How can I sort a folder in OS X Lion without having to group files as done with "Arrange By"?

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I'm sorry to say there are several things I liked better in Snow Leopard. Sorting files in Finder is one of those things.

If I "Arrange By" -> "None" it does not group items and it looks like 10.6. I like this. I can still click on the bar to sort by name, etc., and it looks fine and does not group:

enter image description here

However, if I select "Arrange By" and choose another option, the folder starts looking different (column headers) and it starts grouping things:

enter image description here

  1. I don't want them grouped.
  2. I want to use the old keyboard shortcuts, I think they were alt+1 - alt+6 to change the sort order. Also, pressing the keyboard shortcut again would toggle the sort order from ascending to descending.

How can I make my life better on Lion? Applescript would be an acceptable solution, but maybe editing the default plist file could also work or unlock some hidden option.

cwd

Posted 2011-12-15T02:07:39.540

Reputation: 13 508

I really hate the grouping and so glad to see a solution. – netrox – 2014-07-12T16:46:27.457

1@DanielBeck - haha, thanks for the upvote. Losing this functionality reminded me of transitioning from XP to Vista and no longer being able to easily do a view by list with alt-v-l or sort by date with alt-o-d - I really hope there is a workaround. – cwd – 2011-12-15T08:08:10.500

The previous keyboard shortcuts were repurposed. Ctrl-Cmd-N sorted by the column, instead of arranging. – Daniel Beck – 2011-12-15T08:11:02.977

Answers

7

You need to press Ctrl-Opt-Cmd-Number instead of Ctrl-Cmd-Number.

To get the sorting (instead of arranging) menu items, hold down Option. The implemented the Sort by/Arange by submenu somewhat oddly though, so pressing Option while it's already visible won't change the menu items.

enter image description here

Daniel Beck

Posted 2011-12-15T02:07:39.540

Reputation: 98 421

Awesome. I wondered why I didn't have the "Sort by" in the menu. Yes, holding option was the trick! Thanks! – cwd – 2011-12-15T19:47:41.170

2Any way to press it more than once and have it toggle ascending / descending? – cwd – 2011-12-15T19:50:55.937

Asked: 2011-12-15T02:07:39.540

Viewed: 2 552 times

Active: 2011-12-15T08:12:23.130