Friday, August 10, 2007

Proxy Icons in Finder

Mac OS X is generally easier to use than other operating systems, but it does have its hidden little secrets that you cannot find accidentally. One of those features is proxy icons. In any Mac OS X application (including Finder), you can access the icon for the file you under edit by clicking on the icon in the title bar. Now, you can drag the icon somewhere else to move it to a new location.

The other handy thing you can do it [APPLE]-click on the title bar icon, which shows you where the file lives in the directory structure, as shown here:

Image of Finder proxy icon


Very hidden, but also very useful: no more guessing where a particular file lives or where you are in the directory structure.

2 comments:

Jason said...

It might be clearer to say [command]-click since the new Apple keyboards have done away with the apple on the command key altogether...

Brian Reilly said...

The [command]-click feature has been there since before I really used Mac OS (System 7). I always forget that it's not often mentioned in any documentation.

It should also work in document-based applications (Word, TextEdit, probably TextMate, etc.)... very useful for telling whether Quicksilver first found the file in your Documents folder or the copy that's sitting in your Mail Downloads folder because you emailed it to someone.