ashwin@gatech.edu (Ashwin Ram) (01/15/91)
Is there any way to re-order the icons in a folder so that they appear alphabetically? I want to display the icons in the "Show by icon" or "Show by small icon" format but I want them to be listed (and maintained) alphabetically. Also, is there a way to get "Clean up window" to move icons (or small icons) into appropriate array positions such that they do not obscure or overlap one another? E.g., if an icon has a long name attached to it, the next array position over to the right might be left empty (or whatever); otherwise it would be the same arrangement as "Clean up window" normally creates. Thanks, -- Ashwin (ashwin@cc.gatech.edu)
clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Kathy Strong) (01/15/91)
In article <687@mephisto.edu> ashwin@cc.gatech.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: >Is there any way to re-order the icons in a folder so that they appear >alphabetically? I want to display the icons in the "Show by icon" or "Show >by small icon" format but I want them to be listed (and maintained) >alphabetically. > To do this, select all the icons, change to View by Name, drag them all onto the desktop, immediately drag them back to the window (easy if you don't accidentally de-select them!), and change to View by [Small] Icon. They will be arranged left to right, top to bottom, in alpha order. >Also, is there a way to get "Clean up window" to move icons (or small icons) >into appropriate array positions such that they do not obscure or overlap one >another? E.g., if an icon has a long name attached to it, the next array >position over to the right might be left empty (or whatever); otherwise it >would be the same arrangement as "Clean up window" normally creates. > There are two ways to do this. Easy way: find a little program called Layout and with it, offset every other icon vertically. (That is, rather than lining straight across, your icons will look like this: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Hard way (not really so hard, but more dangerous): Use ResEdit to open your Finder; open the LAYO resource; open the one thing listed in that window (ID=128? something like that). Scroll down to the box labeled Icon Vertical Phase (Phase, not Spacing) and change it from 0 to, oh, about 20. (Do not use 32--I'm told that using a number exactly half of the Vertical Spacing [which is usually 64] will cause some unspecified but dire result.) Close everything and save. The usual ResEdit disclaimer here: Work only on a copy of your Finder; do not attempt this on an original. --K -- ........................................................................... : Kathy Strong : "Try our Hubble-Rita: just one shot, : : (Clouds moving slowly) : and everything's blurry" : : clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu : --El Arroyo : :..........................................................................:
mystone@mondo.engin.umich.edu (Dean Yu) (01/15/91)
In article <42533@ut-emx.uucp> clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Kathy Strong) writes: >In article <687@mephisto.edu> ashwin@cc.gatech.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: >>Is there any way to re-order the icons in a folder so that they appear >>alphabetically? I want to display the icons in the "Show by icon" or "Show >>by small icon" format but I want them to be listed (and maintained) >>alphabetically. >> >To do this, select all the icons, change to View by Name, drag them all >onto the desktop, immediately drag them back to the window (easy if you >don't accidentally de-select them!), and change to View by [Small] Icon. >They will be arranged left to right, top to bottom, in alpha order. > >>Also, is there a way to get "Clean up window" to move icons (or small icons) >>into appropriate array positions such that they do not obscure or overlap one >>another? E.g., if an icon has a long name attached to it, the next array >>position over to the right might be left empty (or whatever); otherwise it >>would be the same arrangement as "Clean up window" normally creates. >> Or you can wait for System 7, in which case the Finder does both of these things. (Yes, I know I'm probably opening up a whole can of worms by saying this...)
tonyrich@titanic.cs.wisc.edu (Anthony Rich) (01/15/91)
Kathy Strong writes: >In article <687@mephisto.edu> ashwin@cc.gatech.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: >>Is there any way to re-order the icons in a folder so that they appear >>alphabetically? I want to display the icons in the "Show by icon" or "Show >>by small icon" format but I want them to be listed (and maintained) >>alphabetically. >> >To do this, select all the icons, change to View by Name, drag them all >onto the desktop, immediately drag them back to the window (easy if you >don't accidentally de-select them!), and change to View by [Small] Icon. >They will be arranged left to right, top to bottom, in alpha order. A shortcut: You can do the dragging part in one step. Instead of dragging them all to the desktop, then back, just drag them to the grayed-out icon of the folder they're ALREADY in. (That icon is in the parent folder's window, of course.) -- Tony -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | EMAIL: tonyrich@cs.wisc.edu | Look before you. | | Disclaimer: I speak only for myself. | He who hesitates is. | -----------------------------------------------------------------------
jnelson@gauche.enet.dec.com (Jeff E. Nelson) (01/18/91)
|>In article <687@mephisto.edu>, ashwin@gatech.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes... |>Is there any way to re-order the icons in a folder so that they appear |>alphabetically? I want to display the icons in the "Show by icon" or "Show |>by small icon" format but I want them to be listed (and maintained) |>alphabetically. Absolutely, but it takes periodic maintenance on your part to see that the icons stay in alphabetic order. Here's how it works: 1. Open the folder containing the icons. Call this folder "child" and the window containing the icons the "child window". Call the window which contains the child folder the "parent window." 2. Move the child window so you can see the blackened child icon in the parent window. 3. With the child window selected, choose "select all" from the edit menu. 4. Choose "show by name" from the view menu. 5. Drag the selected icons to the child icon in the parent window and release the mouse. That is, you're picking up all the files in the folder and copying them back to the same folder. 6. Choose "show by icon" or "show by small icon" in the view menu. Your icons are now sorted alphabetically. |>Also, is there a way to get "Clean up window" to move icons (or small icons) |>into appropriate array positions such that they do not obscure or overlap one |>another? E.g., if an icon has a long name attached to it, the next array |>position over to the right might be left empty (or whatever); otherwise it |>would be the same arrangement as "Clean up window" normally creates. Technically speaking, what you ask for is not possible: you can only have one default icon arrangement active at once. However, if you know how to use ResEdit, you can modify the LAYO resource in the Finder to change the default icon arrangement to whatever you want. There are applications which modify the layout which are easier to use, but I don't have a directory handy to tell me what or where they are. I suggest looking for something with "layout" in its name on sumex-aim.stanford.edu. -Jeff E. Nelson -Digital Equipment Corporation -Internet: jnelson@tle.enet.dec.com -Affiliation given for identification purposes only