Most of you are probably intimate with the Get Info window , which you activate by selecting one or more items in the Finder and then pressing Command - I ( or choosing File - > Get Info ) . This window is useful for things such as checking permissions , Indian file size , file counts for items in folders , changing the Open With coating , and much more . But even if you do get it on about the Get Info window , you may not be cognizant of the fact that ( as of OS X 10.4 ) that it actually has three random variable . Which one to use depends on what type of information you ’re looking for , and how many items you have selected .
The Get Info windowpane
This is the traditional information windowpane that ’s exist in various reading of the Mac OS for many , many year . The Get Info window is a “ static ” windowpane — once opened for a given Finder selection , the mental object of the Get Info windowpane wo n’t alter .
In version of OS X prior to 10.4 , if you selected multiple point in the Finder and gain Get Info , you ’d get a courteous summary window demo the size of the detail in the Finder selection . In 10.4 , however , that behavior has change , with ( of course ) an exception . If you select 10 or fewer items in the Finder and strike Command - I , you ’ll get ( up to ) 10 distinct Get Info window . This change is a welcome one , for it makes comparing more than one file or folder quite simple .
If you take 11 or more item in the Finder and reach Command - I , you ’ll get the 10.3 - style Multiple Item Info windowpane — a single window containing summary info for the take item . But what if you require to get this same summary info for a pick of 10 or fewer detail ? Then you ’ll want to use one of the other style info windows …
The Summary Info Window
If you want to see the sum-up info windowpane for any Finder choice , regardless of the number of items in that selection , hold down the Control keystone , and then pick File - > Get Summary Info . The Summary Info windowpane , as seen at right , will afford . Alternatively , just use the ready to hand Control - Command - I keyboard shortcut . This will force OS X to create a sum-up information window for your natural selection , even if you have 10 or few detail in that selection . ( This windowpane is raw to 10.4 ; 10.3 user have a Get Info window that acts like the Summary Info windowpane . )
Like the Get Info windowpane , the Summary Info windowpane is static — its content will always reflect the Finder ’s selection at the prison term the window was activate . Changing the selection in the Finder wo n’t modify the contents of the Summary Info windowpane . While this make it great for compare dissimilar Finder extract , it ’s not so salutary for viewing the info on many unlike files , especially if you have more than 10 such files to examine ( as you ’d then get the Summary Info window ) . To make that cognitive operation prosperous , you need a dynamic information windowpane , one whose content alter as you change the selection in the Finder . In other Scripture , you need the Inspector window .
The Inspector Window
The Inspector window is always a summary windowpane — disregarding of how many or few items you have take , you will always see only one window representing the summary of that selection . ( Obviously , with one item choose , you see only that item ’s info . ) To activate hit , hold down Option and choose File - > Show Inspector , or employ the Command - Option - I keyboard shortcut . The master welfare of the Inspector window is that it ’s dynamical — as you select new items in the Finder , the contents of the Inspector windowpane change to reflect the current selection . If you want to contain a circle of files in a hastiness , but do n’t needs require to compare them to one another , the Inspector is a fast means to do just that . Some mass have even used the Inspector as a simple media player , leaving it open and then play movies and audio files immediately in the Inspector . This saves a trip to QuickTime or iTunes , and if you ’re just review thing , the modest movie sizing wo n’t be an issue .
So there you have it ; more than you might ever have wanted to hump about the Get Info windowpane and its close relatives , the Summary Info and Inspector window .
