Readers like you help support MUO. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More.

This likely ranks as a *really* stupid question , but I'm a brand new Mac user after centuries at a PC.

I like the Mac, except that I'm used to using Windows Explorer to create directories of major projects, sub-dirs of facets of that project (usually by year), sub-subdirs, etc., and then putting separate files in each relevant directory.

I'm trying to get that same hierarchical structure on the Mac, but for example when I open an old PC dir, I get a long alphabetical list, with sub-dirs and sub-subdirs and files all listed as if they were equal components. I want to be able to see and create (!) that old hierarchy.

MAKEUSEOF VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

I've read about Folders and Smart Folders and Spring-Loaded Folders, and I get confused. Am I missing something that's just really obvious?

Help?

Stephanie

Mike
2011-01-09 00:32:00
Well you already mentioned the main difference yourself:Explorer in Windows always puts folders at firstFinder in Mac OS X treats folders equal to all other filesSmart-Folders could be compared to the Libraries in Windows 7. They offer a combined view of files and folders matching a specific criteria.While there are some "System File Hacks" to get the Explorer type of view they are not permanent and I don't recommend them if you don't know what you are doing. Your best chance is to get an Application to (somewhat) replace the Finder.There is a good article on Simplehelp featuring most of them but it's a bit outdated and not all mentioned Applications are tested under Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)http://www.simplehelp.net/2006/10/08/10-os-x-finder-alternatives-compared-and-reviewed/I have tested a few of them myself with PathFinder (http://www.cocoatech.com/) and ForkLift (http://www.binarynights.com/) being the best of them. Unfortunately both are commercial Apps .
Mike
2011-01-09 00:40:00
Almost forgot ~ Spring-Loaded Folders it's actually a feature not a type of folderWhen you drag a file over a folder icon and wait two seconds the folder will open in a Window showing you it's contents and sub-folders.So basically it enables you to "browse" for the right place for the file during the drag&drop process. In comparison on Windows you would have to navigate to the directory first and then drag&drop the file there.