TotalFinder
There are several Finder replacement/modification applications. However, apps such as PathFinder get too far away from the original Finder. They begin to feel bloated and messy. TotalFinder, created by BinaryAge, seeks to improve the Mac Finder experience by adding features to Finder that really should have been included in Finder to begin with, yet also keeps the original clean and simple Finder experience.
The most prominent feature of TotalFinder is the tabbed browsing. Just like tabbed browsing revolutionized the web browsing experience, TotalFinder’s tabs revolutionize the Finder experience. TotalFinder’s tabs make dealing with multiple folders at the same time effortless. There are many times where I have found myself to be working with multiple Finder windows and have had to deal with a mess of different windows all layered on top of each other. With the tabs, I am able to open multiple folders and quickly navigate between those folders. This leads me to another major feature of Total Finder, cut and paste.
Windows users are able to select a folder or file then cut and past it to another location on the computer. I remember how frustrated I was when I switched from Windows to OS X, only to discover I could no longer cut and paste files and folders. Mac users know that Apple does not include cut and paste functionality into Finder. TotalFinder remedies this frustration by enabling cutting and pasting!
Other features include a “visor mode,” which brings up TotalFinder by a hotkey, and “dual mode,” which allows two browsing windows side-by-side (useful to compare files or to move files back and forth).
TotalFinder is one of those applications (like 1Password and Launchbar) that, once you begin using it, you don’t know how you did without it!
One feature that I would really like to see TotalFinder implement in the future is merging folders. This is another one of those Windows features that Mac users just don’t have. Sometimes you may have two folders with a lot of files in them and you want those folders merged into a single folder (removing duplicates by keeping all unique files). Merging would really add to the already incredible TotalFinder experience.
Overall, this is a pretty incredible app. If you have recently switched from Windows to OS X (Mac) then TotalFinder will bring some of the familiar features of Windows to your folder and file browsing experience. If you have been an OS X user for a while already, then you may still want to check out TotalFinder for its tabbed browsing and cut and paste functionality. The value of the features far exceed the $15 price of the software.
To download a 14-day trial or to purchase TotalFinder click here.
