Top 10 Mac Productivity Enhancements: Page 2

Price: $35

As most Mac pundits agree, the Finder—the most visible part of Mac OS X—is getting pretty long in the tooth. Most users aren’t even conscious of using a separate application when they copy files, make new folders, empty the Trash, or burn CDs, but the Finder handles these and many other tasks.

The problem is, it hasn’t kept up with the times. Some things are still too awkward to do in the Finder and require a trip to Terminal instead. For example, think of copying the full pathname of the current file; changing the “x” (execute) flags on an application; viewing invisible files; compressing or archiving files in formats other than .zip; changing the extensions on a batch of files…the list goes on and on.

Enter Path Finder, a Finder replacement. (Sure, you can keep the Finder running too, but only if you want to.) Path Finder does virtually everything the Finder does, and a huge number of things that it doesn’t. Want to swap a file’s data and resource forks or change its Type and Creator codes? Path Finder can do it. Launch any application on your computer with one click? Check. Sort files by owner or extension? Yep—even in column view. Plus, all the usual things you need to do to files: move, copy, rename, label, delete, create new folders, and of course search (with or without Spotlight).

Path Finder even comes with its own Desktop and Trash can. If you’re tired of fighting with the Finder and just want to get things done with your files, Path Finder is what you need.