Is there an alternative for TotalFinder's Visor Feature in Mac OS X?











up vote
4
down vote

favorite
2












Is there an alternative for TotalFinder’s Visor feature? The Visor feature is a keyboard shortcut that brings up a “Finder” window over top of the screen, even on full screen apps.



I don’t want to use all of TotalFinder, because I prefer default Mac OS X “Finder,” but I wish it had a keyboard shortcut to show a finder window over top of full screen apps.










share|improve this question




























    up vote
    4
    down vote

    favorite
    2












    Is there an alternative for TotalFinder’s Visor feature? The Visor feature is a keyboard shortcut that brings up a “Finder” window over top of the screen, even on full screen apps.



    I don’t want to use all of TotalFinder, because I prefer default Mac OS X “Finder,” but I wish it had a keyboard shortcut to show a finder window over top of full screen apps.










    share|improve this question


























      up vote
      4
      down vote

      favorite
      2









      up vote
      4
      down vote

      favorite
      2






      2





      Is there an alternative for TotalFinder’s Visor feature? The Visor feature is a keyboard shortcut that brings up a “Finder” window over top of the screen, even on full screen apps.



      I don’t want to use all of TotalFinder, because I prefer default Mac OS X “Finder,” but I wish it had a keyboard shortcut to show a finder window over top of full screen apps.










      share|improve this question















      Is there an alternative for TotalFinder’s Visor feature? The Visor feature is a keyboard shortcut that brings up a “Finder” window over top of the screen, even on full screen apps.



      I don’t want to use all of TotalFinder, because I prefer default Mac OS X “Finder,” but I wish it had a keyboard shortcut to show a finder window over top of full screen apps.







      macos finder






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Jul 22 '16 at 20:52









      Hennes

      58.7k792141




      58.7k792141










      asked Jan 7 '15 at 21:52









      Joshua Soileau

      1265




      1265






















          4 Answers
          4






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          1
          down vote













          I use Keyboard Maestro with a trigger: ⌥`



          Show/Hide Finder
          Triggered by any of the following:
          The Hot Key ⌥` is pressed
          Will execute the following actions:
          Activate Finder
          If already at the front, hide the application.


          It doesn’t have that fancy animation that will slide “Finder” up but it gets the job done.






          share|improve this answer






























            up vote
            1
            down vote













            I'm currently using an Alfred hotkey triggered workflow to bring up Path Finder (another Finder alternative) whenever I hit: ⌥`



            It works fine for bringing the app into focus and even launching it if need be, but unlike TotalFinder's Visor feature, Path Finder does not pop up "over any desktop" (OS X will slide you back to the desktop the app is open in if need be). I guess that this would be the same functionality via Keyboard Maestro.






            share|improve this answer





















            • I just tried the Keyboard Maestro macro suggested by @Patrick Thompson and it seems better than my Alfred workflow, mainly because it does a better job of toggling the app in question (show/hide). I just read up a bit more and it seems that Keyboard Maestro is unable to affect which Desktop/Space an app appears in so this aspect is a bit of a compromise compared to TotalFinder's Visor. More info: wiki.keyboardmaestro.com/…
              – danbohea
              Oct 1 '15 at 10:39




















            up vote
            0
            down vote













            I use the following simple AppleScript to "emulate" the visor behavior with a normal Finder window.



            if visible of application "Finder" is false then
            activate application "Finder"
            else
            tell application "Finder"
            set visible to false
            end tell
            end if


            You can then link this code to some hotkey (for example with Keyboard Maestro). Make sure that the Finder window is not linked to any particular desktop/space, i.e., set the option "all spaces" for the window. This should make sure that the same Finder window pops up on any desktop/space.






            share|improve this answer




























              up vote
              0
              down vote













              Like you, I was also searching for a TotalFinder alternative, since TotalFinder now requires to disable permanently System Integrity Protection, starting from Mojave.



              As I didn't find any good alternative, I've finally ended developing a small app that just does what Visor did.



              Here is the result :



              FastFinder demo



              It is not perfect, as it is done with AppleScript API, but it does the job.



