[rslifka]

One thing I always use in Windows is the right-click New Document. For those of you not versed in the hell that is Windows, this is actually quite handy

Basically, right-clicking on the desktop or in Explorer is a New Document... submenu with several of the registered document types in the system (Excel, Word, Text, Presentation, etc.). You click on one of these and it makes a new, empty file right there, with the name field ready for editing.

Now for instance, I want a new Word document. To do that in OS X, I need to use either the Finder or Spotlight to find Word (I don't use Word that often), then a Save As to get my file on the desktop.

I would looove to be able to right-click on the desktop and say, "New Document... Word".

Did I explain that clearly? Anybody feel me?

Rob

[cla]

Or new document: modifier-key while drag proxy icon from dock app icon to the location you want it. Afaic, the dock is a failure anyway, so I don't see how this would make things worse...

[techtrucker]

I've never tried it but had stumbled across this a while back:

http://www.growlichat.com/NuFile.php

[jjlannoo]

Originally Posted by techtrucker

I've never tried it but had stumbled across this a while back:

http://www.growlichat.com/NuFile.php

Wow that program works great,thanks

[markwm]

Originally Posted by jjlannoo

Wow that program works great,thanks

I use the same program, it's good. I set it like Windows though, so the app doesn't open as soon as you create the file.

[monkeybrain]

Can I ask what the point of creating an empty file is?

[markwm]

Originally Posted by monkeybrain

Can I ask what the point of creating an empty file is?

Lets say you have a finder window already open and you want to create a file right there, right clicking > new file is a whole lot easier than opening text edit, and going through the whole save procedure.

[techtrucker]

I can appreciate it's usefulness, I may download it and give it a spin. Glad I recalled the name!

[Brass]

You could always use the CLI (Terminal.app) to create a new empty file, but that's probably even more tedious that opening the application, New file, save as.

Eg,

touch Desktop/blah.doc

hmmm... though many applications cannot cope with opening a completely empty file (need some basic document data to exist in the file).

[JKT]

Originally Posted by markwm

Lets say you have a finder window already open and you want to create a file right there, right clicking > new file is a whole lot easier than opening text edit, and going through the whole save procedure.

That doesn't tell anyone why it is remotely useful to create an empty file... I'm completely bemused - what is the actual point of creating an empty file that you aren't going to use immediately?

[markwm]

Originally Posted by JKT

That doesn't tell anyone why it is remotely useful to create an empty file... I'm completely bemused - what is the actual point of creating an empty file that you aren't going to use immediately?

There isn't one. The idea is you edit it straight away.

[Brass]

I can't really see the point in it myself, but I guess for some people it's too much effort to:
- open application
- new file command
- save as command
- enter name

as opposed to using the Windows Explorer (or Mac OS X Finder) to:
- new file
- choose file type
- enter name
- open file

[analogika]

Apple-N ?

[Brass]

Originally Posted by analogika

Apple-N ?

In the Finder, that's a new folder (not a new file).

In other applications, it doesn't create a file on disk, nor does it give the new document a name (without additional steps).

[rslifka]

Kaaaaaching, exactly what I wanted. Thanks macnn!

Rob

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Brass

In the Finder, that's a new folder (not a new file).

No. Apple-N opens a new window, in every application, including the Finder.

In applications that deal with content creation, this means a new document.

The Finder doesn't create content (it just manages it), so having Apple-N create a new file would be pointless - what kind of file, out of thousands of different types, should it create?

"New folder" has been Apple-Shift-N for the past five years, since they finally adapted the Finder's Apple-N to the "new window" convention present in every single other application ever made.

[markwm]

Originally Posted by Brass

I can't really see the point in it myself, but I guess for some people it's too much effort to:
- open application
- new file command
- save as command
- enter name

as opposed to using the Windows Explorer (or Mac OS X Finder) to:
- new file
- choose file type
- enter name
- open file

There is a point! what the points above failt to mention is, for example. 'Open Application' is not always a one step procress and save as certainly isn't a one step process, especially if you are saving a few levels deep.

The point is, if you have the folder already open and you know you want to create a new PHP file there, it's far quicker to create the blank file than it is open textedit then open the save as dialog.

[analogika]

You do know that when you Save a document from a Mac application, and you already have the target folder open in the Finder, you can simply drag that folder to the "Save..." dialog box to move there?

I'm slightly mystified as to how the Finder is supposed to know *what type* of document to create if you were to tell it to create a new document...at any rate, the Mac-typical drag-and-drop solution is far simpler.

