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Refresh Finder 1.4.0

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(10) 4.9

Add a refresh button to your Finder windows. Free

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Soderhavet

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.

Requirements
PPC / Intel, Mac OS X 10.4 or later

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Refresh Finder User Discussion (Write a Review)

ver. 1.x:

(10)

Your rating: Now say why...

Overall:

(10)

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lucaspestana reviewed on 24 Feb 2012

Hey there Söderhavet! Thanks for your app!

TO SÖDERHAVET: Just a little sad thing: somehow, against what MacUpdate (and even your website implies), latest version 1.4.0 is NOT PowerPC compatible; support for PPC seems to have been broken when you made this app suitable for Lion. Please, update it (maybe "version 1.4.1"?) so it can be a Binary Universal again!

TO MACUPDATE: In the meantime, please provide this download link: http://www.soderhavet.com/refresh/Refresh_Finder_1.3.0.dmg.zip -- it's Refresh Finder 1.3.0, which works on Snow Leopard, Leopard and earlier.

About the app itself, it seems to do what it promises. However, considering the refresh button is a Windows-ish feature, I'd also like to see a bit more of Windows-ishy things: say, the contents of *that specific Finder window* (not any others that might be open) "blinking" / going blank and then the icons/files appear again -- or even something even more Windows-like: scrolling back to the top of the folder contents (like in Explorer).
Btw: What do other users think of these? Please consider such things.

Thanks and au revoir!

[Version 1.4.0]

Tommy_b reviewed on 26 Nov 2011

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 =)

[Version 1.4.0]

+214

B. Jefferson Le Blanc reviewed on 25 Nov 2011

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.

[Version 1.4.0]

+100

macsolu commented on 11 Sep 2009

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.

[Version 1.3]

3 Replies

+79

Ulyssesric replied on 30 Sep 2009

When you mount an SMB drive shared from Windows machine, you'll know the importance of this button.

+98

Pl_svn replied on 14 Nov 2011

… seems it is needed again in 10.7 :-/

(btw: I don't remember 10.5, but in 10.6 finder refreshes were far from "perfectly fine, immediate and constant")

Polyfade replied on 25 Nov 2011

yes, lion 10.7.2 certainly needs a finder refresh, especially after decompressing files.

NotarySojac reviewed on 24 Nov 2008

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.

[Version 1.2.3]

3 Replies

+293

kobalt replied on 28 Dec 2008

The links are working today and get you to the author's website where the file is ready for downloading. Great little app!

+17

asmeurer replied on 01 Jan 2009

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.

Anotherscott replied on 09 Oct 2009

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.

-1

+152

gcoghill commented on 21 Nov 2007

The button shows up at about half-size compared to the standard OS X Finder buttons.

[Version 1.2.3]

+100

macsolu commented on 13 Nov 2007

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?

[Version 1.2.3]

idera commented on 03 Sep 2007

Great little app, works great with my school's slow servers when Finder won't auto-update.

[Version 1.2.2]

+42

StevenJayCohen reviewed on 03 Sep 2007

Works well! Nicely done!

Simple and clear direction in the READ ME.

[Version 1.2.2]

+21

aljuk commented on 03 Sep 2007

I don't get it... why would one need to "refresh" a finder window?

[Version 1.2.2]

1 Reply

+100

macsolu replied on 03 Sep 2007

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.

-1

-11

iGreg had trouble on 27 Oct 2007

How do you uninstall it?

[Version 1.2.2]

1 Reply

ssnickerer commented on 13 Nov 2007

I believe you just drag it out of the window and trash Refresh Finder.app

pdorneden had trouble on 22 Sep 2007

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.

[Version 1.2.2]

3 Replies

+44

8oo8 commented on 04 Oct 2007

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

pdorneden replied on 05 Oct 2007

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!

+44

8oo8 replied on 05 Oct 2007

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!

peedeebee had trouble on 24 Aug 2007

How do I get it into the Finder toolbar?

[Version 1.2.1]

2 Replies

Mibrilane replied on 24 Aug 2007

Just drag it into the toobar to put it there. That works with any file, by the way.

peedeebee replied on 24 Aug 2007

Thanks, Mibrilane. Apparently, it can be dragged to certain spots but not others.

+121

hced had trouble on 25 Apr 2007

Works great and all, but I'm using small icon size in my Finder windows, and the Refresh Finder icon doesn't resize properly at that setting.

Just a small cosmetic issue, not a big problem though.

Tack ska du ha, Söderhavet!

[Version 1.2]