              You can download from my GitHub project here : FastFinder. It's open source and contribution is more than welcomed :)






              share|improve this answer





















                Your Answer








                StackExchange.ready(function() {
                var channelOptions = {
                tags: "".split(" "),
                id: "3"
                };
                initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

                StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
                // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
                if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
                StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
                createEditor();
                });
                }
                else {
                createEditor();
                }
                });

                function createEditor() {
                StackExchange.prepareEditor({
                heartbeatType: 'answer',
                convertImagesToLinks: true,
                noModals: true,
                showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
                reputationToPostImages: 10,
                bindNavPrevention: true,
                postfix: "",
                imageUploader: {
                brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
                contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
                allowUrls: true
                },
                onDemand: true,
                discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
                ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
                });


                }
                });














                draft saved

                draft discarded


















                StackExchange.ready(
                function () {
                StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f862000%2fis-there-an-alternative-for-totalfinders-visor-feature-in-mac-os-x%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                }
                );

                Post as a guest















                Required, but never shown

























                4 Answers
                4






                active

                oldest

                votes








                4 Answers
                4






                active

                oldest

                votes









                active

                oldest

                votes






                active

                oldest

                votes








                up vote
                1
                down vote













                I use Keyboard Maestro with a trigger: ⌥`



                Show/Hide Finder
                Triggered by any of the following:
                The Hot Key ⌥` is pressed
                Will execute the following actions:
                Activate Finder
                If already at the front, hide the application.


                It doesn’t have that fancy animation that will slide “Finder” up but it gets the job done.






                share|improve this answer



























                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote













                  I use Keyboard Maestro with a trigger: ⌥`



                  Show/Hide Finder
                  Triggered by any of the following:
                  The Hot Key ⌥` is pressed
                  Will execute the following actions:
                  Activate Finder
                  If already at the front, hide the application.


                  It doesn’t have that fancy animation that will slide “Finder” up but it gets the job done.






                  share|improve this answer

























                    up vote
                    1
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    1
                    down vote









                    I use Keyboard Maestro with a trigger: ⌥`



                    Show/Hide Finder
                    Triggered by any of the following:
                    The Hot Key ⌥` is pressed
                    Will execute the following actions:
                    Activate Finder
                    If already at the front, hide the application.


                    It doesn’t have that fancy animation that will slide “Finder” up but it gets the job done.






                    share|improve this answer














                    I use Keyboard Maestro with a trigger: ⌥`



                    Show/Hide Finder
                    Triggered by any of the following:
                    The Hot Key ⌥` is pressed
                    Will execute the following actions:
                    Activate Finder
                    If already at the front, hide the application.


                    It doesn’t have that fancy animation that will slide “Finder” up but it gets the job done.







                    share|improve this answer














                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer








                    edited Apr 14 '15 at 17:24









                    JakeGould

                    30.9k1093137




                    30.9k1093137










                    answered Apr 14 '15 at 17:20









                    Patrick Thompson

                    112




                    112
























                        up vote
                        1
                        down vote













                        I'm currently using an Alfred hotkey triggered workflow to bring up Path Finder (another Finder alternative) whenever I hit: ⌥`



                        It works fine for bringing the app into focus and even launching it if need be, but unlike TotalFinder's Visor feature, Path Finder does not pop up "over any desktop" (OS X will slide you back to the desktop the app is open in if need be). I guess that this would be the same functionality via Keyboard Maestro.






                        share|improve this answer





















                        • I just tried the Keyboard Maestro macro suggested by @Patrick Thompson and it seems better than my Alfred workflow, mainly because it does a better job of toggling the app in question (show/hide). I just read up a bit more and it seems that Keyboard Maestro is unable to affect which Desktop/Space an app appears in so this aspect is a bit of a compromise compared to TotalFinder's Visor. More info: wiki.keyboardmaestro.com/…
                          – danbohea
                          Oct 1 '15 at 10:39

















                        up vote
                        1
                        down vote













                        I'm currently using an Alfred hotkey triggered workflow to bring up Path Finder (another Finder alternative) whenever I hit: ⌥`



                        It works fine for bringing the app into focus and even launching it if need be, but unlike TotalFinder's Visor feature, Path Finder does not pop up "over any desktop" (OS X will slide you back to the desktop the app is open in if need be). I guess that this would be the same functionality via Keyboard Maestro.






