Finder alternatives?

Nibiru · Post by **Nibiru** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 10:57 pm

Hey all!

The trial version of Path Finder I've been using (which I love) is about to expire. Before I purchase this, I wanted to come here to ask if there are better, possibly cheaper alternatives? I've hated Spotlight/Finder in every Mac OS I've used since 9 btw. Since discovering Path Finder, I'm relieved I can finally find all the junk I accumulate and delete! I find Path Finder to be pretty amazing in getting in deep to find things, but I'm very curious to know what the geniuses are using here...

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:11 pm

This works pretty good. Likes to phone home a lot but that's why I also have Little Snitch.

stubbsonic · Post by **stubbsonic** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 6:38 am

I use Find Any File for searching files. Apple's Finder doesn't really let you do searches the way it used to; and it hides some results ("for your own good"-- in essence).

I use Find Any File when I want to be sure I'm seeing the actual unfiltered results of any kind of search.

http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/

I use Spotlight when I need the search to tap into contents of the file.

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 8:34 am

Spotlight is of limited use and got a lot worse in Yosemite. Still necessary if you ever need to search a Time Machine backup. I wish there was a way to see the path when you locate a file without opening it first. I usually need to attach a file to a report or email which means I need to know where it is--Spotlight is useless for that.

I can still use the Find feature from Finder but it's more difficult to use than previously. You have to modify the various menus to get there. There is nothing that can't be found but it's becoming a pain to do so.

Find Any File appears to be an api for Find but if it makes things easier, it is certainly worth the $6, I suppose. I don't like that it can't search content which I can do with Find so it's useless to me.

In my job, I am constantly searching for text strings and documents that I have used in the past. A simple, easy to use tool that behaved as Find used to would be nice but I don't see it out there. The idea of using multiple tools... Naw, I don't have that kind of time when working. Find does work if you take the time to learn it.

leigh · Post by **leigh** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 9:01 am

Nibiru wrote:Hey all!

The trial version of Path Finder I've been using (which I love) is about to expire. Before I purchase this, I wanted to come here to ask if there are better, possibly cheaper alternatives? I've hated Spotlight/Finder in every Mac OS I've used since 9 btw. Since discovering Path Finder, I'm relieved I can finally find all the junk I accumulate and delete! I find Path Finder to be pretty amazing in getting in deep to find things, but I'm very curious to know what the geniuses are using here...

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

I've used PathFinder since version 1.0 and the longer I use it, the more I appreciate what it can do. Well worth the money in the time the Drop Stack alone has saved me. Batch rename using Regular Expressions is another thing I love.

**Leigh

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 11:32 am

leigh wrote:I've used PathFinder since version 1.0 and the longer I use it, the more I appreciate what it can do. Well worth the money in the time the Drop Stack alone has saved me. Batch rename using Regular Expressions is another thing I love.

**Leigh

Googling PathFinder certainly brings up an array of web sites – oh yea... Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.cocoatech.com/pathfinder/

Looks interesting. I may give that a whirl. If it saves me time, I've no problem with the $40.

bayswater · Post by **bayswater** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:16 pm

mikehalloran wrote:Spotlight is of limited use and got a lot worse in Yosemite. Still necessary if you ever need to search a Time Machine backup. I wish there was a way to see the path when you locate a file without opening it first. I usually need to attach a file to a report or email which means I need to know where it is--Spotlight is useless for that.

Scroll to the file in question and press CMD-I. You can copy and paste the path that appears there. I know, only half a solution. It's a mystery why Apple chose to take a great idea and make it useless.

mikehalloran wrote:I can still use the Find feature from Finder but it's more difficult to use than previously. You have to modify the various menus to get there. There is nothing that can't be found but it's becoming a pain to do so.

The best I can get is to press cmd-F, type in a string, then press the down key once to activate "Name". That allows you to enter a substring, which I think didn't work in Mavericks.

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 3:11 pm

bayswater wrote: Scroll to the file in question and press CMD-I. You can copy and paste the path that appears there. I know, only half a solution. It's a mystery why Apple chose to take a great idea and make it useless.

I agree but you just made it more useful for me.

bayswater wrote: The best I can get is to press cmd-F, type in a string, then press the down key once to activate "Name". That allows you to enter a substring, which I think didn't work in Mavericks.

Saves a person from having to click on the Desktop first. Another handy tip.

Nibiru · Post by **Nibiru** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 7:39 pm

Thanks for all the great replies and wisdom! I think I'm gonna go with Path Finder. The others I've looked at seemed cool, some trying a little too hard to be simplistic, but still good. But Path Finder seems to be exactly what I'm looking for and need. Thanks again for everyone's help!

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