Default Folder X review: Indispensable utility provides Mac’s missing folder navigation tools
No Mac utility will save you more time and frustration in overcoming major macOS navigation omissions.
Pros
- Easy-to-access file navigation
Cons
- Quite a bit of organising involved for setting a list of favourites
Bottom Line
No Mac utility currently on the market will save you more time and frustration in covercoming major macOS navigation omissions.
-
Price
$ 53.95 (AUD)
Price When Reviewed
US$34.95 / AU$53.95
Default Folder X 5.6 offers sophisticated, easy-to-access file-navigation options that Apple should have built into macOS decades ago. It's fortunate for Jon Gotow, its developer, that the company did not, because it's given him a canvas to explore, and it has grown and matured along with the operating system.
With Default Folder installed, all your open and save dialogs have a highly configurable overlay that lets you click icons to one side or use keyboard shortcuts to get quickly to the folder location you want to be in. Apple's built-in navigation feels like a cranky old jalopy compared to the jet-powered race car of Default Folder.
That overlay hides a massive array of useful and usable features, many of which I use every time I open or save a file, and some only weeks or months apart—but I'm glad they're there. Five big-top features are worth the ticket price, even if you don't visit all the sideshow attractions:
- Set a default folder (hence, the product's name) for any app for its initial Open and Save dialog.
- Check Automatically select the last selected file in Open dialogs, and you rebound to where you left off working—almost always the place I want to be or at least nearby.
- Cycle backward or forward through the most recently visited folders in which an action occurred (open or save) with keyboard shortcuts, or select those locations directly via a dropdown menu.
- With Default to the current document's folder in Save dialogs checked, you rarely have to navigate to where you want to save the next file. You're already there.
- With a dialog open, select a Finder window in the background to navigate—you don't have to leave the dialog. How it works: Hold down a modifier key (I configured it for Control), hover over an open window on any display, and click to select it.
I had to work hard to trim this list to five and omit some of the dozens of other features you'll find helpful, too: rename files and folders directly in a dialog, set favorite folders, access Home folders and mounted volumes, select any Finder contextual item for a file (like Compress) within a dialog, navigate through the hierarchical folder list directly from dropdown menus, set keyboard shortcuts globally and locally, preview with QuickLook directly in an Open dialog…you get the picture.
Few pieces of Mac software can claim the pedigree of Default Folder, which traces its origins to Gotow's DFaultD released in 1987. This evolved into Default Folder X for Mac OS X, still showing its strength in the latest release, 5.6, which provides full macOS 12 Monterey compatibility. That's a whopping 34 years. (Monterey remains in beta at this writing, but few changes are expected.)
This latest release of Default Folder requires at least macOS 10.10 Yosemite—a version released in 2014—and works natively on Intel and M1 Macs. You can also download older versions for older Macs directly from the developer's website. A single-user license is $34.95. Modest upgrade fees have historically been charged only every several years for new versions.
Default Folder is the first piece of software I install on any Mac, and it's the first utility I convince everyone I know to add to theirs—if they aren't already in the know. It's indispensable.
Former Macworld and Mac Gems editor Dan Frakes highlighted Default Folder in 2013, concluding that its evolve-and-adapt strategy is a big reason why the software has survived for 25 years—and why I still rely on it. It's only gotten better since.
Welcome to the return of Mac Gems, a column that ran for many years and highlighted great nuggets of Mac software—apps that have a high utility, have a sharp focus on a limited set of problems to solve, and are generally developed by an individual or small company. With the strong resurgence of the Mac in recent years, we want to celebrate tools we use and that readers recommend to make the most of your macOS experience. Stay tuned for weekly updates, and send your suggestions to the Mac Gems Twitter feed (@macgems).
Brand Post
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Dell U3223QE review: A winning debut for an IPS Black monitor
- 2 HP Spectre x360 16 review: The right 2-in-1 at the wrong time
- 3 Acer K242HYL review: An affordable monitor for any occasion
- 4 GeForce Now review: You bring the games, Nvidia streams the hardware
- 5 Asus ProArt PA279CV monitor review: The go-to for content creators on a budget
Latest News Articles
- Apple releases major updates to Logic Pro for Mac and iPad
- Apple posts another quarterly dip as Mac sales drag
- The iPhone 16’s A18 chip will change everything and nothing
- Security researchers warn of a new Google malware scam that could infect Macs
- Apple’s next battle in its ‘silent war’ against Google: Search and ads
Resources
Macworld
What's new, plus best mac-related tips
and tricks
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers
Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world
Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles
PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D
The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G
Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65
This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76
It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- Which Lenovo Laptop Should I Buy?
- Every TV in Samsung's 2022 line-up: OLED, Neo QLED and more!
- Top 10 best Android and Apple phones for under $600
- Everything you need to know about Smart TVs
- What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
- Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?