If you ’ve read any Mac - related Web sites over the past few week , you ’ve surely learn more than a few complaints about Stacks , Leopard ’s new feature article that rent you put a folder in the Dock and then see a graphical show of that leaflet ’s content by clicking on it .
The mind behind Stacks is to provide fast , visually - enhanced access to files in a leaflet . By letting you view ikon previews of those files via a single mouse click , Stacks makes it well-situated to open a file without having to dig through the Finder to locate it .
However , as manyMacworldeditors — not to mentionMacworldreaders — have noted , Stacks is not all peaches and rose . It has a identification number of user interface issues , and it ’s missing one of the most useful features of the brochure - in - the - Dock functionality of onetime versions of Mac OS X. Now that I ’ve used the release interlingual rendition of Leopard for a few weeks , here ’s my take on what ’s good and uncollectible about stack . I also suggest some minor changes Apple could make to heap that would increase its entreaty among fans and critics alike .
What’s good about Stacks
Despite the vociferation over Stacks , it does have a few utilitarian features :
you may view a folder ’s contents with a single dog : There ’s no Control - click , right - click , or click - and - hold needed .
you’re able to choose how a stack ’s contents are sorted : In older version of Mac OS X , I always want to be able to sort out , by appointment , the Dock ’s display of a brochure ’s contents .
you may snaffle - and - drag a file from within a stack video display : For example , you may easily drag that file to an diligence icon in the Dock , to the Trash , to another folder , or to the screen background .
you’re able to tell apart files at a glance : If you do n’t screw a single file ’s name , but you do it what it looks like — for example , a particular image in a brochure of mental image — Stacks ’ written document previews make it easier to detect the file compared to Tiger ’s approach ( which exhibit token names next to lilliputian icons ) . For the visually - oriented , this is a nice improvement .
Even the harshest critics of Stacks have to admit there ’s some secure to be found here ; I especially like the middle two items , which are features many mass asked for in aged versions of OS X.
What’s not so good about Stacks
On the other hand , Stacks also has defect . Some are specially noticeable when you compare lot to the functionality provided by Tiger , whereas others are speculative design regardless of what ’s follow before . Among the biggest job :
You lose hierarchical menus : With previous version of the Dock , right - clicking ( or Control - clicking or click - holding ) on a folder presented you with a to the full - navigable , hierarchical carte of the folder ’s contents . A stack show you only what ’s at the top level of that folder ; to go any further — for deterrent example , to see what ’s inside a subfolder — you must open up the folder in the Finder and then graze its contentedness using Finder window . This is well the most common charge we ’ve get word from readers about push-down stack .
Stacks ’ tail icon are discrepant : When you rank a folder in the Dock , its image changes to ruminate the “ first ” item in the stack ; reckon on how you ’ve opted to sieve the stack video display , this will be either the first detail alphabetically , the first detail of a particular form of file , the most - of late - created single file , or the most - recently - modified file . Although this glide slope may be useful for finical folder — for example , the Downloads folder , where the most - recently - download file is often what you ’re most potential to access — for many folders it ’s a step back in user - user interface design .
How so ? One of the bedrocks of a sound interface is consistency , which help the user develop ocular and muscularity memory that increase efficiency and make computer software prosperous to use . For case , in my Tiger Dock , I ’ve lend oneself usance icons to all the folders so a ready glance tell me which is which . In Leopard , the icons of pamphlet in the Dock change regularly , so I ca n’t memorize each leaflet ’s posture by its icon ; I have to move the black eye pointer over each mickle to look at its name . And the irony here is that the more you take vantage of scads — in other words , the more folders you place in the Dock — the more effort it takes to count on out which folder is which .
