Cocoatech Path Finder 4

Let me put this as succinctly as I can: if you use a Mac, you need to be using Path Finder 4. Period. That's about as direct as it gets. Granted, $34.95 may seem a bit steep just to replace a part of Mac OS X, but with the native Finder as (arguably) bad as it is and with Path Finder 4 as good as it is, the price is a pittance, especially in light of the sheer volume of features Path Finder 4 packs under the hood.

Why?

This may be an odd application to review, since Path Finder is about as far away from a creative-focused program as you can get. It's a utility, plain and simple, and one that exists to provide functionality in the fast-paced, rock 'n roll world of file management. So what's the value to creative types? One answer is that the native Finder is wholly inadequate. It's slow, clunky, and gets in your way, which is the very antithesis of the Mac experience. In fact, I would argue that Spotlight was borne of an attempt to change the typical file management model to something that doesn't make the Finder look as terrible as it is, rather than fixing the Finder alongside the introduction of Spotlight. But another answer to the value question is probably closer to this explanation (at least to me): Path Finder offers the same value to creatives that Mac OS X itself does in that it's fairly simple and elegant, yet it puts extraordinary power right at your fingertips when the time comes to dig a little deeper. And when you consider how important file management is to any system, and then factor in just how outdated and inadequate the native Mac OS Finder is for many people (do you sense a theme here?), Path Finder becomes more than just a utility—it's an essential tool for basic Mac operation. And if you value organization on your system, the decision to use Path Finder 4 is very much a no-brainer.

Now, there are so many features sandwiched into Path Finder that I couldn't possibly hit on everything, so I'm going to call out some of the features (new or otherwise) that should paint a relatively complete picture of what Path Finder can do. Even so, I'm going to touch on a lot of items, so I'm going to dispense with actual paragraph creation and break out the "quick hit" lists, separated into categories, in the interest of getting us out of here before 2006 isn't a "new" year anymore. Ready? Good. Here we go:

General notes

First, a pair of brief topics before we really get into the meat of the program:

Tiger-only. One of the reasons for the incredibly long delay in the release of Path Finder 4 (which was announced back in 2004) was the decision to make PF4 a Tiger-only application. While the wait was long, and pre-Tiger folks are likely still miffed at being given the virtual finger, the decision has paid off. The "maybe it's there, maybe it's not" screen update latency is long gone, replaced by lightning-quick operation on just about every level. Plus, PF4 is much more viable as a true Finder replacement, which we'll discuss just a bit later on.

Easy on the eyes. I just had to mention that PF4 looks fantastic (fig. 1). Tiger-only means the Unified theme is in the hizzy (though Brushed Metal is still around for those who aren't ashamed to kick it old-school), and PF4 adds "superfluous visual effects" (Cocoatech's term) for things like moving files to the Trash.

Figure 1: Lookin' good, Mister Kot-tayre.

Flexibility

One of Path Finder's strengths is the different ways you can do things and the various preferences you can set to have it adapt to your working style (as opposed to the big "you get what you get" the Finder seems to scream at you). Here are a few examples:

Tabs! Tabs are easily the star of the show in PF4, and since the concept has been around for a while in various browsers, I think I can dispense with the description (fig. 2). However, it is worth mentioning how much better file management is without oodles of windows cluttering up the screen. Tabs run deep in PF4, as we'll see in a bit when we get to the Bookmarks Bar.

Figure 2: Tabs—they're not just for Web browsers anymore.

Smart Sorting. This is a holdover from version 3, but since it addresses a glaring problem in the Finder, it gets a mention. I'm partial to the Column view, and the Finder gives you exactly zero options for how files get sorted in that particular view. Path Finder fixes that issue, giving you the ability to sort a folder by file type first and then by name (fig. 3). So, in effect, you can browse in Column view but sort files like List view, a feature I've been waiting for the Finder to have since the Mac OS X public beta (that's September 2000, for those who remember that far back). Of course, Smart Sorting also works in all views (including the Desktop).

Figure 3: Set the preference (left), and the Column view sorts itself.