[markwm]

Originally Posted by analogika

You do know that when you Save a document from a Mac application, and you already have the target folder open in the Finder, you can simply drag that folder to the "Save..." dialog box to move there?

ofcourse, but if you have the folder open, why bother going away from the folder to open textedit?

Originally Posted by analogika

I'm slightly mystified as to how the Finder is supposed to know *what type* of document to create if you were to tell it to create a new document.

Maybe this screenshot will enlighten you :-)

[analogika]

Originally Posted by markwm

Maybe this screenshot will enlighten you :-)

That's only a very small selection of possible document types. What decides which application gets to create a new document via that context menu?

And how does it make sense to have only some types there, but not others?

And if you opt for consistency, having every application capable of creating new documents appended to that list, how useful is it to have forty+ applications/document types listed there in that context menu?

[Maflynn]

I use the right click new on my pc at work from time to time. I use it create new folders but shift cmd-n does the same thing for the mac. To be honest, I don't really miss it on osx. I found other short cuts that took its place.

Its probably related to my companies computer build but right clicking and selecting new takes about 10 - 60 seconds to display the next context menu, i.e., new folder, short cut etc. so I get tired of sitting there waiting for it to finally show. In theory I like it, but in implementation I tire of it. Like I said its probably my companies build, they do a lot of wacky things to the peecee.

[markwm]

Originally Posted by analogika

That's only a very small selection of possible document types. What decides which application gets to create a new document via that context menu?

And how does it make sense to have only some types there, but not others?

And if you opt for consistency, having every application capable of creating new documents appended to that list, how useful is it to have forty+ applications/document types listed there in that context menu?

The files that appear in the menu are totally customizable.

[cla]

You could build a system of templates yourself and put them on the desktop ( / in a folder).
Each time you want to create for instance a new text document, alt-drag your "New Text Document.txt" template to the place you want it.

[markwm]

Just wanna say.... there is an obvious OS X problem to having a right click > new file menu.

In column view especially, when a folder is packed with files and scrollable, you'll have a hard time finding any space to right click.

Right Click > New Folder also has this problem, but can be overcome by the fact it has a shortcut key in the File Menu.

[insha]

Couldn't you use Automator to add context-menus for creating empty files? Personally I haven't written many Automator workflows; but this should be do able.

Then again I don't see (or have) a need to create empty documents, but I understand what the OP is trying to accomplish.

Cheers.

[P]

Having a New File... like that is a way to avoid the Open/Save dialog boxes - navigating the file system in the Finder is bad enough for many people, so they want to avoid those ugly boxes. In general, I think Apple should come up with some nice way to Save from any app using the Finder to position the file - perhaps a context menu to "Save from app <list of all open apps> here". "New File" is OK, but it becomes unwieldy with too many apps adding options to that menu.

As for the Command-shift-N for New Folder... that is wrong on several levels. First, if they had to use Command-N for New Window (which I disagree with, for reasons I'll explain in a minute) the correct command for New Folder would be Command-Option-N. Adding shift to a command means to reverse that command. Adding option means to make it a different command - often similar. Command-Option is very easy to hit together - Command-Shift isn't.

Second, creating a new window in "Finder mode" doesn't make sense, because the window must be pointed to something. The logical version would be to use the Go commands to make a new window in some predetermined position. The only case where New Window makes sense as a command is in browser mode. The best way to fix this is to separate the Finder into two modes once and for all - much like the Windows Explorer is. With that logic, reserve Command-B for "New Browser", make all folders opened in a browser open in the same window, all windows opened in spatial mode open in a new window, the Go commands function accordingly depending on which window (or application, if they're split into two apps) is frontmost, etc.

Third, Command-N "creates" a new window in a web browser. It creates and opens a document (admittedly not saving it) in any app that uses documents. In general, you don't really create a new window - that is an interface object that happens to enclose the document you just created. It's the web browser that deviates from the standard. If it had followed the paradigm, Command-N would create a new empty HTML document and Command-O would open a document - by file location or URL - in a new window.

[zeta101]

Analogika, next time maybe you should look at the URL for the program in question all your answers can be found in the two screenshots that are immediatedly visible on the webpage given.

