FinderPop is a control panel that adds incredible functionality to the contextual menu. With FinderPop, you can build a menu of commonly used items, open any item off the desktop (and deeper, through submenus), switch/quit applications, get info on any item, empty the trash, view available memory, stuff and expand files, and all the ordinary contextual menu tasks.
The greatest thing about FinderPop is its hands-free usage. Using a good old single button mouse you can open FinderPop's popup menu by simply clicking and holding down the mouse button in an unused portion of the Finder. Most everything can be done without the keyboard in this popup menu, including opening new items and switching applications. However, the powers of FinderPop increase when you use the keyboard. Using a few easy to remember modifier keys, you can drag an item from any point on your hard drive to another and much more.
The easiest way to show how great this product is would be to list some of its best features:
- Build a list of commonly used items, for easy opening - I found this to be even more helpful than Recent Applications for items I constantly use.
- Open anything on your hard drive with one click - The easy browsing in FinderPop makes it a snap to find and open any item in just a few seconds, without all the opening and closing of windows. This also applies to getting info and moving items.
- Get Info on any item - The genius of this feature is the fact that it doesn't simply open the Get Info window on the desktop; it gives all the information in a help balloon, next to the item, in the Pop-up.
- Versatility - While in applications, even those that don't support FinderPop (such as Netscape) clicking in the upper left corner of the screen brings up an abbreviated Pop-up.
- Switching windows. FinderPop allows you to switch between the open windows in the current application. While many programs offer this, I found FinderPop to be the easier way of doing this. Netscape's Go menu bar can be tedious, especially when multiple browser windows are open. FinderPop solved this problem.
- Finder Re-launch - In version 1.7.6, A Finder relaunching command was added. Now when the Finder crashes, it won't be necessary to restart!
FinderPop is Pintware (send the author $8 so he can buy two pints of Beamish) and is updated very often (every six-eight weeks). You'll notice how much easier FinderPop makes things the moment you install it. This product deserves much recognition and a spot in your System Folder. -PK
