File Buddy Lists vs Finder List View
While a file list in File Buddy looks very similar to a Finder window in list view, the Finder window is not actually a list. It is a window of objects being displayed in a list-like format. |
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The file list in File Buddy is a true list, and offers some features the Finder does not. This difference leads to some differences in their behaviors. |
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Of course, the biggest difference between the two is that the Finder owns those items that the list in File Buddy is only displaying. As a result, if an item in a file list is modified in the Finder, File Buddy is not notified of that change. On the other hand, the Finder is notified of all changes, though it may choose not to display a change immediately. |
Some things are the same...
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Folders are expanded and collapsed by clicking the triangle to the left of the folder, and by typing Command-Right Arrow, Command-Left Arrow respectively. |
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Option-clicking a folder's disclosure triangle expands the folder and all subfolders. |
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Items in an expanded folder appear directly under the folder, with the Names and anything to their left increasingly indented to the right with each level. |
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You can select items from anywhere in the list. |
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You can select a block of files by dragging out a rectangle (but it must be started in the left margin of the list). |
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Collapsing a folder removes all items expanded from it from the list. |
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A folder item is not selected when you expand it or collapse it. |
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Sorting is applied to the contents of a folder separately from items outside the folder. |
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Dragging an item to a folder in the list moves or copies the item to that folder. |
Some are different...
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In Mac OS 9: Shift-clicking selects an entire range of items in the list. Command-click to get the same behavior as shift-clicking in the Finder. |
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The Size column in a Finder list shows the amount of disk space used by a file. The Size column in a File Buddy list shows the actual size of a file, and the window preferences pop-down menu offers multiple options for displaying the size of files and folders. |
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You can remove any item in the list. Removing an item from the list has no effect on the item itself. If an item in an expanded folder is removed from the list, you can collapse and re-expand the folder to bring it back. |
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It is possible for an item to appear in the list more than once. For example, a search for items with "File Buddy" in the name would result in both the File Buddy application and the folder containing appearing in the list. Expanding the File Buddy folder would add the File Buddy application to the list beneath the folder, at which point you would see 2 copies of the application in the list. This should not cause any problems, since duplicates are removed before acting on selected items. |
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Columns can be added selecting the desired information column from a pop-up menu, and removed as easily as dragging the heading off the list. |
A few comments
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You cannot sort by Icon if any folders are expanded. If the list is sorted by Icon when you expand a folder, the list will be sorted by name before expanding. |
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Mark Duplicates is not available if any folders are expanded. |
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Secondary sorting is not available if any folders are expanded. |
Related Topics
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