I will make use of this little software gem (it's interesting how it's actually a better implementaion of how it works in windows, one of the annoyances I have with windows is that after a few months of installing programs all manner of apps have new documents in the context menu, and most of them I don't use)

[JKT]

Originally Posted by P

Having a New File... like that is a way to avoid the Open/Save dialog boxes - navigating the file system in the Finder is bad enough for many people, so they want to avoid those ugly boxes. In general, I think Apple should come up with some nice way to Save from any app using the Finder to position the file - perhaps a context menu to "Save from app <list of all open apps> here". "New File" is OK, but it becomes unwieldy with too many apps adding options to that menu.

That would be highly impractical - what if you have several files open in the same app at once?

Wrt to the New File menu thing - how does it work out which app to assign it to? There are more than 20 apps on my Mac that can handle text or html files. I have over five apps that handle .doc files, etc, etc.

[Chuckit]

I think you should be able to drag a new file's proxy icon into a position in the Finder to save it there. That would be a cool feature.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

I think you should be able to drag a new file's proxy icon into a position in the Finder to save it there. That would be a cool feature.

Just save it do the Desktop (or anywhere, just hit the return key), then you can drag the proxy icon to wherever you want.

[cla]

Metaphorically a proxy icon equals an actual document icon in (almost) every way – I'd like to see proxy icons in a more central role of the file/folder metaphor.

I'd also like to give P a for his post (apart from the perhaps a context menu to "Save from app <list of all open apps> here". A primary task of a graphical user interface is to serve as an off-load to our working memory).

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by P

As for the Command-shift-N for New Folder... that is wrong on several levels. First, if they had to use Command-N for New Window (which I disagree with, for reasons I'll explain in a minute) the correct command for New Folder would be Command-Option-N. Adding shift to a command means to reverse that command. Adding option means to make it a different command - often similar. Command-Option is very easy to hit together - Command-Shift isn't.

Where are you getting this from? Empty Trash is the opposite of throwing a file away? Save As is the opposite of Save? Make Plain Text is the opposite of Show Fonts?

Originally Posted by P

Third, Command-N "creates" a new window in a web browser. It creates and opens a document (admittedly not saving it) in any app that uses documents. In general, you don't really create a new window - that is an interface object that happens to enclose the document you just created. It's the web browser that deviates from the standard. If it had followed the paradigm, Command-N would create a new empty HTML document and Command-O would open a document - by file location or URL - in a new window.

Again, where are you getting this from? The interface guidelines seem to suggest command-N should open a new window.

[sushiism]

really hated that on windows, especially when inconsequential programs thought they deserved a place in it.

[P]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

(option and shift) Where are you getting this from? Empty Trash is the opposite of throwing a file away? Save As is the opposite of Save? Make Plain Text is the opposite of Show Fonts?

The manual of my old Macintosh SE. Shift for the opposite is still quite common - Cmd-shift-tab, Cmd-shift-A (Deselect all), Cmd-shift-G (Find Previous), Cmd-shift-Z (Redo). Save as... used to be Cmd-option-S back in the day (note that some old programs, like MS Word has no shortcut for Save As these days). A quick check of the recent version of Apple HIG shows that there is something left of this - "complementary" commands should be shifted. The text in general though seems to suggest that option should simply be used for "the third alternative"

BTW, I don't have a shortcut for Empty Trash at all, and Cmd-shift-delete does nothing.

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Again, where are you getting this from? The interface guidelines seem to suggest command-N should open a new window.

Doesn't look like it to me. Anyway, the HIG have changed a lot over the years. As I said, in a browser-centric mentality creating a new window in and of itself has a meaning. In the older (and, IMNSHO, much more logical) document-centric mentality, the window must be related to an object.

[P]

Originally Posted by cla

I'd also like to give P a for his post (apart from the perhaps a context menu to "Save from app <list of all open apps> here". A primary task of a graphical user interface is to serve as an off-load to our working memory).

Hey, I'm trying to be creative here! Well, not one of my better moments, perhaps. In all honesty, I do what TETENAL sugested and save everything to the desktop and then move it out.

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by JKT

That would be highly impractical - what if you have several files open in the same app at once?

Wrt to the New File menu thing - how does it work out which app to assign it to? There are more than 20 apps on my Mac that can handle text or html files. I have over five apps that handle .doc files, etc, etc.

The app assigned to each file is exactly the same as the app assigned to the template. That is
(In a nutshell, it's exactly(I really mean exactly) the same as the template. All creator code, file type and resource forks are copied over)

1) If you set the template(get info and choose app) such that it's assigned to app A, then the new file will be opened with app A.
2) If you didn't assign an app to the template, it'll be open by the app associated with the creator code of the template(assuming there exists one).
3) If the template doesn't have creator code, then it looks into file type(not quite the extension) of the template.
4) If it doesn't fall into any of those case, then the new file will be opened using the app associated with the extension of the file.

