Why would I use Default Folder X?

May 15, 2005

Backup Brain: What's your favorite Mac OS X utility?

"As part of the book I'm writing now, Upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Visual QuickProject Guide, I'm doing a chapter that suggests utilities and other enhancements for Mac users. For example, I could barely consider living without Default Folder X."

For probably the dozenth time, I've just gone to the Default Folder web site and looked at the feature list for their product. And for the dozenth time, the utility of this software has completely eluded me. Could someone please describe some interesting use cases for this software? I see some hierarchical popup menus for navigating folders that would achieve the same thing as any of the several ways the open/save dialogs already permit, but it's more difficult because you have to move your mouse so precisely in deep menu trees.

I put the folders I use most often in the sidebar in the Finder, and the sidebar appears in Open/Save dialogs.

One feature is "It shows you where you are." But the Open/Save dialogs already have that exact feature, and I don't remember when they didn't... I'd be shocked if it wasn't in at least 10.2, and I probably in Mac OS 9.

Another: "Just click on a Finder window to go there." But you can drag a folder (either from a Finder window's title bar or its contents) onto the open/save dialogs to go there. Or type Cmd-Shift-G and enter a path (with tab-key auto-complete like in Terminal). I do that a lot.

Another: "It quickly takes you to recently used and favorite folders." The Open/Save dialog has that already, and again I think this has been there for at least a couple of major versions of Mac OS X, if not more.

Another: "It lets you click on a filename to copy it." Ditto, Mac OS X already lets you do that. Panther had it too, I don't have Jaguar or earlier available to check, but I think this might have been new as of Panther.

Another: "It lets you rename, delete, and get information on files and folders without leaving the file dialog.", similar to "It opens folders for you in the Finder." That sounds somewhat interesting, but I don't think I need to do that often.

Another: "It "rebounds" back to the last item that you selected in a folder." Probably useful in a production/graphics environment, but I don't use the open dialog to open files repeatedly... I use drag and drop, the Open Recent submenu of the File menu, the command line, etc.

Is there something else it does that is so cool I would want it?