directory

The OS X Finder is a great tool to use for organizing your documents and projects into folder hierarchies; however, it is a bit limited. If you would like to save this hierarchy as a list in a file then the Finder and OS X does not provide these options. While the Finder does support printing a folder's listings by dragging a folder to a print queue, this is about the limit of the options for listing folder items.

One alternative to this is to use screenshots; however, these are static images in which items cannot be selected and … Read more

Twitter has made it easier to find its millions of users on search engines by launching a new "Profiles Directory" tool.

The directory lists all user accounts alphabetically and includes profiles with numbers and non-Latin character names.

Twitter did not formally announce its new directory but instead quietly debuted the feature on the bottom of its homepage. "We launched this a few weeks ago," a Twitter spokesperson told CNET, "to help people find the accounts they're looking for with various search engines."

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week readers wrote in with questions about a Mac system issuing a beep tone and not turning on when the power is pressed, Active Directory accounts not properly accessing e-mail through Apple's Mail program, and the best way to install OS X on a new hard drive. We welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, post them in the comments!

Question: Mac beeps and does not turn on MacFixIt reader Navid asks:

There's a lot that goes on in Windows behind the scenes. If you need an easy way to view processes, programs, and a lot of other information, try ManagePC. This simple program makes it easy to view details about nearly everything that's going on on your PC in one well-organized place. We think it's a great choice both for system administrators and for others who need to know the details of what's happening on their own or other people's computers.

ManagePC has an intuitive interface, with a series of buttons across the top giving access … Read more

Problems with user accounts in OS X can happen that result in an account not being able to change configuration options and previously accessible resources. One example of such behavior is an admin account no longer being able to authenticate to access system preference settings even though it is listed as an admin account. Another indicative behavior would be the inability to modify that account's settings, such as its password, log-in window picture, or custom home folder location.

While people might think to look for the root of these problems within the user's folder, they will not find … Read more

JDiskReport is a free Java-based tool that displays the size, capacity, free space, and other parameters of your files, folders, and directories. You can display data in different views and rapidly switch between them. To use it, you must have an up-to-date version of Java installed, but of course that's free.

JDiskReport starts by scanning either a selected tree directory or your C drive; we chose the latter. We could save and reopen scans, too. JDiskReport displays a folder tree view in the left-hand panel and five tabs in the main window: Size, Top 50, Size Distribution, Modified, and … Read more

When you move files from one location to another in the OS X Finder, if their names are the same as existing files or folders, the system will ask you whether you wish to keep both files, replace the existing file, or cancel the move operation. If you replace the file, then the one you are moving should be the only one left in the new location; however, a bug in the Finder in OS X might result in both files being deleted.

Earlier today, Mac OS X Hints posted steps that show the Finder deleting both the original and … Read more

A popular TV show and movie discovery app just got a major update during CES that adds social components to its already full-featured cable listing arsenal.

Peel Personal TV Show Guide (free) is an app that changes the way you watch TV by gathering your personal preferences and giving you recommendations on your iPhone based on the data.

The polished interface of Peel asks you a few questions upon launch so it can deliver the type of shows you'll want to watch and tell you when they will show in your area. On first setup, the app has you choose your cable service, and then lists out several categories like Drama, Comedy, and Kids, and asks you to reorder the list by your personal preference with your favorites at the top. You'll then reorder a list of sports in the same fashion. When you're finished, you'll see the main interface of the app, with recommended shows that are currently playing in your area based on your preferences.

What we really like about Peel is how it lays out movies and shows by category so you can browse based on your mood at the moment.… Read more

User accounts in OS X are managed by default through the Accounts system preferences (Users & Groups in Lion), where you can add or remove them, or change properties such as administrator status via a simple interface. However, sometimes if you are trying to delete an account the system may be stubborn and refuse to allow this action, so the account reappears when you next launch the system preferences.

This type of problem generally means the system preferences cannot properly access the system directory, which can happen if corruption or permissions faults occur when you upgrade the operating system software … Read more