Please help a Mac noob with some basic questions

[DrJohnZoidberg]

As I suspected. Logic problems.

Cut/Paste works by simply dragging and dropping. Open two windows and drag/drop from one to the other and it moves the file/folder. Unless it's not local storage then it will copy it.

Yes I know I can drag n drop but why not just add a cut feature that is prevalent in every single common application that has ever existed. I know there is also a shortcut key for it but again why not just use the common key stokes.

Not sure what up one level means?

Actually found this one (sort of), not an actual button but by Showing Path Bar I can double click the parent folder to go up one level.

Multiple viewing? Hold in Alt. So select what you want and press Alt + Apple + i and it displays information for all of them together.

Thank you! This is very non-intuitive though but very glad I know how it works now.

A feature I would never use having spent years with multiple windows.

Now SFTP servers...there's a valid one I dearly miss natively. Cyberduck does the job for me though, but you are right native support on a Linux system should really be supported.

SCP via command line also works well enough.

Ye, I'm just used to being able to use tabs from using Nautilus on Linux. Very glad they have added support for this now, I hate having multiple windows open for the same app.

Regarding the sftp thing, it's not a train smash as Windows doesn't have this feature either but it would be nice seeing the OS allows ftp servers, then why not sftp?

 

[bwana]

Actually found this one (sort of), not an actual button but by Showing Path Bar I can double click the parent folder to go up one level.

At the risk of repeating myself… cmd+up arrow.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Yes I know I can drag n drop but why not just add a cut feature that is prevalent in every single common application that has ever existed. I know there is also a shortcut key for it but again why not just use the common key stokes.

There was a good explanation for it somewhere, but I don't recall what it was exactly.

It's normal Apple + X shortcut in everything else, it's just not active in Finder.

Actually found this one (sort of), not an actual button but by Showing Path Bar I can double click the parent folder to go up one level.

Apple + [ or ] is also back and forwar

Thank you! This is very non-intuitive though but very glad I know how it works now.

Well sometimes you want to view all the folders to compare and other times you want to add them all together. It's actually very useful when you want to compare folders unlike Windows where you would need to go click on each one individually.

Remember Alt as the modifier key for just about anything and you'll be fine.

Regarding the sftp thing, it's not a train smash as Windows doesn't have this feature either but it would be nice seeing the OS allows ftp servers, then why not sftp?

Well that's because SFTP isn't really FTP at all. It uses SSH to open a secure connection between the two servers.

However this is natively supported by OSX, just not in the GUI which is why it's a real pain in the ass.

 

[bwana]

It's normal Apple + X shortcut in everything else, it's just not active in Finder.

Perhaps people are confused by the nomenclature. First you copy (command + c), then you "move" (command + alt + v).

 

[PostmanPot]

What do you want closing the lid to do?

When on mains, nothing. When on battery, sleep.

I would also like to stop it from going to sleep altogether while on mains unless I force it to.

I would also like to disable the power button from putting the laptop to sleep when I accidentally tap it.

 

[ponder]

Re #2, I'll try iPhoto, but I suspect I'm looking for something more basic.

In linux I use Viewnior which I think is available via the fink project (site currently down) for os x.

 

[Cassady]

I would also like to stop it from going to sleep altogether while on mains unless I force it to.

In Terminal - simply type "caffeinate". This will keep your Mac from sleeping.
CTRL + C will then clear it, and switch it off.

I bought a little applet that sits in my menubar, called Caffeine. Does the above for me, without invoking Terminal.
Just a click on the coffee mug icon to activate.

Or you could "write your own app" through Automator, and have it sit on the desktop to do the same as above.
Or you could insert it as a Service, to be reached from wherever...

I have plenty of applets, all neatly managed by Bartender in my menubar.

 

[bwana]

In Terminal - simply type "caffeinate". This will keep your Mac from sleeping.
CTRL + C will then clear it, and switch it off.

I bought a little applet that sits in my menubar, called Caffeine. Does the above for me, without invoking Terminal.
Just a click on the coffee mug icon to activate.

It will still sleep when you close the lid.

When on mains, nothing. When on battery, sleep.

I would also like to stop it from going to sleep altogether while on mains unless I force it to.

I would also like to disable the power button from putting the laptop to sleep when I accidentally tap it.

I can't imagine running the mac with the lid closed for extended periods is a good idea from a heat perspective alone.

One way to quickly turn off the display is to press shift+ctrl+ eject - not sure what the rMBP/Air equivalent is though.

If you want to change your sleep/screen dim profile it's under system preferences - energy.

 

[Cassady]

It will still sleep when you close the lid.

Yip. Apologies if I missed something - thought OP wanted to know how to prevent it sleeping with lid open.

Does OP want the lid closed without it sleeping - i.e. Clamshell mode?

 

[bwana]

Yip. Apologies if I missed something - thought OP wanted to know how to prevent it sleeping with lid open.

Does OP want the lid closed without it sleeping - i.e. Clamshell mode?

From what I understand - not sure if Insomnia is still around.

 

[PostmanPot]

It will still sleep when you close the lid.I can't imagine running the mac with the lid closed for extended periods is a good idea from a heat perspective alone.

