What is wrong with the Finder Coverflow!
Okay, this is not a tip. I just want to show you what I think is the biggest annoyance in Leopard. Apple might not see it as a bug, but I hope it is a bug that will be fixed in 10.5.2 (or Apple could at least add a preference). It is about Coverflow, but I want to say first that I really like coverflow. I am really bad at naming files and just seeing visually what I am looking at is so much better. Coverflow gets annoying however, when you resize a window. Here is the problem:
I start with a small Finder window. Coverflow takes up about 50% and the list the other 50%. I want to see more in the list, I resize the window, making it bigger. The only thing that gets bigger is coverflow. If I want a bigger list, I have to resize the window and then resize coverflow. I think the way Apple should have implemented this is that it should keep the same ratio before and after the resize. In this case, I had 50% for one and 50% for the other. I would have expected both coverflow and the list to increase in size by the same amount. Here is a video screenshot showing the problem:
What do you think? Is it a bug or a feature?
Don't forget to check out the tip posted earlier today.
I start with a small Finder window. Coverflow takes up about 50% and the list the other 50%. I want to see more in the list, I resize the window, making it bigger. The only thing that gets bigger is coverflow. If I want a bigger list, I have to resize the window and then resize coverflow. I think the way Apple should have implemented this is that it should keep the same ratio before and after the resize. In this case, I had 50% for one and 50% for the other. I would have expected both coverflow and the list to increase in size by the same amount. Here is a video screenshot showing the problem:
What do you think? Is it a bug or a feature?
Don't forget to check out the tip posted earlier today.
posted by Frederic Tremblay at
11/21/2007
19 Comments:
This is probably a feature. As you stated, you primarily use Coverflow because you don't meticulously name files, so you prefer to visualize the file instead. For you, a larger image in Coverflow should be more beneficial than being able to see more file names, since your names are ambiguous anyway.
I call it a feature.
Since Cover Flow shows an entire page at a time in text-based documents (word processing docs, PDFs, etc), I find that I usually have to expand the window to full vertical height to get any value out of Cover Flow. So when I expand windows, it's to get the text/image bigger, not the list.
In fact, now that you draw my attention to it, I'm a bit annoyed to discover that I can't move the divider line far enough down to get rid of the list view completely.
Not sure if I could call it a bug, it's probably just a bad UI choice.
I get so annoyed at both this, and how Cover Flow remembers it's size from the last open Finder window, so if you use Spotlight search, which defaults to a stupid tiny window all the time, the subsequent Finder window you open will also have that tiny Cover Flow.
Finder has a lot of serious usability issues that they need to address, or at least give us options to, IMO.
I also hate that when I resize and the list doesn't get bigger. Apple needs to repair that bug.
nuff' said... It's lame...
This sounds exactly like the kind of thing you would find out how to fix on this blog.
I think they'll call it "expected behavior", but I find it annoying too. I love cover flow, but I also like to see a big list, mostly because in coverflow view lists grow a lot since you usually don't enter into a folder, just expand it. It really like to see this changed
Interesting thing to note, when resizing in iTunes the cover flow reaches a max height then the list of items grows.
I think Apple just got excited about having it in Finder and wanted to show people how big the icons can go... I'm thinking that Apple will adjust this somewhere down the track. When, who know, we may have to wait until version 10.6.x Although this issue has been brought up often around the web. We'll see if Apple takes notice or not...
I don't think it's a bug. I think Apple just didn't notice the thing.
Anyway there's a feedback section in Apple site where every user can post his problems or bug or everything doesn't like so the Apple's programmers can solve the problems. I already posted 3 or 4 things on that feedback. Go on Apple site and help Apple improve Leopard ;)
This comment has been removed by the author.
Thank you Karen
Thank you Karen.
As much of an Apple fanboy as I am, I have to admit there are a few shortcomings which I'd love to see addressed.
One would be a full screen option. Don't get me wrong I get it that the whole 'windows' concept is a big thing and its just ironically ridiculous that Microsoft's 'Windows' OS doesn't really utilise this concept very well AT ALL... but still, an option to set ANY window to full screen wouldn't hurt.
As for the topic at hand, its a pretty small issue, and I'd go as far as to say that it would come down to user preference anyway. So an option might be worthwhile, but that just adds complexity and when you think about it, you can just setup your windows how you want them and the Finder will remember it so its not that big a deal.
You can use Quick Look to get full screen in this case. Technically, it's a slideshow, but it defaults to full screen. And technically it's not cover flow anymore, but it does give me a way to look through a number of similar PDFs (with readable text) to find the one I'm really looking for without having to open them all.
Hold Option while clicking on the eyeball in the Toolbar. (You may have to customize your toolbar and drag up the new set of default icons to get the eyeball to appear.)
If you want to view multiple files (e.g., actually do the slideshow this was supposed to be), just select them (or Command+A) before doing Option+eyeball.
I do agree, though, that it would be nice to be able to make any window full screen. Especially things like Safari that don't have the little button to hide the toolbars.
TOTALLY agree with you. This bugged me from the first time I saw it. I love coverflow but having to resize constantly is annoying the crap out of me.
I totally agree with you. They done it on purpose but it is very annoying anyway
Did I get it wrong? I see no such flaw in there. When you expand the page the coverflow part gets big for sure but you can make it smaller and the files area bigger by dragging the bar between them to the coverflow part.
It's a "non-bug" that basically makes Coverflow completely useless to me in the Finder. Then again, it's eye-candy anyway.
If it is a feature it surely sucks... my finder does not remember the height i set for it by dragging.. it always get bigger when resized up... and stays big when resized down.. hate that
Man, this is so annoying. People keep saying things like...
"I think you missed seeing the little three lines under the cover scroll bar."
...um, no, I realize that this divider is there. And YES, I know how to resize Cover Flow. That IS NOT the point. The point is that every time I resize a dang finder window, I don't want to have to resize Cover Flow as well! I have little use for gigantic folder icons. My preference is that Cover Flow stays small UNTIL I ask it to get larger. Nine times out of ten, when I resize a finder window, I am wanting to view more of my files, not to see ridiculously large icons of my files. And no, I don't always want to switch to list view either. I have lots and lots of nested client folders, and Cover Flow can come in handy, but I don't need it to resize itself when I resize a window. It is INCREDIBLY annoying.
Anybody have a REAL solution to this problem yet??
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