10.6: How to see summary Get Info data for multiple files
Oct 23, '09 07:30:03AM
Contributed by: 3mors
In Mac OS X 10.5, if you select more than 10 files and then choose File » Get Info from the contextual menu, Finder automatically opens the Inspector, showing a summary of all 10 files.
In Snow Leopard, though, Finder opens the Get Info window for each item, quickly filling the entire screen on smaller displays. If you want the summary style Get Info window instead, hold down the Control key before pressing Command-I; this changes the Get Info menu item to Get Summary Info, and you'll see one summary Get Info window for your selected files.
[robg adds: Control-Command-I works in 10.4 and 10.5, too. I marked this one Snow Leopard only, though, because it's related to Snow Leopard's handling of move than 10 selected items with multiple Get Info windows. A brief history of Get Info and multiple selections:
- 10.3: Get Info displays a summary window for all selected files.
- 10.4 and 10.5: Get Info displays individual windows for each selection up to 10 total, unless you use Control-Command-I to view the summary window. With more than 10 files selected, you always get the summary window. The only way (that I know of) to see more than 10 individual Get Info windows is to select files in batches smaller than 10, then do Command-I on each batch.
- 10.6: Get Info displays individual windows for each selection, regardless of how many files are displayed. Use Control-Command-I if you want the summary window, regardless of the number of files in the selection.
The Snow Leopard implementation seems like it's the most flexible, but it does require some training time to remember to hold down Control and Command when you know you want the summary window.]
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