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alexlopezc/README.md

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Created July 25, 2018 19:06
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Get Finder to sort like Windows Explorer a la terminal
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README.md

Get Finder to sort folders first like Windows Explorer a la terminal.

Note: This hack is no longer needed in High Sierra. Just run defaults write com.apple.finder _FXSortFoldersFirst -bool true

Results

Results Two things to note:

  • Unfortunately files are sorted by kind first then alphabetically. Check the location of bootstrap.sh in the screenshot for example. This is as close as I could get it to Windows Explorer for now.
  • I've left folder dropdowns. I think I like folder dropdowns for moving files between subfolders with ease, we'll see.
Raw
osx-finder.sh
# Use list view in all Finder windows by default
# Four-letter codes for the other view modes: 'icnv', 'clmv', 'Flwv'
defaults write com.apple.finder FXPreferredViewStyle -string "Nlsv"
# Set item arrangement to none (enables folder dropdowns, 'Name' if you want to remove them)
defaults write com.apple.finder FXPreferredGroupBy -string "None"
# Sort list view by kind in ascending order (Windows style)
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :StandardViewSettings:ExtendedListViewSettings:sortColumn kind" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :StandardViewSettings:ExtendedListViewSettings:columns:4:ascending true" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :StandardViewSettings:ListViewSettings:sortColumn kind" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :StandardViewSettings:ListViewSettings:columns:kind:ascending true" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
# Sort Folders before files hack (Windows style)
FILE=/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/InfoPlist.strings
# Backup InfoPlist.strings first if no backup exists
[ -f $FILE.bak ] || sudo ditto $FILE $FILE.bak
# Convert InfoPlist.strings to XML
sudo plutil -convert xml1 $FILE
# Add a space in front of 'Folder' string
sudo sed -i '' 's/g\>Folder/g\> Folder/' $FILE > /dev/null
# Convert InfoPlist.strings back to binary
sudo plutil -convert binary1 $FILE
# Remove all .DS_Store files to reset folder specific view options
sudo find / -name ".DS_Store" -depth -exec rm -f {} \;
# Restart cfprefsd and Finder
killAll cfprefsd
killAll Finder
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