                        share|improve this answer





















                        • I just tried the Keyboard Maestro macro suggested by @Patrick Thompson and it seems better than my Alfred workflow, mainly because it does a better job of toggling the app in question (show/hide). I just read up a bit more and it seems that Keyboard Maestro is unable to affect which Desktop/Space an app appears in so this aspect is a bit of a compromise compared to TotalFinder's Visor. More info: wiki.keyboardmaestro.com/…
                          – danbohea
                          Oct 1 '15 at 10:39















                        up vote
                        1
                        down vote










                        up vote
                        1
                        down vote









                        I'm currently using an Alfred hotkey triggered workflow to bring up Path Finder (another Finder alternative) whenever I hit: ⌥`



                        It works fine for bringing the app into focus and even launching it if need be, but unlike TotalFinder's Visor feature, Path Finder does not pop up "over any desktop" (OS X will slide you back to the desktop the app is open in if need be). I guess that this would be the same functionality via Keyboard Maestro.






                        share|improve this answer












                        I'm currently using an Alfred hotkey triggered workflow to bring up Path Finder (another Finder alternative) whenever I hit: ⌥`



                        It works fine for bringing the app into focus and even launching it if need be, but unlike TotalFinder's Visor feature, Path Finder does not pop up "over any desktop" (OS X will slide you back to the desktop the app is open in if need be). I guess that this would be the same functionality via Keyboard Maestro.







                        share|improve this answer












                        share|improve this answer



                        share|improve this answer










                        answered Sep 30 '15 at 19:02









                        danbohea

                        111




                        111












                        • I just tried the Keyboard Maestro macro suggested by @Patrick Thompson and it seems better than my Alfred workflow, mainly because it does a better job of toggling the app in question (show/hide). I just read up a bit more and it seems that Keyboard Maestro is unable to affect which Desktop/Space an app appears in so this aspect is a bit of a compromise compared to TotalFinder's Visor. More info: wiki.keyboardmaestro.com/…
                          – danbohea
                          Oct 1 '15 at 10:39




















                        • I just tried the Keyboard Maestro macro suggested by @Patrick Thompson and it seems better than my Alfred workflow, mainly because it does a better job of toggling the app in question (show/hide). I just read up a bit more and it seems that Keyboard Maestro is unable to affect which Desktop/Space an app appears in so this aspect is a bit of a compromise compared to TotalFinder's Visor. More info: wiki.keyboardmaestro.com/…
                          – danbohea
                          Oct 1 '15 at 10:39


















                        I just tried the Keyboard Maestro macro suggested by @Patrick Thompson and it seems better than my Alfred workflow, mainly because it does a better job of toggling the app in question (show/hide). I just read up a bit more and it seems that Keyboard Maestro is unable to affect which Desktop/Space an app appears in so this aspect is a bit of a compromise compared to TotalFinder's Visor. More info: wiki.keyboardmaestro.com/…
                        – danbohea
                        Oct 1 '15 at 10:39






                        I just tried the Keyboard Maestro macro suggested by @Patrick Thompson and it seems better than my Alfred workflow, mainly because it does a better job of toggling the app in question (show/hide). I just read up a bit more and it seems that Keyboard Maestro is unable to affect which Desktop/Space an app appears in so this aspect is a bit of a compromise compared to TotalFinder's Visor. More info: wiki.keyboardmaestro.com/…
                        – danbohea
                        Oct 1 '15 at 10:39












                        up vote
                        0
                        down vote













                        I use the following simple AppleScript to "emulate" the visor behavior with a normal Finder window.



                        if visible of application "Finder" is false then
                        activate application "Finder"
                        else
                        tell application "Finder"
                        set visible to false
                        end tell
                        end if


                        You can then link this code to some hotkey (for example with Keyboard Maestro). Make sure that the Finder window is not linked to any particular desktop/space, i.e., set the option "all spaces" for the window. This should make sure that the same Finder window pops up on any desktop/space.






                        share|improve this answer

























                          up vote
                          0
                          down vote













                          I use the following simple AppleScript to "emulate" the visor behavior with a normal Finder window.



                          if visible of application "Finder" is false then
                          activate application "Finder"
                          else
                          tell application "Finder"
                          set visible to false
                          end tell
                          end if


                          You can then link this code to some hotkey (for example with Keyboard Maestro). Make sure that the Finder window is not linked to any particular desktop/space, i.e., set the option "all spaces" for the window. This should make sure that the same Finder window pops up on any desktop/space.






