To Path Finder or Not to Path Finder

It is posts like the below in the PF Forum that give me pause for upgrading from PF7 to PF8.
It may be just one user, and PF Support has posted a workaround.

PathFinder 8 slows my machine down dramatically.

Pathfinder has just done a promotional email and signaled another update imminent. This suggests they think worst of the gremlins of PF8 introduction is over. I think this seems correct. Still, a cautious user can keep with PF7 and keep a watching brief.

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That's good. I'll monitor the above PF Forum post to see if the OP, or anyone, reports that an update has fixed the performance issue. I do find it strange that if there is already a fix waiting to be released that the PF support rep did not mention it. Instead, he provided a workaround.

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Yes agree with sentiments. For example some users have been asking for a list of version descriptions. This must be not much more than a copy and paste to the support page, but has not been done. The Pathfinder team seem a multinational group & I have wondered in the paste if there are some language/ comprehension issues

By the way a user composed a plugin that makes email work from Pathfinder & seems to work okay with Apple Mail

Dear JMicaelTX,
I occasionally saw your post about PathFinder 8.
I did not know that PathFinder8 UserForum was created.
Thank you for providing valuable information.
I always wanted to ask a question but I was in trouble because I could not find the place to post.
I upgraded to PathFinder 8 after all.
However, PathFinder 7 feels easier to use.
The information display is becoming obscure.
It seems to have various problems, but for now tentatively
A big problem is not occurring under my circumstances, so I will continue to use it.
Maybe I will return to PathFinder 7 again?
Best regards, WAKAMATSU (boehmflute)

Yes, if I'm understanding correctly, all of that should be doable in Path Finder. It supports the same smart folders as the Finder, as far as I can tell (I don't use smart folders myself, but the functionality appears to be the same from what I can see).

Yes, definitely -- dragging something onto a Path Finder window works just like dragging something onto a Finder window.


As somebody mentioned in another post, Cocoatech (the Path Finder developers) have sent around a message to their mailing list in the past few days with a link to a short feedback survey and 25%-off coupon for both upgrades and new purchases. Here's where the survey link goes, in case anybody (existing or new users) would like to fill it in and get the coupon code:

Fwiw — as you'll see, a couple of fins and not much fish — I have no issues with Path Finder currently. I am a long-time user, with Path Finder substituted for Finder on my desktop (currently iMac) and laptop (moving from 2013 MBP to 2019 MBA). My implementations of Path Finder are customized down to the colors of elements. Early versions of Path Finder 8 were execrable. Cocoatech's public relations were execrable. (I'm separating that from the more general "response" since unaware-to-users the company seems to have been working on repairs and solutions.) In short, Cocoatech altered Path Finder without providing enough information about the changes, and at the same time broke Path Finder while in no way reassuring users it would be fixed.

It is now fixed for me. It has gradually become error-lockup-crash-free. I now use it without holding my breath. I no longer repeat my (in-vain) search for a replacement.

I don't yet understand how to best use it — on my laptop I like to show/hide panels, and I'm not sure how to best do that in 8 {there were toolbar icons in 7}. I have adjusted to its abilities, but so gradually I can't list what I've done. (For example: I use the Sidebar less and the "Favorites bar" (?) more.) I've regularly made, I think, small adjustments to my workflows in order to get work done. I don't have a list of them.

@JMichaelTX asks the good questions :blush: . The paragraph above addresses — but does not answer — his question, "How have your workflows changed?" The only answer I have to "Why upgrade to 8?" is: eventually you'll have to. In this case, the old advice "Never install version "WholeNumber.0" applied strongly.

HTH.

—Kirby.

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Thanks Kirby!

Latest Upgrade today

Path Finder 8.3.9 is available!

Changes in version 8.3.9:

  • Fixed "Email…" and "Compress and Email…" actions in Mojave.
  • Added support for more email clients in "Email…" and "Compress and Email…" actions.
  • Fixed "Reveal in Path Finder" actions with both hotkey and Finder toolbar item.
  • Fixed some potential crashes and exceptions.
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Thanks for sharing. That looks really good!

Just when I'm about ready to upgrade, I see this:
https://support.cocoatech.com/discussions/problems/131552-add-preview-button

In PF7, i had a button to easily turn preview on/off. In PF8, i can see how to have a preview, but its much more clunky.

Response by PF Support:

We've already submitted this feature request to our developers.
It was available in PF7 but is gone in PF8, unfortunately.

I use PF7 Preview a lot.

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Spacebar for Quickview suffices for me. Or am I misunderstanding?

The new awkwardness of activating/de-activating Path Finder's panels is one of the things I was referring to in my earlier post in this thread.

Yes, those are very acceptable workarounds.
But it is very convenient to always show the preview in a panel.

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For what it's worth, I have the Preview panel showing all the time, and as far as I can tell the set-up I have for it in PF 8 is exactly the same as I had in PF 7, only it seems more reliable now… :slight_smile:

From that link above, it sounds like the feature the poster wanted (and was missing in PF 8) was to have a button to turn the preview off and on. But if you want it there all the time, that's easy.