Filed under: Software
Another way for switchers to make new files
Regarding Mat's post on a cool QuickSilver-based approach to creating new files at high speed, a fair number of commenters -- and, it turns out, the original poster at lipidity.com -- made mention of NuFile, a combination contextual menu plugin and preference pane. One quick (free) download later, I'm a believer. A right-click gets you a customizable list of blank file templates; throw in a .webloc document to open new pages or blog posts, or just about anything you want.For switchers looking to find a close match to the Windows "New File" contextual menu, NuFile is a pretty good solution.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jayman said 8:30AM on 3-27-2007
Wow. It works perfectly! Thanks
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Dave said 9:00AM on 3-27-2007
I'll just drop in a mention of FinderPop, which also works perfectly.
It's a preference pane (and it's free, though you can donate to the guy's beer fund). All you have to do is collect some templates in a folder (call it something useful like "new files") and drop it in the FinderPop Items folder. After that, new files are a control- or right-click away...
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Dave said 9:12AM on 3-27-2007
Oh, yeah - it's not just for creating new files. Drop any folder into the FinderPop items folder and you get instant access to the contents - app aliases, an alias of your home folder...
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Ahmad said 9:22AM on 3-27-2007
this is really funny you see, because my sister just got a brand new Vaio with Vista on it, and we were both sitting there, me on my MacBook, and I said "one small thing I like about windows is that you can right click and create a new document, like a text file or something. you can't really do that on a mac."
very next day, I check TUAW and what do you know.... you can do it using Quicksilver. I'm not a Quicksilver user, but it was still cool to see. I went home last night and I told her about what I read, but told her it wasn't the exact same. Like it would be better if it was just a small option on the right click menu...... and lo and behold I check TUAW this morning, first story I read is this one.
and this is why Macs rule
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Barkin said 10:32AM on 3-27-2007
Why do we need the mac to behave like windows?
I have to say that i'm satisfied knowing that OSX works differently than Vista, and sometimes that means that I can't do things the way Windows does them.
I know everyone here seems to be big Quicksilver fans. For me, all these add-ons mess with the built-in elegance of OSX.
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Biffo said 10:38AM on 3-27-2007
"I know everyone here seems to be big Quicksilver fans. For me, all these add-ons mess with the built-in elegance of OSX."
That's cos you've never used QS ;-)
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Barkin said 10:48AM on 3-27-2007
Actually, I have...
I don't think its supposed "increased productivity" makes my life easier, or is worth the intrusion into my system.
Sorry... I just like OSX how it is.
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Biffo said 11:11AM on 3-27-2007
Fair enough. I've never found any app _less_ intrusive than QS, but horses for courses and all that...
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Danny said 11:39AM on 3-27-2007
Ugh! That's what I feel about right-click new file creation. It's a horrid Windows idea and part of the Windows world of insisting that there be 400 ways of doing every task, most of which involve drilling down through dialogue boxes or contextual menus within contextual menus. Ugh, ugh, ugh!
Want a new document? Bip over to the application - it's probably already running as good Mac apps don't vanish just because you've not got an open document window - and splodge-N.
Of course, I do also acknowledge 'each to their own'. I'm just glad Apple (mostly) resists the urge to build this kind of stuff into the OS and hope they continue to do so.
Rant over.
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Simon Arch said 11:59AM on 3-27-2007
Can someone explain why I'd want to create a blank file? Is it to save the two seconds it takes to save a new file from within an application?
This is one Windows "feature" I've NEVER used (apart from the new folder...since it's the only way to GET a new folder in Windows) and wouldn't use on a Mac.
As for QuickSilver...tried it, hated it, went back to using my Mac the way it was meant to be. If you like it, fine, but stop shoving it down peoples' throats please.
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joshua said 12:37PM on 3-27-2007
You gotta open the program used to edit the file no matter what so you really aren't saving any steps by doing it in the finder. If you think that finding the directory where you want it again is a pain just drag the directory from the finder to the file open dialog in the application. It will go right to that place.
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Denis said 12:54PM on 3-27-2007
Doesn't seem to work well with Pathfinder, at least right-clicking on the PF desktop doesn't give you the sub-menu. I have to find a Finder window to right-click in it :/
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JeffDM said 7:23PM on 3-27-2007
What it does, is create a file *where you already are*. Going into the app and saving it to that particular place takes me a few extra steps. Just because it's the "Windows way" doesn't mean it's bad, this is one of the places that Windows is more productive for me. It doesn't require drilling down to a lot of submenu, it's right there in one click.
Explorer is not the only way to get a new folder in Windows either.
I'm surprised there's ate of Quicksilver. I love how I can locate and access just about anything on the Mac in a few keystrokes. It could be long-buried bookmarks, address book entries, programs (without cluttering the dock) and documents. Quicksilver is one of the reasons I use a Mac, I haven't found anything that's anywhere nearly as quick to do the above tasks and it requires much less fussing about. It takes getting used to though.
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DF said 7:26PM on 3-27-2007
Simon:
If you've got a folder open in then Finder and you want to create a new Word document there, you have to switch to Word, create a new document, use the Save command, navigate to the desired folder in the Save dialog (even though it's sitting right in front of you ;-) -- at the very least, you need to drag the proxy icon from that window's title bar into the Save dialog), and then finish the Save.
With NuFile you can simply right-click in the folder and choose "New File -> New Word Document." The document is created and automatically opened in Word.
(Another similar utility is DocumentPalette, which does the same thing except using a keyboard shortcut rather than a contextual menu.)
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JeffDM said 7:38PM on 3-27-2007
Argh, not "ate" but "hate". Anyway, FinderPop doesn't seem to do the same thing that I can tell. NuFile is great though, installed and running in just a minute and it's working great.
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Peter Skelton said 8:44PM on 3-27-2007
You're way behind on this guys, this was recommended in Macworld Podcast #70: Mac Gems, of Jan 23rd. I've had it since then, and its a fantastic tool, especially if you're putting together a website from HTML files or something else that needs a lot of new files. It might be "The Windows Way" but as has been pointed out above this is a very useful feature, and far quicker than going to the app then finding where you want the file saved
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babaloo said 6:27PM on 3-28-2007
The one thing I don't get is:
If I create a new file with NuFile or whatever, for example an html file, then it will always have the same name. Either the standard "NewHTML.html" or a predefined prefix. So do you guys really always want the new file to have that name? Cos if not, you still have to do a "Save as" and end up with two files instead of one.
Or what is it that I'm not getting here? Apart from the fact, that I never wanted to create a file "where I am right now". But that's just my way of working. Other workflows may easily be different.
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