                          share|improve this answer























                            up vote
                            0
                            down vote










                            up vote
                            0
                            down vote









                            I use the following simple AppleScript to "emulate" the visor behavior with a normal Finder window.



                            if visible of application "Finder" is false then
                            activate application "Finder"
                            else
                            tell application "Finder"
                            set visible to false
                            end tell
                            end if


                            You can then link this code to some hotkey (for example with Keyboard Maestro). Make sure that the Finder window is not linked to any particular desktop/space, i.e., set the option "all spaces" for the window. This should make sure that the same Finder window pops up on any desktop/space.






                            share|improve this answer












                            I use the following simple AppleScript to "emulate" the visor behavior with a normal Finder window.



                            if visible of application "Finder" is false then
                            activate application "Finder"
                            else
                            tell application "Finder"
                            set visible to false
                            end tell
                            end if


                            You can then link this code to some hotkey (for example with Keyboard Maestro). Make sure that the Finder window is not linked to any particular desktop/space, i.e., set the option "all spaces" for the window. This should make sure that the same Finder window pops up on any desktop/space.







                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered Oct 1 '15 at 21:12









                            TriSSSe

                            1011




                            1011






















                                up vote
                                0
                                down vote













                                Like you, I was also searching for a TotalFinder alternative, since TotalFinder now requires to disable permanently System Integrity Protection, starting from Mojave.



                                As I didn't find any good alternative, I've finally ended developing a small app that just does what Visor did.



                                Here is the result :



                                FastFinder demo



                                It is not perfect, as it is done with AppleScript API, but it does the job.



                                You can download from my GitHub project here : FastFinder. It's open source and contribution is more than welcomed :)






                                share|improve this answer

























                                  up vote
                                  0
                                  down vote













                                  Like you, I was also searching for a TotalFinder alternative, since TotalFinder now requires to disable permanently System Integrity Protection, starting from Mojave.



                                  As I didn't find any good alternative, I've finally ended developing a small app that just does what Visor did.



                                  Here is the result :



                                  FastFinder demo



                                  It is not perfect, as it is done with AppleScript API, but it does the job.



                                  You can download from my GitHub project here : FastFinder. It's open source and contribution is more than welcomed :)






                                  share|improve this answer























                                    up vote
                                    0
                                    down vote










                                    up vote
                                    0
                                    down vote









                                    Like you, I was also searching for a TotalFinder alternative, since TotalFinder now requires to disable permanently System Integrity Protection, starting from Mojave.



                                    As I didn't find any good alternative, I've finally ended developing a small app that just does what Visor did.



                                    Here is the result :



                                    FastFinder demo



                                    It is not perfect, as it is done with AppleScript API, but it does the job.



                                    You can download from my GitHub project here : FastFinder. It's open source and contribution is more than welcomed :)






                                    share|improve this answer












                                    Like you, I was also searching for a TotalFinder alternative, since TotalFinder now requires to disable permanently System Integrity Protection, starting from Mojave.



                                    As I didn't find any good alternative, I've finally ended developing a small app that just does what Visor did.



                                    Here is the result :



                                    FastFinder demo



                                    It is not perfect, as it is done with AppleScript API, but it does the job.



                                    You can download from my GitHub project here : FastFinder. It's open source and contribution is more than welcomed :)







                                    share|improve this answer












                                    share|improve this answer



                                    share|improve this answer










                                    answered Dec 1 at 20:08









                                    AnthoPak

                                    1012




                                    1012






























                                        draft saved

                                        draft discarded




















































                                        Thanks for contributing an answer to Super User!


                                        • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                                        But avoid



                                        • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                                        • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                                        To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





                                        Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


                                        Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


                                        • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                                        But avoid



                                        • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                                        • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                                        To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                                        draft saved


                                        draft discarded














                                        StackExchange.ready(
                                        function () {
                                        StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f862000%2fis-there-an-alternative-for-totalfinders-visor-feature-in-mac-os-x%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                                        }
                                        );

                                        Post as a guest















                                        Required, but never shown





















































                                        Required, but never shown














                                        Required, but never shown












                                        Required, but never shown







                                        Required, but never shown

































                                        Required, but never shown














                                        Required, but never shown












                                        Required, but never shown







                                        Required, but never shown







                                        Popular posts from this blog

                                        Probability when a professor distributes a quiz and homework assignment to a class of n students.

                                        Aardman Animations

                                        Are they similar matrix