Default Folder X in Open and Save Dialogs

Default Folder X displays a toolbar on the right side of the Open and Save dialogs in any application (see the picture below). The toolbar buttons give you fast access to various folders and commands. Details about each menu in the toolbar are given in the following section.

Utility Menu

• Default Folder X Help : Opens Default Folder X's online help.

• Default Folder X Preferences: Opens the System Preferences application and jumps to the Default Folder X preference pane.

• Add Comments and Tags / Show Preview, Information and Tags: In Save As dialogs, this menu item turns on and off Default Folder X's Spotlight comment and tag window. In Open dialogs, it turns on and off the Preview window that appears below the file dialog.

• Use <Folder> as Default: Remembers the current folder as the default folder for the current application. The first time you use a file dialog after launching the application, Default Folder will switch it to the default folder you've specified. To completely remove a default folder for an application, remove the application from Default Folder's list in System Preferences.

• Open <Folder> in the Finder: Switches to the Finder and opens a new window showing the current Open/Save folder.

• Create a New Folder in <Folder>: Creates a new folder within the current folder.

• Rename <Selected Item>: Renames the item currently selected in the file dialog.

• Get Info on <Selected Item>: Displays a Get Info dialog with the ability to rename, change creator, type, modification date, properties, and access permissions of the selected item. Note that if you make something invisible, it does become invisible! To get it back, hold down the option key while opening a file dialog and the dialog will show all files and folders, including invisible ones.

• Reveal <Selected Item> in the Finder: Closes the file dialog, switches to the Finder, and selects the item in a Finder window.

• Move <Selected Item> to Trash: Does what it says. Holding down the option key bypasses the "Are you sure?" warning.

• Create .zip Archive of <Selected Item>: Creates a compressed archive of the selected item. This is a very useful command to have for attaching files or folders to email messages.

• <Folder Sets>: Default Folder X lets you create multiple sets of folders (use the "Folder Set" menu in the Default Folder X preferences). You can create sets of Favorites which will all be listed at the bottom of the utility menu. Selecting a set from the menu activates that set of folders.

Computer Menu

• Desktop, Home: These commands take you to the locations they describe.

• <Disks>: All of the disks attached to your computer are listed in this menu. Selecting one sends the file dialog to the top level of that disk.

Favorites Menu

• <Application> Default: Jumps to the default folder for the current application. This command will be grayed out if no default folder has been assigned to the application you're currently using.

• <Application> Folder: Jumps to the folder containing the current application. Very handy for accessing template and support files that come with many programs.

• Add <Selected Item> to Favorites: Adds the currently selected item to the Favorites list (and to the Favorites folder in your Library folder if the "create aliases" preference is turned on.

• Remove from Favorites...: Pops up a window that allows you to remove folders from your Favorites list. Anything that is removed from the list will also be removed from ~/Library/Favorites if you have the "create aliases" option turned on in your preferences.

• <Favorite Folders>: Jumps to the favorite folder you select.

Helpful Tips:

• To assign a command key to a Favorite folder, simply hold down the keys you want to use, then select the favorite from the menu. You can also assign command keys in the Default Folder X preferences. You can use the command key within Open and Save dialogs, as well in the Finder. See the Settings section to make sure that you have hotkeys enabled in the Finder.

• In addition to using the Remove from Favorites command, you can also remove Favorite folders from the menu by holding down the Backspace or Delete key and selecting the folder from the menu.

• If you have the "create aliases" option turned on in your preferences, you can change the name of a folder in the Favorites menu by changing the name of its alias in your Favorites folder (which resides in the Library folder in your home folder).

Recent Menu

• <Favorite Folders>: Jumps to a recent folder when you select one from this menu.

• Forget Recent Folders: Removes all the entries currently in the Recent Menu. This is handy if you don't want other users of the same Macintosh to know which folders you've been using.

Helpful Tips:

• Recent folders can be listed in the menu either alphabetically or in the order that they were used. See the Settings section of the Help for details on changing the order.

• You can temporarily switch the sorting method (alphabetical vs. chronological) by holding down the Control key while clicking to display the Recent menu. Similarly, you can reverse the sorting order of items in the menu by holding down the Shift key.

• You can delete folders from the menu one at a time by holding down the Backspace or Delete key and selecting the folder from the menu.

• There are two very useful shortcut keys in the Recent menu: option-down-arrow and option-up-arrow. These take you backwards and forwards through the folders you've recently used. In other words, to get back to where you just opened or saved a file from another application, press option-down-arrow once. That will take you back one folder. Hitting it repeatedly takes you back farther and farther in the list of recently used folders.

Finder Window Menu

• <Finder Windows>: Lists all of the open windows in the Finder. Selecting one switches the file dialog to point to the folder shown in that Finder window. You can also just click on any window you have open in the Finder and Default Folder X will switch the file dialog to that folder.

Hierarchical Menus

Turning on the "Show contents of folders in submenus" option in Default Folder X's settings makes all menus in file dialogs hierarchical. This means that submenus are attached to show the folders inside each folder, allowing you to navigate to them much more quickly.