One way to quickly turn off the display is to press shift+ctrl+ eject - not sure what the rMBP/Air equivalent is though.

If you want to change your sleep/screen dim profile it's under system preferences - energy.

Runs pretty cool I've found. I think the lack of hard drive helps. Of course, the screen would be disabled when closed. But I would like things to still run - PPPOE ADSL account connection, emails and Skype messages coming in, etc.

Re Energy Saver, have found those options, [-]the only problem is both slide with each other, I can't set them independently[/-] working now, have set the computer to never sleep, with the screen to dim after 2 minutes.

 

[PostmanPot]

Yip. Apologies if I missed something - thought OP wanted to know how to prevent it sleeping with lid open.

Does OP want the lid closed without it sleeping - i.e. Clamshell mode?

Yes please, would be nice to have.

Thanks for your tip about typing caffeinate into Terminal. But it seems I won't need to as per above post.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Mac should run happily with the lid closed while an external keyboard and screen are connected.

The venting works just as well with the screen open or closed, it's designed like that.

There's a school of thought that says it might even run cooler because it's not powering the screen.

 

[Cassady]

Mac should run happily with the lid closed while an external keyboard and screen are connected.

The venting works just as well with the screen open or closed, it's designed like that.

There's a school of thought that says it might even run cooler because it's not powering the screen.

Not something I would do myself - but would agree with you. Several companies that sell stands to hold a closed/clamshell MBA/MBP make a song and dance about ventilation - but all this appears to be(?), is a groove/design/channel etc. that doesn't interfere with how Apple designed it in the first place... There's (imo) an implicit suggestion that the ventilation runs just fine...

As mentioned - have never tried it myself, but iStat Menus and its ilk, should be able to offer evidence of there being any issues...

 

[jeanres]

I also jumped aboard recently. I must say I am extremely happy.

Coming from Linux it's awesome having such an awesome system with an OS that is similar in many ways (an that isn't Windows).

Regarding your question #3, yes you can sort the files alphabetically but you cannot get folders to stay at the top. Simply right click and select Arrange By. The Finder is one area of Mac OS that I really don't care for too much. It lacks so many things that even Linux excels at. There are alternatives though, you can use something like TotalFinder which brings a lot of features to the table (that should have been there from the start).

i can't say that I've had any issues with Firefox, mine works fine and never experienced the issue you describe. Maybe research it some more, it may have nothing to do with Firefox.

PathFinder does the folder on top stuff.

 

[PostmanPot]

8. I've set TextEdit to plain mode, but it's still not quite like Notepad. Any tips?

9. Can I permanently set finder to use the [| | |] view layout?

 

[SauRoNZA]

8. I've set TextEdit to plain mode, but it's still not quite like Notepad. Any tips?

9. Can I permanently set finder to use the [| | |] view layout?

Why do you want it so super plain?

Have a look at Textwrangler and/or Tincta if you don't come right.

Finder should remember the setting that was used last.

 

[[)roi(]]

9. Can I permanently set finder to use the [| | |] view layout?

Set-up any view the way you prefer; press CMD+J and define any other preferences, and finally click "Use as Defaults" for this to become your new default.

Ps. you have to remember that OS X maintains your previous settings for each folder visited; these previously established settings will always override your default i.e. default only applies to folder you have not yet navigated to. On a technical note: Look into deleting the hidden .DS_Store files if you want to reset a folder back to the default (BTW, .DS_Store files are very similar in purpose to the Windows desktop.ini files; they store your folder layout, etc.).

 

[[)roi(]]

... I also miss the ability to connect directly to sftp servers.

Some progress has been made as they support FTPS natively.

For SFTP, have you tried osxfuse? FYI It took over from where Macfuse left off. Here's an example of mounting SFTP source as a volume in finder:

sshfs user@host:/[remote_dir] /path/[local_dir] -ocache=no -onolocalcaches -ovolname=[local_dir]

Reference use article: http://fortysomethinggeek.blogspot.com/2012/11/sshfs-on-osx-mount-sshsftp-shares-on-mac.html

Only issue is that the Finder hates slow or unstable connections; expect a lot of beach balling if your connection is slow or unstable.

Alternatively in the pay area look at Transmit (which btw includes disk mounting)

 

[[)roi(]]

Woot, Xtrafinder has been finally bug fixed for Mavericks -- http://www.trankynam.com/xtrafinder/
For those not in the know; it fixes most of frustration with the default finder, and best of all it's free.

XtraFinder add Tabs and features to Mac Finder.

• Tabs.
• Dual Panel & Dual Window.
• Arrange folders on top.
• Cut & Paste.
• Global hotkeys.
• "Copy Path", "Show Hidden Items", "Hide Desktop", "Refresh", "New File", "Copy to", "Move to", "New Terminal Here", "Make Symbolic Link", "Contents", "Select...", … .
• Light text on dark background.
• Colorful icons in Sidebar.
• Automatically adjust width of columns.
• Press Return to open selection.
• Display folder item count in List view.
• Middle-click to open folder in new window or new tab.
• Use ⌘⌥⇧+Number shortcuts to set Label.
• ....