Folder always showing one view

The Finder supports four different view modes: Icon, list, column, and coverflow; each of which has its benefits in certain situations or may just appeal to a user. By default the Finder will inherit the views of one folder to another one as long as they're opened in the same Finder window; however, specific view mode can be set for a folder using the "View Options" (available in the "View" menu). For some users, setting a folder to open with a specific view (or other folder-specific settings) may not hold properly.

Apple Discussions poster acayon writes:

"I have an iMac and a Mac Mini both with Leopard. In Mac Mini I have no problem to configure how to show items of root folder, using panel 'Show View Options'. I click on 'list icon', I choose the the radio icon with big size icon and I check 'Always Open in List View'. But in my iMac, I do the same process and aparently it works, but after restart the iMac, I lose this configuration and root folder shows items as icons."

The view options for a folder are stored in the hidden ".DS_Store" file that's placed within the folder. For the most part, deleting this file should allow the system to recreate it, which should clear any corruption in the file preventing the settings from being read. To clear this file on a specific folder, follow these steps:

1. Open the "Terminal" application

2. Type "rm" followed by a space.

3. Drag the folder that has the problems to the Terminal window. This should enter the full path to the Folder so the command looks something like the following:

rm /Path/to/folder

4. Press delete once to ensure no extra spaces are at the end of the command, and then type "/.DS_Store" so the command looks like:

rm /Path/to/folder/.DS_Store

5. Finally press enter to run this command, and the .DS_Store file should be deleted. It will be created again when users change the view options settings.

This procedure should allow for an accessible .DS_Store file to be created, but in some instances users may not have write access to the enclosing folder, which would also result in the view settings not sticking. Users should ensure the folder is writable by right-clicking on it and getting information. Then ensuring their username is located in the "Sharing & Permissions" section and that they have both "Read & Write" permissions.

In addition, some folders may have extensive access control lists improperly associated with them, which can create a convoluted set of permissions rules that can result in non-access even though the Finder claims the user can read and write. To remove all ACLs on the folder, open the Terminal and type "sudo chmod -N" followed by a space. Then similar to the process above, drag the affected folder to the terminal to complete the full path. The command should look like the following:

sudo chmod -N /Path/to/folder

Then press enter and supply the administrator password. When this is done, use the "Get Info" window in the Finder to ensure the folder is associated with the current user and that the user has both read and write priveleges. This can also be done with the following Terminal commands (each run separately, with the /Path/to/folder being the full path to the problematic folder):

Resources