The Bookmarks Bar. In another example of Browser meets File Management, PF4 adds a very Safari-esque Bookmarks Bar, onto which you can drag folders, applications, or documents. Folders are the most fun, though, because you can browse entire directories from the Bookmarks Bar and, when you get to where you want to go, open subfolders in tabs (fig. 4). Awesome.

Figure 4: More creamy tab goodness, courtesy of the Bookmarks Bar.

The Contextual Menu. Another not-exactly-new feature, but one that fits in well with the whole flexibility theme of this section, is the configurable contextual menu. PF4 not only lets you build your own right-click menu (fig. 5), but also lets you do the same for the Actions button located on the toolbar. Throw the ability to append third-party contextual menu items from the regular Finder into the mix, and you're good to go.

Figure 5

Power corrupts, but in the best possible way

This one goes out to all you power users out there. You're probably as disgusted with the sorry state of the Finder as I am, and wish your file manager could do so much more. So here's what PF4 has in store for you:

Built-in image preview and conversion. Got images? Need a way to preview and convert them in a flash? Just set Path Finder to open images in the built-in previewer, and resize and convert to your heart's content (fig. 6).

Figure 6: It's no Photoshop, but PF4 builds in some basic image manipulation.

Quickly view and copy image dimensions. Right-click on an image, and viola: instant info. Click on it, and HTML-ready image dimensions are copied to your clipboard (fig. 7).

Figure 7

Configurable behaviors for each view type. While Path Finder has the same basic views as the regular Finder, you have many more options for how each view is presented. From changing the font to showing a grid to icon sizes, you're in complete control (fig. 8).

Figure 8: This panel reveals options relevant to whichever view you have selected.

Browse invisible files. I don't have much to say about this one, other than hitting a simple option in the View menu gives you the full view, warts and all (fig. 9). This setting can be toggled independently of which view you're using, so (for example) you can view invisible files in the Column view but not in List view.

Figure 9: Actually seeing what's hiding on your system can be a real eye-opener.

A "real" file copying progress screen. Path Finder shows you all kinds of information when it copies files (fig. 10). I have nothing more to say here.

Figure 10

The select tool. New to Path Finder 4, the select tool helps tame folders with huge numbers of files. You can specify part of the file name, the file extension, the file type or creator, the kind of file, or the timestamp as selection parameters (fig. 11), and run the tool multiple times before making a final selection.

Figure 11

Hierarchical contents viewing. We've touched on the contextual menu, but what I didn't mention was that PF4 adds a Contents menu that not only browses the contents of subfolders, but also works on application packages as a shortcut to the usual "Show Package Contents" functionality present in both the native Finder and Path Finder.

Figure 12: Need to take a quick look inside that application? Head for the Contents menu.

The Shelf. In theory, the Shelf is the panel to the left side of each Path Finder window. In practice, the Shelf refers to the myriad informational and organizational helpers that can decorate windows in any number of ways. The Shelf, for all intents and purposes, encompasses the History viewer, the Process viewer, a slide-out Terminal, and a split-paned Preview window. Some of these can be viewed in line with the Drop Stack and Volumes viewer, while others can live in slide-out panels in true Path Finder version 3 style (fig. 13).

Figure 13: Information overload is a few clicks away, if you're into that sort of thing.

Built-in file creation and preview. Path Finder can create text or HTML files on the fly utilizing its built-in text editor, so for folks like me who tend to start new text files with reckless abandon at all hours of the day, this is a huge timesaver. But that's not all—Path Finder can preview applications, movies, sounds, images (both inline as well as in a separate window), text files, PDFs, and Word documents, all very quickly, and all with way more info than the Finder ever gave you (fig. 14).

Figure 14

Finder replacement

In this last part of the tour, let's take a look at how you can quite literally run the Finder out of town, should you wish to do so. In earlier versions of Path Finder, some things were definitely missing, like built-in ZIP archiving or access to the Tiger Slideshow feature. Not so in Path Finder 4, which represents as close to a true Finder replacement as Mac OS X has seen, and all I can say is that it's about flippin' time.

