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Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

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Re: Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

#11

Post by dailyanchovy »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #9

Interesting, but I think part of what made Classic Mac OS' spatial Finder work is that every folder only ever had a single window associated with it (similar to how in the physical world, spaces like folders and drawers only have a singular location) and opening a folder opens that window. It feels a touch strange to apply spatial logic to an Explorer-style navigator file manager.

I see. While making this I found that if you hide the Finder sidebar and toolbar (both are options in the menu), then your scenario plays out. In a way it’s nicer than the video on my github.

Re: Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

#14

Post by cosmic_cheese »

dailyanchovy wrote: post #11
cosmic_cheese wrote: post #9

Interesting, but I think part of what made Classic Mac OS' spatial Finder work is that every folder only ever had a single window associated with it (similar to how in the physical world, spaces like folders and drawers only have a singular location) and opening a folder opens that window. It feels a touch strange to apply spatial logic to an Explorer-style navigator file manager.

I see. While making this I found that if you hide the Finder sidebar and toolbar (both are options in the menu), then your scenario plays out. In a way it’s nicer than the video on my github.

Yeah, single-window mode has been in the Finder for a very long time (wanna say since 10.1 or something), but compared to the OS 9 Finder it's always been a bit flaky and will sometimes forget window sizes+positions. I figure that it's probably never gotten the level of attention required to make it polished.

It's also missing the open folder indicator that the Classic Finder had, where folders that had their window open somewhere had a different icon (filled with a stipple pattern). This is a bigger problem than it sounds like, particularly with OS X having multiple desktops and making it easier to lose windows.

Re: Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

#15

Post by jccc »

> Only folders inside the Documents folder are affected.

That's quite a caveat. The reason for it is:

> size and position are stored in a hidden .framedata.json file in that folder. When a folder is opened, this file is used to restore its state.

Couldn't this information be stored centrally in the user's home for any folders opened/moved/sized, avoiding this limitation?

Re: Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

#16

Post by dailyanchovy »

jccc wrote: post #15

> Only folders inside the Documents folder are affected. That's quite a caveat. The reason for it is: > size and position are stored in a hidden .framedata.json file in that folder. When a folder is opened, this file is used to restore its state. Couldn't this information be stored centrally in the user's home for any folders opened/moved/sized, avoiding this limitation?

Oh that’s not a limitation, it was a choice. You can remove that restriction by changing the appropriate line to scan ~ instead of ~/Documents.

Re: Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

#17

Post by hyperhello »

I don't think Spatial Finder is as useful as it once was. The reason is that these web interfaces block the whole screen, so I generally need to move the browser to the side, beep open a finder window, drag the file in, move the browser back, etc. What I would really like to have back from those days is to drag a folder to the bottom of the screen and have it turned into a little tab, so I can have a "CS602" tab for example during that class. Alternatively, how about putting the tab in the menu bar and doing it as a little popup? I'd probably pay $5 for that right now if it was implemented in a not annoying way.

Re: Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

#18

Post by noduerme »

hyperhello wrote: post #17

I don't think Spatial Finder is as useful as it once was. The reason is that these web interfaces block the whole screen, so I generally need to move the browser to the side, beep open a finder window, drag the file in, move the browser back, etc. What I would really like to have back from those days is to drag a folder to the bottom of the screen and have it turned into a little tab, so I can have a "CS602" tab for…

Why not put an accordion folder in the dock?

Re: Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

#19

Post by hyperhello »

noduerme wrote: post #18
hyperhello wrote: post #17

I don't think Spatial Finder is as useful as it once was. The reason is that these web interfaces block the whole screen, so I generally need to move the browser to the side, beep open a finder window, drag the file in, move the browser back, etc. What I would really like to have back from those days is to drag a folder to the bottom of the screen and have it turned into a little tab, so I can have a "CS602" tab for…

Why not put an accordion folder in the dock?

Not a bad idea, but the dock has gone to pot too. For example I just dragged an alias of a folder there and it doesn't even understand I wanted the folder.

Everything seems to be at the point where you want to invite the developer over, get him drunk, and make him swear at his own product until he agrees the experience is not great. Of course there is no "the developer" anymore.

Re: Show HN: Re-Implementing the macOS Spatial Finder

#20

Post by likeclockwork »

hyperhello wrote: post #17

I don't think Spatial Finder is as useful as it once was. The reason is that these web interfaces block the whole screen, so I generally need to move the browser to the side, beep open a finder window, drag the file in, move the browser back, etc. What I would really like to have back from those days is to drag a folder to the bottom of the screen and have it turned into a little tab, so I can have a "CS602" tab for…

Move the browser to the side? I can never understand why anyone would want to manually shuffle windows around as a disorganized stack.

From my perspective the desktop metaphor UX was obsolete the moment it was conceived of. All anyone has to do is look at the physical desks of a thousand random people and it should be immediately obvious how little value there is in recreating that chaos.

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