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[Mat]

I am thinking about writing another article for the mainpage, that talks about the uniqe features of the Finder and the surpassing concepts of our user interface. Mainly I have the "spatial finder" in mind, But also small things like "ALT-klick-release" for Alias creation that I use extensively for example.
One of the helpful features Mac OS 9 offers, that is really outstanding, and that I love is the dragging of an URL. So I can just drop an URL to a download or as further informations into a folder.

So please inspire me!

-) What is still unreached by other Operating Systems that Mac OS 9 offers for you?

-) What is missing in any other OS that you love about Mac OS 9?

-) What concepts are missunderstood in other user interfaces?

-) What functions do you love that you do not have elsewhere?

-) What use cases are much simpler in the Finder than in other desktops?

-) Why do you love the Finder, what creates the easiness, elegnce and simplicity for you?

[ssp3]

Mat, are you familiar with these articles?
https://daringfireball.net/2002/11/that_finder_thing
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2003/04/finder/

Otherwise - window shade, shortcuts, clippings, non 3d icons, speed(!), search (old one, not Sherlock), remembering window positions.

EDIT. Forgot the important one - lack of animation!

[Mat]

In fact I did read this article 20 years ago, but I didn´t have it in mind anymore. While I send around John Siracusas article to everybody for more than 2 decades. (Even linked to it in my Graphics article).

And yes, Window shade is one that I also use extensively.

[IIO]

the look is the one thing, but for actual work what is even more important are things like the keyboard commands, how drag and drop works, these basic things are imperfect in OSX/macOS and terrible in windows 7/10/11.

though i should add that i use a bunch of extensions to macOS9 which make the finder even better. for example the default behaviour with the usually much too small and not-resizable open and save dialogs are a pain in MacOS - until you "upgrade" them.
i also would not like to work without solid dragging or "default folder".

[smilesdavis]

care to share?

[Bolkonskij]

Wow, I loved your article on DTP / layout. Very much looking for another one, Mat!!

Apart from the things that have been mentioned, I love that the Finder's basic concept remains unchanged :-D .. I mean, I've been using this thing for 30+ years starting with System 7 and was able to learn all the shortcuts I want / need, I know how the thing behaves, I know what it is good at and what not .. kind of like an old marriage. :-)

[PrepperGeek]

I particularly miss the "Command-Y" shortcut, where anything on the desktop can just be 'put away' when youre done using it. Its Just so convenient because if you use the same file on different programs, you just have to put it on the desktop, and its right there. And when your done with that file, boom, just hit "Command-Y" and itll be automatically put back to the diectory you got it from.

[Mat]

Wow, I loved your article on DTP / layout. Very much looking for another one, Mat!!

Thanks for such a great compliment!

I mean, I've been using this thing for 30+ years

But that is not in particular a feature of Mac OS 9 ;) Imagine if you would have cared about NetBSD or Be/Haiku the last 30 years you would love them as well :-p of course I will mention it if I manage to write something good.

But please people go on! To my shame I have to confess I did not know about "Command-Y"! So I do not like to miss anything.

[ovalking]

I like how I can put stuff where I want it.
Only the System folder has special rules for what can go where, and that's fair enough.
If I want to mix my applications and work files I can. If I want to put photos in a folder called Junk I can.
If I want to delete everything except the system folder, I can.
It's a shame Apple tried to mess this up with stupid Applications (Mac OS9) and Documents folders.

[IIO]

I love that the Finder's basic concept remains unchanged :-D

you love that it remains unchanged because you use it since 30 years, lol, as it seems "great minds think likewise" is till true after all the years.

[PrepperGeek]

But that is not in particular a feature of Mac OS 9 ;) Imagine if you would have cared about NetBSD or Be/Haiku the last 30 years you would love them as well :-p of course I will mention it if I manage to write something good.

But please people go on! To my shame I have to confess I did not know about "Command-Y"! So I do not like to miss anything.

Ah, didnt know that, I never used any of those OSes you mentioned(yet), Glad to know MacOS isnt the only one to heva that feature. Makes me kinda sad they took it away with OS X, It messes with my workflow alot more than I thought it would.

And I didnt know about the feature up until last year, while reading Aker Naimans "Macintosh Bible second edition"

[Bolkonskij]

Haha, Mat, in a way you can consider it a "feature". There'll be no fundamental changes to it. Anything you learn today will stay relevant in 5 or 10 years from now. In an IT world where everything is in constant change and you never get a full grasp on things due to this changing nature, it's a relief to sit down and use the Finder and know that things work the way they are and will be in the future. (unless *you* decide to change it via installing some extension)

Hope that better conveyed my thought. But you're correct, of course it's not a "technical feature" ;-)

[Mat]

Glad to know MacOS isnt the only one to heva that feature.

There is a missunderstanding. I was not talking about any special feature, just about the fact that one may love every Operating System after 30 years of usage. NetBSD and Be/Haiku were just examples for other "non-mainstream" Operating Systems.

Hope that better conveyed my thought.

I absolutely understood you, already in your first posting!

[Mat]

What I for example realized today, when I had to work on Mate;

When you create a folder, these silly Desktops create them and sort them directly somewhere else than your mouse is and where you created the new folder, …

So go on, tell me more love stories! ;)