Plays nice with the other kids. I've got a whole "alternative" desktop thing going, from my hatred of the Dock (DragThing takes care of that) to using Quicksilver as Spotlight on 'roids, to using previous Path Finder versions in place of the Finder. Fortunately, Path Finder has been able to build enough critical mass over the years so that other applications are not only aware of PF, but can work seamlessly with it instead of the Finder.

Seamless Spotlight integration. Path Finder 4 adds Spotlight support, which means that you can either search with Tiger's Spotlight database or using Path Finder's built-in fast search function. It's literally the best of both worlds, as you can seamlessly toggle back and forth between what yields the best results. And for those who have come to rely on Spotlight comments, Path Finder lets you access those as well, either through the split-pane preview or the Get Info window (fig. 15).

Figure 15

Tiger Slideshows. One of the only things tying me to the Finder before Path Finder 4 was the Quartz-a-licious slideshow, but since you can now trigger that from Path Finder (fig. 16), the Finder has finally lost one of its crutches. Path Finder even does the Finder one better: you can select a folder, and Path Finder will search recursively through the folder and give you a slideshow of all the images it finds in the hierarchy. Take that, Finder!

Figure 16

Compression galore. Path Finder 4 makes ZIP the default archive format, just like the Finder does. Besting the Finder again, you can also compress to a number of other archive formats (fig. 17), including Stuffit (Cocoatech licensed the Stuffit engine from Allume and integrated it into Path Finder). Naturally, Path Finder will also uncompress just about anything you throw at it as well.

Figure 17: I don't even know what some of these formats are (LHa?), but they're there if I ever need 'em.

No more Desktop wars. A while back, I wrote about a technique to replace the Finder with Path Finder 3, one which involved using TinkerTool to hide the default Desktop so the PF version wouldn't trod upon what was already there. This quirky behavior has been rectified in PF4, which now appropriately masks the default Desktop with its own. PF4 also brings its Desktop into line with the default Desktop, offering disk information and file previews in a similar fashion (fig. 18).

Figure 18: No, that's not the regular Desktop.

Whew! That was quite the whirlwind tour. And that's just a tiny fraction of the features (both new and old) you'll find in Path Finder 4. When you really get down and dirty with it, you'll discover all manner of other little things for yourself, and come up with your own unique way of configuring Path Finder to fit your work habits.

Trouble in paradise?

I tried very hard to find scuffs on the marble, so to speak, but there really aren't any significant issues with Path Finder 4. For a major re-write, it's pretty rock-solid, and I've only found one minor bug (incorrectly displaying the menu items of Zingg!, a third-party contextual menu program). Short of any real problems, I turned my attention to a few things that I would like to see Path Finder eventually support. Admittedly, this is a highly subjective list, but I'll go ahead and mention them anyway:

• I'd like some options added to the compression menu such as removing resource forks and .DS_Store files from zipped archives so that when they're sent to Windows users, they won't have extra (and, to them, useless) files floating around their machines.
• With all the emphasis on tabs in PF4, I'd like to see a single window mode, where calls for new windows to be opened automatically get routed to a new tab in the existing window. I've gotten used to this behavior in several browsers, and it's a fantastic way to keep things organized while I work.
• There should be some way to split or combine panels in the Shelf, instead of limiting you to the Drop Stack and two additional panels.
• PF4's Get Info is virtually unchanged from version 3, meaning that there's no equivalent to the Finder's multi-document Inspector. This particular behavior is pretty much the only reason I have to ever open up the Finder; it's a shame that PF4's Get Info panel can't replicate this functionality.

Seeing as I could only come up with a small wish list, and considering the enormous functionality PF4 gives you, it earns our Must Buy rating. If there were a Double-Secret-Extra-Super-Must-Buy rating, I'd give it that. Path Finder 4 is one of those rare programs that can literally change the way you work for the better, and, quite simply, it's the Finder that Apple should have come up with first. But they didn't, so thankfully Cocoatech is there to fill in the rare crack in OS X's foundation. Since I barely scratched the surface here, I strongly encourage you to download the free 21-day trial version and find out for yourself.

Filed under: Review on January 17th, 2006

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