Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Peachpit Learning Series

Take advantage of spring-loaded folders

Combine drag-and-drop with spring-loaded folders to organize the Finder. A spring-loaded folder opens as you hover your mouse over it. You can use this technique to dig down into folders with a file you are dragging: Hover over a folder, its window pops open, hover over the next folder, its window pops open, etc. As soon as you drop the file, all of the previous folder windows close.

You can set the parameters for how long you have to hover the mouse to open a spring-loaded folder—use the Finder preferences, under the Finder menu. Or you can always use the Spacebar instead, even if the option for spring-loaded folders is unchecked: Whenever you want a folder to open instantly, hover over the folder and ...