Icons versus lists

[eric j]

Hi,

As time goes by icons in OS Snow Leopard increasingly irritate me.
(I stay with SN because I have useful apps that require it).
I find that I can locate an item much more quickly from a list ordered alphabetically than from a bunch of icons.
For instance I often maddeningly choose the icon for Preview instead of that for iPhoto, or vice versa.
Is this related to my schooling and experience with earlier generations of computer GUIs (I am now aged 85) or am I in a minority? (Or simply dumb?)

eric j

[jchuzi]

I'm 69 and I always use list view. I have found the icon view to be counter-intuitive. Remember, there are three things that go when you become old. The first is your memory. (I forgot the other two.)  

[Xairbusdriver]

Icon view works fine... if they are large and few. They will always take more screen real estate than any other choice (OK, if you use Finder, there's "Cover Flow" ), thus, they will fill the window/space much sooner if you keep them large enough to easily see the difference among them. And, even then, the more you have the more chance of miss-identifying them. You also have more eye movement just to find the one you want. OK, sorting can help there.

I stopped using "List View" back in OS7, I think. I discovered <Greg's Browser> which is basically what Unix uses (which is where OS X found "Column View")! BTW, back then, a "browser" was never confused with an app for viewing/surfing the web!

But it's great to have choices!

[Paddy]

I use column view almost exclusively - occasionally use Cover Flow when I'm looking for a photo (which is also the ONLY time I ever use icons!!).

In the Dock I use "show as list" for my Applications folder, my Utilities folder, my Documents folder and my Downloads folder. All are sorted alphabetically except for the Downloads folder, which I sort by date, since I'm always looking for the most recent addition and am not terribly disciplined about taking stuff OUT of that folder.  

[eric j]

Wow Paddy, you have solved my biggest problem

Following your post, I searched Google and discovered the ctrl-click (hitherto unknown to me) that enabled me to activate "show as list" for my Applications folder.
It also works for Preview.

Many, many thanks.

eric j

[Paddy]

QUOTE(eric j @ Aug 17 2014, 09:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow Paddy, you have solved my biggest problem

Following your post, I searched Google and discovered the ctrl-click (hitherto unknown to me) that enabled me to activate "show as list" for my Applications folder.
It also works for Preview.

Many, many thanks.

eric j

Great - there are all sorts of useful things in those settings available via control+click or a right click if using a mouse. With 267 applications on this MacBook Pro (and more on the Mac Pro) I wouldn't be too happy going to go looking for something via icon view!!