Refresh Finder allows you to have a "refresh" button in the Finder just like the one you are used to in Safari.
Refresh Finder is a wrapper around an AppleScript with an icon you can drag into your Finder window's toolbar.
What's New
Version 1.4.0:
Updated for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Thank you Matt Sephton for letting me steal your icon, and Nick Barron for pointing out the need for a version for Mac OS X 10.7.
Using 10.7.2, I frequently have to quit & relaunch Finder in order to see any new files added to the Desktop. This is amazingly annoying, so Refresh Finder is a welcome helper. thanks =)
I've used Refresh Finder for some time now. For some reason the Finder frequently did no draw new icons when files were moved from one window to another. This was a problem for me from OS X 10.4 through 10.6. For some reason it has not been an issue in Lion, but I will keep Refresh Finder in my Finder window tool bar just in case.
Please explain why this is needed for OS's greater than 10.4.x -- There is perfectly fine, immediate and constant updating of the contents of open Finder windows in both Mac OS X 10.5.x and 10.6.x.
This app is invaluable - even in Leopard, and especially for a Mac in a hostile Windows network. Files get added to network volumes and I cannot see them on my Mac unless I un-mount the volume and remount it. This app forces a window refresh and suddenly the added files are there!
Luckily, I still had the copy I downloaded at home several months ago because the links on the author's and MacUpdate's pages point to a file that is no longer there. Either the author is updating the file right now as I try to download it, or the app is now moved elsewhere.
Network volumes are perhaps the only use for this-I haven't tested the following too much with them. The Finder will automatically update info the instant it is changed. It uses the same technology that spotlight uses to automatically include search results without constantly indexing the hard drive. Every time a file is changed or created, the system kernel indexes it to spotlight and notifies the Finder if the file is visible in one of its windows.
Try it. Create a folder on your desktop called "test" and open it. Then open Terminal so you can still see the folder, and type "mkdir ~/Desktop/test/hello/" (without the quotes). You should instantly see a folder called "hello" inside your test folder. Then, make sure you can see the date and time modified for "hello". Wait until it is a different time from when you created the folder, then type "touch ~/Desktop/test/hello" in Terminal. You should instantly see the date modified change to the present time. You can try saving files while you watch the info too. The Finder is quite good at refreshing itself.
asmeurer, the FInder in Leopard still doesn't fully update properly, even local volumes.
Try this: Throw some stuff you don't need into the trash. Empty trash. Wait to see how long it will be before the free space indicator at the bottom of the window shows the new larger amount of free space.
Wait a second -- I thought the Finder in Leopard SPECIFICALLY fixed the ridiculous refresh problems of previous OS's, thus completely removing the necessity for this program. Am I mistaken?
Because the Finder is pitiful when it comes to accuracy -- it fails to visually indicate changes made to files and folders within an open Finder window. Go ahead and see for yourself; drag some files from the desktop to a folder sitting within a open Finder window -- the date modified does not change, the calculated size does not change. And when you save a file from within an application into an open Finder window you get similar results. Apple continues to ignore this critical issue, and thus kludges like "Refresh Finder" have come about as a workaround.
This application does nothing when launched, and you can not drag it into the toolbar as indicated. It appears that this application actually does nothing and is non-functional.
OS 10.4.10 on MacBook Pro
I have successfully installed the Refresh Finder on my Macbook OSX. I am a first time Mac user and have 3 instances of the Refresh Finder icon or 2 question marks and 1 icon on my Finder toolbar when the program is in the trash. Can anyone tell me how to remove the icons in the toolbar when the application is not installed? Thank you.
You should be able to remove them by depressing the command(Apple) key on your keyboard while clicking on the icons with your mouse and dragging them off.
The icons are still there after you trashed the app because some of Refresh Finder's files are still in your hard drive. You can find and remove those files(as well as ANY files) by installing and using the free app "EasyFind" http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11076/easyfind
Thank you very much for the help. I could not get Easy Finder to locate the files, but the drag and drop theory worked. This is my first experience with a Mac, and I love it!
Oops, I was wrong about the Refresh Finder files. There are, in fact, none left after trashing the app itself.
But, I think, you'll find Easy Find really handy and useful when looking for files that are still on your hard drive.
Anyway, enjoy your Mac!
+6
Tommy_b reviewed on 26 Nov 2011
+202
B. Jefferson Le Blanc reviewed on 25 Nov 2011
+101
+5
+73
+3
+89
(btw: I don't remember 10.5, but in 10.6 finder refreshes were far from "perfectly fine, immediate and constant")
+9
+2
+2
NotarySojac reviewed on 24 Nov 2008
Luckily, I still had the copy I downloaded at home several months ago because the links on the author's and MacUpdate's pages point to a file that is no longer there. Either the author is updating the file right now as I try to download it, or the app is now moved elsewhere.
+1
+284
+17
Try it. Create a folder on your desktop called "test" and open it. Then open Terminal so you can still see the folder, and type "mkdir ~/Desktop/test/hello/" (without the quotes). You should instantly see a folder called "hello" inside your test folder. Then, make sure you can see the date and time modified for "hello". Wait until it is a different time from when you created the folder, then type "touch ~/Desktop/test/hello" in Terminal. You should instantly see the date modified change to the present time. You can try saving files while you watch the info too. The Finder is quite good at refreshing itself.
+1
+7
Try this: Throw some stuff you don't need into the trash. Empty trash. Wait to see how long it will be before the free space indicator at the bottom of the window shows the new larger amount of free space.
-1
+144
+101
+1
+1
+2
+40
Steven Jay Cohen reviewed on 03 Sep 2007
Simple and clear direction in the READ ME.
+21
+101
-1
-1
OS 10.4.10 on MacBook Pro
http://www.macupdate.com/reviews.php?id=24714&pid=187763
-1
-11
+1
+5
+42
The icons are still there after you trashed the app because some of Refresh Finder's files are still in your hard drive. You can find and remove those files(as well as ANY files) by installing and using the free app "EasyFind" http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11076/easyfind
+42
But, I think, you'll find Easy Find really handy and useful when looking for files that are still on your hard drive.
Anyway, enjoy your Mac!
+6
+5
+6
+103
Just a small cosmetic issue, not a big problem though.
Tack ska du ha, Söderhavet!
+7
Emrys0821 rated on 25 Nov 2011