Finder window defaults

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

You can't set all Finder windows globally. You can set the default for a given folder and then click on Make Default button so all future created folder have the same settings.

You might be able to create an AppleScript that will set an opened folder to your preferred settings but that's above my pay grade.

randomname47 wrote:

thanks, i appreciate it. i was really happy with High Sierra (well, relatively!). but this not about new features, it's about the ones that are thirty five years old that they still can't be bothered to get right! this goes back at least to System 7.

Yea' just when you get settled into something one way it changes.

things just change randomly, and i hate it so much. i use Mission Control / Spaces, and it's utter cr*p. it would be brilliant if it worked properly, but it never has. and now it's randomly deciding to change some of the wallpapers for my Spaces (to things i've never chosen). and it's always randomly moved windows between Spaces without asking me.

and even worse, it's now decided to link the the Spaces of my two monitors together, so when one moves, the other moves. they're not mirrored. trying to just get something from one monitor to another is a right nightmare! i have decided to create a new user, move everything over, and redo all my settings. but that's also causing problems, and now Firefox won't recognise my profile.

oh, and on the second monitor, my menu bar has suddenly disappeared.

Yea' I run with all of the Mission Control Spaces disabled on our multiply display setups.

it seems consistency, contiguity and continuity, even integrity aren't things Apple cares about very much.

so, as you can imagine, right now i absolutely hate Apple. they can get the big things utterly brilliantly right, but they just don't care about the piddly little stuff that everyone relies on just to do their job. IMHO.

Yea' sadly moving forward in leaps and bounds, out-ways maintaining or caring about the past.

Since at least eight versions of the Mac OS back, the Finder always behaves globally. Sort of.

To fix how you want all future folders to appear, open any folder and set it exactly how you want it. Make sure to turn on Show View Options. Click Use as Defaults at the bottom and close the panel.

All new folders you create will appear as you had that target folder set to. All except for new folders created on the desktop, where there is a partial default of always showing the sidebar, even if you had it closed for your default settings.

I have my system set for file view, but here's where the "sort of" comes in. If you have a file folder open and change it to column view, all folders on all devices will now also show in column view when you open them. Or whatever other view you choose.

Though I do see there's a new option at the top in Sonoma (I don't recall seeing this before).

I'll have to play with those to see what they do, and how.

> as a Mac user for over thirty years, i've never really understood how the Finder window options work.

Ditto. I still miss System 6-7-8-9 Finder windows that could be set as desired. For a while I tried it with Mac OS X 10.1 and later by fiddling with the .DS_Store files and other settings but eventually gave up. But I do not miss the occasional freezes and crashes of those old Systems.

the "Always open in list view" is in OS 13.6.9 Ventura

Sorry, I wasn't clear enough. The first box I know has been there for a while. But I don't recall seeing the second box - Browse in list view - until Sonoma. Still, I also may have simply missed it.

randomname47 wrote:

thanks for that.

You're welcome.

sorry, i had the wrong mailbox set to receive these notifications, and i wasn't monitoring it.

No problem. I personally do not use the Communities e-mail notifications.

the trouble is not me not sticking to it, it's flipping Apple not sticking to it! the settings files/folders seem to be very susceptible to the vagaries of the ghost in the machine! they are not safe, and they are not secure. this is the Finder, Desktop, and Mission Control/Spaces. even when i set things how i like them, Apple just randomly changes them for no good reason.

Having used Mac for over 35 year myself. I can relate to you pain when it comes to all of the new features and changes. Personally my favorite OS X versions was Snow Leopard. I was more than happy not having to turn off new features, refuse monthly subscriptions, having colored icons on the sidebars, plus it got better with each update instead of worse.

Have a look at > Organize your files in the Finder on Mac - Apple Support

Only thing that I can suggest, is to choose the Finder setup that best suits your need and stick with it.