Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard): Double-click on icon still does not work when name is editable in list view

Posted by Pierre Igot in: Macintosh
December 4th, 2007 • 10:16 am

Here is yet another example of Apple’s failure to properly fix the Finder in Mac OS X 10.5.

Open a Finder window in column view. Select an item in one of the columns and press Enter to make its name editable:

Editable name in column view

Now while the name is still editable, double-click on the item’s icon to open it.

Even though the name is editable, this double-click should work and the Finder should open the item (and exit the editable file name mode at the same time).

Now try the exact same thing in a Finder window in list view. Select an item and press Enter to make its name editable.

Then strong>while the name is still editable, double-click on the item’s icon to open it.

What happens? The Finder exits the editable file name mode, but fails to open the file.

Why?

Well, obviously because in this case one of the clicks in the double-click is interpreted by the Finder as a click to exit the editable file name mode, and then there is only one click left, which only counts as a “select this file” click (even though it’s already selected).

The problem is that this “interpretation” of the double-click is unique to list view. In both icon view and column view, if you double-click on an item’s icon while its name is editable, Mac OS X still interprets the double-click as a shortcut to open the item, and does open it. Not in list view.

There are numerous other Finder commands that work perfectly fine whether the item’s name is currently editable or not. For example, you can use command-Delete to move the currently selected item to the Trash, whether its name is editable or not. You can duplicate an item with command-D whether its name is currently editable or not. Etc. This works well across all view modes.

But not the most obvious of commands, i.e. “Open,” at least not when invoked with the double-click shortcut. (command-O and the “Open” menu command work just fine whether the item’s name is editable or not.) Of course, it just so happens that double-clicking is undoubtedly the most commonly used shortcut for opening a file.

This problem is not new in Mac OS X 10.5. But the fact that it’s still there confirms that Apple continues to treat list view as a second-class view mode, and does not bother to ensure optimal consistency across all view modes. It is of course infinitely irritating, because it is impossible to get used to this inconsistency.


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