Hope this helps, I'm sorry that I haven't had a time to write the documentation properly
Tee

[Brass]

Originally Posted by analogika

No. Apple-N opens a new window, in every application, including the Finder.

In applications that deal with content creation, this means a new document.

The Finder doesn't create content (it just manages it), so having Apple-N create a new file would be pointless - what kind of file, out of thousands of different types, should it create?

"New folder" has been Apple-Shift-N for the past five years, since they finally adapted the Finder's Apple-N to the "new window" convention present in every single other application ever made.

Wow... can't believe my brain slipped back into Classic mode for a minute there. Yes, you are correct. But my point still remains (as you confirmed), that Apple-N does not create a new file in the Finder.

[Brass]

Originally Posted by markwm

Just wanna say.... there is an obvious OS X problem to having a right click > new file menu.

In column view especially, when a folder is packed with files and scrollable, you'll have a hard time finding any space to right click.

I'm not a fan of doing it, but I guess you could right-click on the folder item itself, rather than on it's content area. Ie, in the column before the one your thinking of.

[Brass]

Originally Posted by analogika

That's only a very small selection of possible document types. What decides which application gets to create a new document via that context menu?

And how does it make sense to have only some types there, but not others?

And if you opt for consistency, having every application capable of creating new documents appended to that list, how useful is it to have forty+ applications/document types listed there in that context menu?

Wow, the word "New" at the beginning of every item in that submenu sure is a redundant waste of space. Other than that, it looks like a good implementation.

[hookem2oo7]

i have a windows pc at home and use my ibook every day...i dont miss the right click one bit. and as far as the new document menu in windows, i think i've used it like 3 times since it has been there, lol

[meelk]

amazing how many people will fight the concept of this because its something windows natively has and osx does not.

[cla]

Originally Posted by P

Hey, I'm trying to be creative here!

Sorry, my fault - didn't catch you're from Västkusten.. :>

Seriously, I think it's an interesting idea (once you solve the working memory problem). Should for instance the dock have been designed differently, it could feature dragging a proxy icon (which would look like a minituarized window) into the place you want to save it. (Or into say an e-mail message.)

[markwm]

Originally Posted by meelk

amazing how many people will fight the concept of this because its something windows natively has and osx does not.

I work on a site that has 40,000 files. I create many new txt and php files each day. If I had to go through the open app>save as process each time it would drive me nuts and waste me a whole bunch of time.

That's why it's important, not because windows has it. When a user comes over from Windows they realise the mac can do certain things better, but at the same time they realise there are certain things it can't and they miss certaint things such as cut/paste, new file. I don't really see why it would bother you.

It's not as if the Finder is something the OS X can be proud of, let's be honest.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

I think you should be able to drag a new file's proxy icon into a position in the Finder to save it there. That would be a cool feature.

I've tried that more than once, thinking it *should* work.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by meelk

amazing how many people will fight the concept of this because its something windows natively has and osx does not.

Which thread have YOU been reading?

[JKT]

Originally Posted by meelk

amazing how many people will fight the concept of this because its something windows natively has and osx does not.

Hey, I'm just curious as to why or how it could be useful as initially it didn't make any sense to me (partially because I misunderstood how it worked). Given all the responses I can see how this could be useful. Not something I need personally, but if it helps other's workflow...

[Judge_Fire]

For the record, as a long time Mac user, I absolutely love this feature.

J

[TheSpaz]

One thing I don't understand (off topic). There is no keyboard command to make a new Folder in Windows... yet to delete any file or files is ONE KEY. The only ways to make folders in WinXP is to use a right click and go New>New Folder... or make sure no folders are selected and click "Make New Folder" in the sidebar helpie thingie... oh, and you can use the menubar... I would just like to hit cmd-n or cmd-shift-N. ALSO, before people get on my case, I do know that you can use a keyboard command to make a contextual menu then a key to choose new and a key to make a new folder... but, that's way too much typing.

[meelk]

Originally Posted by markwm

It's not as if the Finder is something the OS X can be proud of, let's be honest.

hah. no doubt. When I first used a mac the first thing that came to mind was "wow, finder sucks".

[TheSpaz]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, can't Automator make a new Text file? Simply create an Automator plugin for the Finder that creates a new Text File.