The Mac’s Finder is where we go to find files and folders, apps and tools. Unless you’re using a specific app, the Finder is what we use to view stored documents, music, photos, and movie clips.
The Finder usually evokes one of a few emotional responses. Most Mac users are ambivalent towards the Finder. It is what it is. Get over the shortcomings and complication, and just use it.
Or, some Mac users may decide to avoid the Finder altogether (after all, there’s no Finder equivalent in Mail, or iTunes, or iPhoto, or iMovie or iPhone or iPad).
Still other Mac users, long for a more powerful Finder, one that does multiple window panes or displays tabs in the interface. If you long for a more powerful Finder, there’s only one solution. Ditch the Finder and use Path Finder instead.
Path Finder looks familiar to Finder users. There’s the Toolbar at the top, the customizable Sidebar on the left, and multiple ways to find files and folders using icon, list, or column view.
Beyond the basics and similarity to the Finder is Path Finder’s list of useful, highly functional, power user features.
Keyboard shortcuts abound, but you can also build your own customized contextual menu with just the functions you need.
Speaking of functions, Path Finder does tabs and dual side-by-side window panes which makes it drop dead easy to copy files from one location on your Mac to another.
As if that’s not enough, there’s a built-in temporary holding spot above the Sidebar called Drop Stack. Drag and drop files to the stack, then copy or move them elsewhere as needed.
Path Finder duplicates functionality in a number of places which gives you multiple options and more control. For example, you can add files and folders to the Sidebar, just as you would the Mac’s Finder.
The most frequently used folders– Documents, Music, Movies, Pictures, Desktop, Applications, Home, etc– are displayed just below the Toolbar. Path Finder also sorts by folders, packages, or files first (an improvement over the Finder).
There’s a Terminal window and editor built in and Quick Look gives you more details about files than the Finder. Even better, Path Finder lets you batch rename files (try that in the Finder– you can’t).
There’s more. Much more. Probably more features and functions that you didn’t even know existed, but Path Finder makes them accessible. If you don’t have a problem with the Mac’s Finder, don’t bother with Path Finder.
If you want more, especially tabs, dual panes, sorting options, and more Toolbar tools, Path Finder is the only game in town. It’s a Mac power users app. As good as it is, there’s a glaring omission in the oft-used Sidebar. Sections cannot be moved or sorted. What you see is what you get.