Would you please explain why you define your .gif image as "not a tree"? You have hierarchically nested directories (folders) with a clear indication of which parent a nested group is connected with, which to me exactly fits my definition of a "tree" (hierarchically nested elements, each element having a single parent node).

Also, could you post a link to an image showing what you define as a "proper tree view"?

The link I provided is for an example of a tree view. Isn't it obvious?

> The link I provided is for an example of a tree view. Isn't it obvious?

Actually, from your text, no, it is not obvious that your link is an example of a tree view.

You ask a starting question about "column view" You then include two sentences describing why "column view" not not a tree and that a deep directory listing makes a mess of things.

Then, with zero clues to suggest you are making a full context change, you say "Here's random example: ...". Leading one to believe that the "random example" is a random example of a "column view", which is what the entire rest of this one post was referencing. If the entire statement relates to "column view", one naturally is led to the conclusion that a "random example" would be a random example of a column view.

I never use the column view. My Finder windows contain a hierarchical view of the contents of a directory; in Mac parlance this is a "list view," but I don't see any significant way it differs from what you are calling a "tree view".

http://www.redecho.org/2012/06/screenshot.png

Something like this? http://i.imgur.com/WUDny.jpg

Not quite, that's just a tree including all the files. When you've got quite a lot of folders and also file within it becomes really tedious using the finder's views.

It's almost as if Apple has made decisions that deliberately hamper anyone that needs to get complex tasks done quickly. Not click-by-click slowness of the Mac UI. The Windows UI is a helluva lot faster to navigate, even more so with reliable keyboard shortcuts.

When I'm on Windows, I frequently miss the instant side-by-side folder comparisons and the ability to select files in multiple folders simultaneously.

Like everything else, it's a tradeoff.

Plus, once you learn the traditional Mac shortcuts (right-left arrows to expand and contract, Command+down to narrow the view to one folder, Command-up to go back, type to select) it's pretty fast.

Of course, for really complex tasks, a decent shell beats any GUI.

There's a way to set up finder so that everything is sorted by kind. This means that all the folders will but up near the top together which would help you most likely. I think the problem is the way that files and folders are treated in Unix systems versus the way that they are treated in Windows, but I could be wrong, it's been a while since we talked about windows in any of my classes.

A "tree view including all the files" is a subcategory of "tree view". I'm not sure what it would mean to not include all the files, but apparently you are expecting some Windows-specific behavior here, and thinking that it is part of the fundamental nature of a "tree view".