How-to: Make OS X save dialog box useful
This post was published 2 years 11 months 20 days ago and its content may not be valid anymore.OS X users are completely aware of the ever so helpful save dialog box which is enabled by default. Check the screenshot below for an example of one. Minimal, limited, yet simple enough for the average user with most save directories being those found within your Home directory.
Fortunately, the limitations of the above save dialog box (default) can be expanded into something like that found below. Toggling between the two is as simple as clicking the small arrow adjacent to the “Save as:” text field.
Want the full featured save dialog box to display by default when saving documents & files? A little Terminal action will solve your frustrations. Open up Terminal found at ‘Applications > Utilities > Terminal’ and type the following [via]:
defaults write -g NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool TRUE
Once the change has been made, enjoy the convenience of the full featured save dialog box without having to toggle between that less convenient alternative.
THANKS! I NEVER would have found that on my own, no more toggling for me.
I actually like the toggling. it makes it minimal when i want it. thanks for mentioning it though. i’ll search the archive in the future if i ever need it. =)
I’ve got the habit of hitting cmd-shift-g in save dialogs (and open dialogs and finder).
The dialog that comes up is for switching directories. ~ is expanded to your home directory, and tab-completion works just like in an interactive shell.