( There are ways to work around this event . For example , you’re able to create a folderinsidea stack , sort the stack by name , rename the folder so it sorts first , and then apply a usance icon to that folder . But such a kludge should n’t be necessary . )
Stacks ’ displays are inconsistent : If a smokestack includes few than a certain number of detail — a identification number that change depending on the size of your screen — the stack displays as a undivided - row fan ; if the slew contains more than that mystery number of point , it exhibit as a grid . The first job with this is that it means Stack ’s displays are discrepant ; some stacks will display one way , others the other . But a related to issue is that if you ’ve got a stack with contents that change oftentimes , you do n’t even sleep together howthat particularstack may display each metre you select it . As I mentioned above , incompatibility is Bad UI . ( The workaround is to manually force each stack to display a certain way . But you have to do that for each slew , and if you push devotee way , you ’re more likely to run into the next problem . )
Stacks may not exhibit all single file : There ’s a bound to the number of file cabinet that can appear in a pot ’s display . If you ’ve got a folder with lots of detail , you simply ca n’t view them all ; you have to open up the booklet in the Finder and surf it there , which defeats the purpose of Stacks . With older interpretation of the Dock , the fare would scroll to rent you regard everything in the folder .
Which is a more useful way to detect files ? This stacks pamphlet showing an regalia of of data file and folders …
Grid view breaks down : Grid thought is supposed to improve lashings ’ useableness when a stack includes many data file , but in some means it ’s less usable than fan scene . For instance , it is n’t as easy to pilot as sports fan vista , because files are sorted across rows . ( This may seem like a minor ailment , but after trying to receive a particular textual matter text file in a pamphlet of 40 , I really wanted my hierarchal list back . ) As another example , longer file cabinet name are truncated , making it hard to find the desired file ; you have to manually mouse over each shortened computer file name to view the full name .
Opening a folder requires more steps than before : you could no longeropena folder you ’ve placed in the Dock by simply clicking on it ; there is n’t even a way to do so by clicking while nurse down a modifier key . The only choice is to powerful - press the stack ’s icon and then choose Open “ folder name . ” Granted , this is a small-scale quibble , but a Shift - pawl , for example , would be faster than having to access a Dock menu . ( One workaround is to put an alias to a folder in the Dock instead of the folder itself ; snap on the Dock icon then opens the folder in the Finder . Of of course , then you drop off all Stacks functionality , as well . )
… or this hierarchic list from OS X 10.4 ?
slews handle empty folders differently : If a stack ’s folder is empty , tap it opens the brochure in the Finder instead of displaying a stack . ( Well , OK , so I guess there is indeed a way to open a folder by clicking on it in the Dock : don’t put anything in the folder . I kid . ) This inconsistency is confusing , especially given that Stacks is aimed at non - advanced exploiter . If we ’re stuck with good deal , the stack display should appear 100 percent of the clip ; if a brochure is empty , the stack display should say that .
It seems clean that while Stacks offer some benefit , it ’s also far from sodding . In addition , in the unconscious process of adding Stacks to Leopard , Apple murder a feature that was very democratic with many atomic number 8 X users . To reword a member of the Macworld forum , Stacks replaces something useful with something that ’s more attractive but , in many ways , less utilitarian .
How to fix it
The good news is that Stacks could offer the dear of both worlds , and address most of the criticisms above , with a few round-eyed changes . For illustration , if you curb / right - press a brochure in the Dock , you presently get the option to force the stack to display as a grid or a buff ; the undivided big ill about Stacks could be remedied if an option were added for forcing the stack to expose in a Tiger - alike hierarchic menu . ( I ’d also like the ability to temporarily force the hierarchal display — for those stacks set to power grid or sports fan — by holding down a keyboard modifier when clicking on a mountain . )
Another childlike advance would be to let the user choose — via a standardized context in a push-down stack ’s options menu — a stack ’s Dock icon : the real folder ikon , a generic icon , or the current “ determined - on - the - tent flap ” image .
ultimately , to improve the overall interface consistence of Stacks , I ’d like the power to choose default view alternative ( the stack show style and its Dock icon ) for Modern lashings . These alternative could be unsubdivided checkboxes or pop - up menus in Dock or Finder penchant , and the drug user could override the default configurations for a picky stack using the existing option carte du jour .
These are n’t major changes and — perhaps most appealing to Apple and to those who wish raft the direction it is — they would n’t move Stacks ’ current behavior unless you actively changed your configurations . Let ’s hope Apple agrees and sour Stacks into something for everyone .
[ elderly editor program Dan Frakes review low - toll software system in the Mac Gems Weblog . ]
