The Finder Toolbar

In previous chapters we described the major features of the main window and the Finder sidebar. Now we analyze the last item which is the Finder toolbar.

By default, the toolbar has the following structure:

As we can see the toolbar you can find some sub-elements that we analyze in detail separately. Immediately, the reader's attention is captured by the colored circles at the top left of the screenshot.

Those buttons are a feature of Mac OS X and identify the tasks you can perform on windows: the red circle when clicked will close the window (the X represents nell'terfaccia Windows), reduces the yellow circle icon to the window (representing the _ symbol in Windows) and finally the green circle expands the window size (the square is the symbol on Windows). The interface structure just described is present in every application that runs on Mac OS X.

Just below these buttons you can find two arrows: one pointing to the right and one pointing to the left. These arrows allow you to go back or go forward in the finder windows that previously had shown. To be clear are the navigation keys that are used in every browser to return to the previous page or next.

Continuing with the analysis of the toolbar buttons are grouped by the label of a group view:

These buttons represent the most important element of the toolbar of the Finder, so to speak, and also the most characteristic. Depending on the button currently enabled (we recognize from the background darker, in the screenshot is the first) we will have a different way of viewing content on the main window below. Mac OS X allows us to choose between four display types (will be listed and described from left to right):

Show elements such as icons: the display until you have seen it in screenshots. Very simple and clean, the best personally, that allows quick viewing of files searched.

Show items in a list: also display in Windows that displays the files in a list. Next to the name of the file are usually presented with some information about the file such as date of last modification, the weight of the file and the file extension.

Show items in columns display that lists files in columns. The peculiarity of this view is that tracks the path where the file resides. For example, if you access the My Documents folder, then click on the My Music folder, and finally the Italian songs (the folder you created), the main window shows three columns that will contain the folders previously explored.

Cover Flow view is a very special and is one of the features of Mac OS X. You can see an example in the screenshot below:

As you can see the top of the main window appeared a sort of slide-show which shows previews of files in the folder that you are exploring at the moment. Through the bar you will see the laterite previews of the other files in the folder as though it were a photo slide show. At the bottom of the main fienstra shows again the icons in list mode with some supplemental information. This type of visualizzazone turns out to be very pretty as well as very useful due to the fact that we are shown a preview of the files in the folder.

Continuing with the analysis of the Finder's toolbar there is another very useful tool or the Quick View icon identified by the following:

To use this tool to simply click once on any file and then click Quick View: immediately opens a window containing a preview of the file you have selected. With this tool you can browse pdf files, HTML pages, watch movies without even opening the file with an application dedicated. It 'can use the quick view simply by clicking on the spacebar on the keyboard.

Finally, the Options button displays a list of tasks you can perform on the selected file and the same menu that appears if you click with right mouse button on any file.

The search field at top right of the toolbar will be widely covered in the next chapter.

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