FINDER Restore Window Layout

[stefanmaine]

I have iMac 27" 2017 with Catalina. Is there a way to restore the Finder window that seems now to display in any app's File>Open or File>Recents or File>Save etc. to the original simple list by name of Directives or Folders and files in alphabetical order instead of the broken down, confusing list by "Today" "Previous 7 Days" "Previous 30 Days" "February" "January" "Earlier" etc.

I have looked at Preferences and Settings here and there, but can't seem to find anything like "Return to Normal" anywhere.

Thank you.

 

[ferrarr]

You can usually drag a corner/side of the Finder window to where you want it.

 

[usagora]

See that 9-square icon (3rd from the top left of the window)? Click that and you can choose the sort scheme you'd prefer.

 

[stefanmaine]

usagora, I thought I had tried every set of options offered by that icon, but evidently I missed the right one: "Show Sidebar/Columns/None"

That did it!

Thank you. Thank you.

 

[toMACsh]

That must be a Catalina Finder window. Looks like several things were consolidated into that one drop-down.

 

[MacInWin]

I don't think it's a Catalina thing. If you open Finder, put it in column view, the click on the icon two to the right, the one with a grid of squares, the resulting menu will show options for how to order and sort items in the view. I you pick anything other than "None" the column gets sorted by that criteria, with breaks between the sort items. I think it's been there for a while, although I don't use it. I do remember seeing it at some time in the past, I think well before Catalina, although I could be mistaken.

 

[usagora]

That must be a Catalina Finder window.

I don't think it's a Catalina thing.

Jake is correct. The screen shot I posted was indeed from 10.15 Catalina, but I just checked on my iMac that's running 10.14 Mojave, and it's the exact same. I can't speak to anything before that as those are the only two versions of macOS that I'm currently running.

 

[stefanmaine]

First, I like Catalina.

But I am (almost) certain that ...
... since Leopard (my first Mac OS when switching from Windows) I have never selected or even seen a Finder window display with "Today" "Previous 7 Days" "Previous 30 Days" "February" "January" "Earlier" or anything like it.
... I first noticed it after upgrading to Catalina from Sierra. I remember thinking, the first time I observed it, that it must be a "feature" (to borrow Microsoft's explanation of unpleasantries reported by their users), and so I decided to get used to it.
... a week or so ago, I tired of getting used to it, and decided it was time to come here for help, which I did yesterday.

Is it possible that the "Today" "Previous 7 Days" "Previous 30 Days" "February" "January" "Earlier" format is the default in Catalina? That is, the display itself may not be new, and may very well have been previously available, but the choice of that display is the default choice in OS 10.15, and so, when I upgraded, that's what displayed.

On the other hand, I am an old man. I am finding (and being reminded by others) that a lot of the strangeness I encounter is explained by that reality.

Anyway, thank you.

 

[usagora]

Is it possible that the "Today" "Previous 7 Days" "Previous 30 Days" "February" "January" "Earlier" format is the default in Catalina?

I think what I showed in post 3 is the default unless you click on Recents - then the default is items are grouped by date (date last opened, I believe). But you can change that.

 

[MacInWin]

It has never been the default on my system, ever. My default is to list view, which I choose to sort by name, leaving me a nice alphabetical list to find what I want. I occasionally re-sort by date, just to find a recent document, but never have I used that grouping display. And, as I said, it's never been the default for me at all. I upgraded to Catalina when it first arrived, and to all the predecessors shortly after they were released and that display was never the default, ever.

It must have been something you did inadvertently to get into that display. Easy to do.

 

[usagora]

It has never been the default on my system, ever. My default is to list view, which I choose to sort by name, leaving me a nice alphabetical list to find what I want. I occasionally re-sort by date, just to find a recent document, but never have I used that grouping display. And, as I said, it's never been the default for me at all. I upgraded to Catalina when it first arrived, and to all the predecessors shortly after they were released and that display was never the default, ever.

It must have been something you did inadvertently to get into that display. Easy to do.

What about when you click on Recents (in the sidebar)? When I did that, the view switched to grouped by date (of course, you can change that and it remembers next time). I sure don't remember manually choosing that before, so I think that may be the macOS default behavior for Recents. And that only makes sense, because the whole idea behind Recents is time.

 

[MacInWin]

Nope, when I click on Recents I get a list of recent documents, no breaks, no sections. Just a list.

 

[MacInWin]

Try this: Open Finder, then click on View on the top bar, then Show View Options. In the menu is a Group By option that I have set to None. If you pick anything else, you get that broken up view.

 

[usagora]

Nope, when I click on Recents I get a list of recent documents, no breaks, no sections. Just a list.

And that could be because you changed it long ago, as it will remember your last selection. I will try on my Catalina machine tonight to see if it defaults to the date sorting for Recents, then I'll know for a fact whether it's the default because I know I haven't messed with the view settings yet for Recents on that iMac (only have had it for a few days)

 

[MacInWin]

I would expect it to date sort on Recents, but the breaks in the display are not the default, AFAIK. When I select Recents, I get a list, sorted by date, but not grouped in breaks like the images posted.

 

[pm-r]

I think it's been there for a while, although I don't use it. I do remember seeing it at some time in the past, I think well before Catalina, although I could be mistaken.

Yup, even available back in Mac OS Mavericks 10.9.5.




- Patrick
======

 

[usagora]

I would expect it to date sort on Recents, but the breaks in the display are not the default, AFAIK. When I select Recents, I get a list, sorted by date, but not grouped in breaks like the images posted.

Just to follow up, on my iMac running 10.15.5, Recents displays with breaks by default (by "Date Last Opened") in the window you get when going to File > Open in an app (I used Preview) as the OP described. I did not change it to this - it just comes up like this "out of the box" until you change it once.

 

[toMACsh]

Jake is correct. The screen shot I posted was indeed from 10.15 Catalina, but I just checked on my iMac that's running 10.14 Mojave, and it's the exact same.

Well mine is very different. (10.14.6)
It's the layout that isn't like that, not the functionality under discussion.

 

[usagora]

Well mine is very different. (10.14.6)

Mine is 10.14.6 as well, so I'm not sure how that's possible, since I don't believe you can customize the toolbar on the Finder window that pops up when you open or save from an application's menu. Now, on a regular Finder window that you get by clicking the Finder icon in the dock, you can change the toolbar layout/buttons, so yours very well may look different if you've done that in the past, but that's not the kind of Finder window in question in the OP.

EDIT: Ok, I didn't really understand your 2nd sentence at first ("It's the layout that isn't like that, not the functionality under discussion"), but I think I do now - you're saying YOUR layout isn't like the OP's, but the functionality of the button on the toolbar is the same. Well, yes, that's what I've been saying - you can easily change the file layout using that button.

 

[toMACsh]

I don't know how to post my screen shot. It's too big. Crop is grey in Preview.