebook you're OK not knowing what a file system or user Library is. However if you intend to do real work on a Mac that involves dealing with documents or images it's nice to know how to use the file system. Offices have file cabinets and drawers for a reason.

Well, in the office you have two options, either you go and find the file yourself, or you ask your office assistant to fetch the file for you.

Given the choice, I would prefer finder to be my office assistant, not my drawer!

I'm not saying that we should get rid of hierarchical file systems. But I think that a OS that minimizes the interaction of the average user with the filesystem is not a bad thing.
 

jacg

macrumors 6502a
Jan 16, 2003
975
88
UK
2) Has the annoying "This Desktop" option work better in Lion. i.e.: If I've got an app open in Desktop 3 and set it to This Desktop, I do this so that I know pressing ^ 3 will take me to that desktop. If for some reason I close that desktop when the app is closed though, it forgets my setting an will open on desktop 1 when I relaunch the app. It would be much better if opening the app would create the required desktops again so that the app relaunched in Desktop 3 where I was last working on it.

MS Office manages to disregard my desktop settings most of the time (without doing what you describe). Will Apple help them fix this because by the time MS offer a working version for Lion, ML will be out.
 

MrAndy1369

Guest
Nov 27, 2011
36
0
Strange - when I booted ML on my MBP, there was the spinning gear under the Apple logo when booting. However, I had a multi-boot config with Lion so maybe the Lion boot loader was kept? Can anyone else confirm the missing spinning gear under the Apple logo when booting ML?

There is no spinning circle under the Apple logo when booting.
 

xxBURT0Nxx

macrumors 68020
Jul 9, 2009
2,189
2
Is there a way to use it with Pages or Numbers for iOs?
don't know about for iOS, i wasn't considering that. I use it to keep files in the cloud that i need access from multiple computers. Never had the need to try and edit a document in Pages on my phone, so never tried it.
 

Apollo1111

macrumors member
Feb 20, 2012
36
7
Archive button in Mail app in Mountain Lion

Anyone know if the ARCHIVE button in Mountain Lion's Mail app works the way it does in the iOS Mail app?

Referring to Gmail integration, does the Archive button finally archive emails, or does it still move them to a folder called /Archive?

Thanks!
 

pmz

macrumors 68000
Nov 18, 2009
1,949
0
NJ
If you're just going to use your Mac to buy Apple supplied content for iTunes or fiddle around on Facebook you're OK not knowing what a file system or user Library is. However if you intend to do real work on a Mac that involves dealing with documents or images it's nice to know how to use the file system. Offices have file cabinets and drawers for a reason.

There is no search function for file cabinets.

It irritates me when people suggest that creating hierarchy's of folders has anything to do with professional work. Ridiculous.
 

notrack

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2012
446
94
There is no search function for file cabinets.

It irritates me when people suggest that creating hierarchy's of folders has anything to do with professional work. Ridiculous.

I guess that is because they (me too) can't picture any better alternative today. Finder in column view plus Spotlight is pretty powerful and really easy to use. It's by far not the ultimate solution but the best in terms of "quick and easy". Can't wait to see what Apple will come up with.
 

tootall

macrumors regular
Apr 17, 2011
212
3
Quebec, Canada
There is no search function for file cabinets.

It irritates me when people suggest that creating hierarchy's of folders has anything to do with professional work. Ridiculous.

Personnally I don't know what is a professional computer user or a power user, I believe that I am neither, but I have been using a computer to teach classes at the university and do research for the past 20 years. As of now I have over 48 000 data files. The only efficient way to work with all that data is to have it organized with a file system (folders and subfolders organized by class and projects).

Using name search in spotlight does not work efficiently because there are so many different iterations of similar files. I may have a powerpoint for when I teach a specific subject at the undergraduate level and a similar (but more thorough) one for the graduate level.

IMHO, users can avoid finder when they have a limited number of files or when they mostly use the same files (so they find them in "recent files"). Otherwise it becomes cumbersome... in any case as long as there is different ways to open files (w and w/o finder), everybody will be happy...
 

GermanyChris

macrumors 601
Jul 3, 2011
4,185
5
Here
Personnally I don't know what is a professional computer user or a power user, I believe that I am neither, but I have been using a computer to teach classes at the university and do research for the past 20 years. As of now I have over 48 000 data files. The only efficient way to work with all that data is to have it organized with a file system (folders and subfolders organized by class and projects).

Using name search in spotlight does not work efficiently because there are so many different iterations of similar files. I may have a powerpoint for when I teach a specific subject at the undergraduate level and a similar (but more thorough) one for the graduate level.

IMHO, users can avoid finder when they have a limited number of files or when they mostly use the same files (so they find them in "recent files"). Otherwise it becomes cumbersome... in any case as long as there is different ways to open files (w and w/o finder), everybody will be happy...

I agree with you....but

If you save your files with some meta data you can just search..

I was in a share point class where I was treated as the slow kid because I have folders within folders it's just how I think and organize
 

t0mbola

macrumors member
May 30, 2011
73
26
Personnally I don't know what is a professional computer user or a power user, I believe that I am neither, but I have been using a computer to teach classes at the university and do research for the past 20 years. As of now I have over 48 000 data files. The only efficient way to work with all that data is to have it organized with a file system (folders and subfolders organized by class and projects).

Using name search in spotlight does not work efficiently because there are so many different iterations of similar files. I may have a powerpoint for when I teach a specific subject at the undergraduate level and a similar (but more thorough) one for the graduate level.

IMHO, users can avoid finder when they have a limited number of files or when they mostly use the same files (so they find them in "recent files"). Otherwise it becomes cumbersome... in any case as long as there is different ways to open files (w and w/o finder), everybody will be happy...

Files should be saved under each app, then organised using smart folders. The same thing what we have been doing with our music for a decade thanks to iTunes. It is like SQL database, it doesn't have any folders or subfolders. You insert your data into appropriate tables and then get required data by querying the database.

It is so simple. Filesystem will end up where Terminal is now, great tool for power users and admins, but also something that normal user will never have to learn. Makes perfect sense to me.
 

xxBURT0Nxx

macrumors 68020
Jul 9, 2009
2,189
2
Files should be saved under each app, then organised using smart folders. The same thing what we have been doing with our music for a decade thanks to iTunes. It is like SQL database, it doesn't have any folders or subfolders. You insert your data into appropriate tables and then get required data by querying the database.

It is so simple. Filesystem will end up where Terminal is now, great tool for power users and admins, but also something that normal user will never have to learn. Makes perfect sense to me.
IDK anything really about SQL, but iTunes definitely creates folders and subfolders to keep your music organized.

user/music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/Artist/Album/song_name.mp3
 

t0mbola

macrumors member
May 30, 2011
73
26
IDK anything really about SQL, but iTunes definitely creates folders and subfolders to keep your music organized.

user/music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/Artist/Album/song_name.mp3

Exactly. There is alway going to be some sort of file system but user will not have to interact with it anymore. Like you don't have to interact with the iTunes file system, you use iTunes app to sync / play audio files.
 

xxBURT0Nxx

macrumors 68020
Jul 9, 2009
2,189
2
Exactly. There is alway going to be some sort of file system but user will not have to interact with it anymore. Like you don't have to interact with the iTunes file system, you use iTunes app to sync / play audio files.
yeah, i understand how that works, and i feel like every app is going to work this way sooner than later. People don't even understand what a file system does.

Can't even tell you how many times I will send a folder or file to someone, they click on it and Finder opens. They see two folders inside (one the program, one the readme, for example) and they get confused and don't know what to do.

People not familiar with computers don't need to have folders in folders trying to figure out how to get to what they want.
 
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