Default Folder X

My good old iMac crashed after 7 years of use and I had to replace it with a new one. After a few days I realized that my reliable company "Default Folder" was missing! Why did it take me so long to take note of its absence is even unknown to me! I guess this nifty app that has been accompanying me for the last 30 years has become so much part of my computer that I take it for granted that it's a component of my operating system! It's like air that is invisible and yet essential for living. You don't notice it unless you miss it! As such, only the first time I wanted to save my documents and the wrong folder came up I noticed its absence!! Add to this the issues I experienced when launching my favorite apps from "Default Folder"'s menu and all other essential functions and you come up with the answer to why no Mac should be ever without it. Fariborz AMIRSHAHI Verona (Italy)

I have been using this app for some months now and have the latest 5.6 version. Ran Fine under Catalina, Big Sur but when I updated to Monterey this morning, as soon as I tried to open my HD Icon, the finder went into a quit/relaunch/quit/relaunch etc. Removing DFX from my logiitems folder, the problem went away.iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)4.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i764 GB 2400 MHz DDR4. Hopefully there will be a fix soon

I have been using Default Folder since version 1 and it is the first utility I install when I purchase a new computer. Apple has made very few changes to the open/save dialog in the past 20 years but the developer of Default Folder has made up for Apple's lack of. No need to go over all the great features, many are already listed above. Spend a week using DF and then try to stop using DF and you will then realize the convenience of getting to that folder in a split second instead of moving through a bundle of folders to get to that folder buried deep inside another folder. My favorite feature is being able to click on a folder in the Finder from with a Default Folder open/save window and be taking to that folder instantaneously. You want to save a few days of your life? Start using Default Folder and you'll save those seconds, that add up to minutes, hours and days. Maybe if you live long enough you could save a year of your life. Try this app and you will end up buying it, if you value your time.

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Absolutely essential software for any Mac. Don't know why Apple hasn't bought this and integrated it into the Finder. Can't do without it.

For a couple of days, after installing macOS 11.1 beta, DFX stopped working. You never think about how valuable this utility is for your productivity until it’s not there. As always, the developer was quick to address the issue and this latest update made things right again! Thanks, Jon!

Excellent, time-saving and hassle-free file/folder open/close. Equally excellent response to questions as well as correction of occasional bugs. If you have more than a few folders with few or no sub-folders, this is an app to have to facilitate getting work done instead of navigating only through the native framework.

Default Folder X is amazing software. It is a classic given that it has remained so useful, simple, and unsurpassed for so many years.

Default Folder is hands down one of the top must-have products, especially if you move, save, seek, use files all over your Mac and network. I have had it for years and would not have any setup without it! Think of this: You've been working on images, charts, sound files, videos, for like the past four hours, and NOW you've got to place them all - DF remembers where you were, and you can go back to any folder you've been in, off a list. But of course, it does so much more! You can set up DF to use a specific folder for a specific application, or project, or just about anything. It will remember a favorites list, and will, or won't, give you a preview of a file just by highlighting it. Imagine these features, and anything related you can think of, and it's in there. For the busy user, nothing else comes close. I want to mention, I am not paid for writing this, I have communicated with the author along the years when I had issues, but I write this because it works, and it should do as good for you too!

Great App, so very useful to me.

Have used this for years and it continues to work great. Very responsive developer. Enormously time saving.

Have used and loved it for many years :)

This is something that Apple should have included by default to macOS!

I've tried a few iterations of v5 in El Capitan but there's always a lag in open/save dialogs before you can click on a Finder's window.
Reverting to 4.7.4 fixes it! No particular issue in El Capitan with that old version.
EDIT: well... actually, it looks like some app won't use it — all the browsers I've tried just now.

Yes, v5.3.7 is the update from May.

Can't imagine using my Mac without Default Folder X installed. Apple should buy this and integrate it into the system.

Awesome software and service since so many years – and if there's an issue it will be solved always very fast. Default Folder is a must have for every Mac – worth every penny!

Still crazy about Default Folder after all these years and it had been many years. Default Folder is Fantastic application developed by an Indie developer who is always updating, adding and fixing.

Most responsive Dev I've ever communicated with, period. That includes Peter N. Lewis of Keyboard Maestro. Jon sweeps away the rest, even if by a slim margin sometimes. App: for all the file moving & saving & temporary file management I do, this is the first, not joking, first app I install of about a dozen of my necessary shareware programs. The confusion I suffer when I use a machine to work with documents (as oppose to all the machines I fix), my head explodes and friends and family have a seance to revive me, with DFX as the medium. This app has many features, and it is possible to miss some as I have in the past, that reveal themselves as truly helpful. I encourage everyone to who hasn't, whether new to Default Folder X or unaware, try the Finder Toolber Menus. The finder Toolbar is that thing at the top of each finder window (typically visible), where you change which view you're in and can navigate forward or backward, perform an inplace search, etc. I don't think all people who disagree with the 5-star reviews are wrong, especially if they've found a bug that's fatal for their workflow. Consider this a tool like a Swiss army knife for file & folder placement & navigation. i know there are others out there, but I personally find those overkill and too different from the native OS for my needs. If you only ever use the toothpick on your swiss, this might not be for you. If you use two or three of the tools regularly, like the saw, the knife, and the pliers, this has that down like an ace and with scissors and tweezers to boot. Peace and goodwill.

It is a nostalgia-ware at this point. People using it since the Classic Mac OS days will feel right at home, think that it is a "must-have" software and believe that we could not live without it.

Those of us who are familiar with macOS Open & Save sheet's essential features, though, will find many Default Folder X's features redundant and unnecessary. For example, I find it more than sufficient to hit Command + R in Open & Save sheet to open the corresponding folder in Finder to rename files and perform other file management actions. When you open a file, select a file in Open sheet and hit Space bar to preview the file while you are still in the Open sheet. A quick Command + Tab will bring me right back to where I was. I find judicious use of Finder's Sidebar more than sufficient for shortcuts to various folders. Apps nowadays do an adequate job to remember the previous folders I opened and saved files, but long-time DFX users will not know it since they most likely haven't given the stock environment a fair chance. Granted, it's not perfect, but I usually add folders to the Sidebar on the fly if it bothers me.

I often use the built-in search to jump to a particular folder, so I don't usually bother navigating through file hierarchy if something is not in the Sidebar. I use tags in file names, so it's relatively quick to narrow down my choices with a few keywords. I also use Spotlight search to instantly locate a folder while I'm in Open and Save sheet. I drag and drop a folder icon from Spotlight popup to Open and Save sheet, and it will jump straight to that folder. Again, no need to fiddle with menu hierarchy with a mouse/Trackpad.

To me, effective usage of the stock OS functionalities and proper naming of folders render this utility unnecessary. I used it for several years in the past, but I haven't missed it since I learned to take more advantage of built-in features.