SHARE EVERY THING: A Quick Path to Your Files and Folders

Version reviewed: SideFolders 1.5.2

SideFolders is a simple to use Mac OS X app that will keep your important files right by your side. SideFolders allows you to drag and drop files to and from any application.

Download SideFolders

Features:

organize files

manage files

Day by day, we create faster cars, faster computers, smarter gadgets and devices, so we can save time and enjoy life more. Everyone wants to work faster on the computer (Mac in our case), at work or leisurely, because the faster you access your files, folders, applications etc, the more you increase your productivity.
In this world of speed, of programs developed for fast usage, an application named SideFolders appears as a time-saving tool. Its role is to give you quick access to the Sidebar, while positioned on the left or right side of your Mac's screen.

More than an alternative of the popular Finder, SideFolders will provide instant access to your files if you drag and drop them to SideFolders’ window. In addition, the app will allow you to organize your files and folders in a logical order rather than a hierarchical order.

This handy application can be bought for the price of only five dollars in the Mac App Store, and if you're not sure whether to spend money or not without trying it out first, you can download the 15 days trial version from its developer website. Once installed, it will occupy only 1.6 MB of your hard drive and its installation only takes a few seconds.

The Looks

First of all, SideFolders will appear on your Mac's desktop and it can also be added to the menu bar using the app's Preferences dialog. Nevertheless, on the menu bar you will only see a few options, and you will not be able to access the Sidebar itself. The menu bar options are included in the Preferences in the app's main window, but they're here to give you a faster alternative, since the menu bar is easier to use.

Moving on to SideFolders’ main window, one could say that its design is simple, yet attractive and elegant. Note that its functionality weighs a lot more than its appearance. Its window's is very similar to the Finder, with the only difference that Finder displays white rows followed by darker rows.

The partitions, folders, etc are displayed in a hierarchical manner, which makes it more compact. Everything you browse behaves like a drop-down menu, a feature which strengthens the idea of simplicity. This way, you will be able to browse through your Mac more easily.

SideFolders’ border colors are black and its interior is white. The scroll bar is very neat and pleasant to look at, while the buttons positioned on the lower bar are of grayish color, which makes it easy to distinguish.

All in all, SideFolders has a rather classic style to it, its design is minimalistic but also appealing, which makes it look like a modern, serious application.

The Works

SideFolders provides fast access to your Mac's downloads, devices, places, shared folders, and recent files, but also to other files and folders you have added. The other important feature is that you have more freedom to organize your files and folders than in the Finder's filesystem hierarchy.

The application will save you time because it is located on either sides of the desktop, on the left or right, which makes it very easy to access. Furthermore, SideFolders' window will jump out as soon as you touch the desktop's border, corresponding to where SideFolders is hiding.

This auto-hide feature is great because you will always want your desktop uncluttered and clean. Therefore, auto-hiding and popping out when you need it will help you manage your desktop space.

The thing that I really enjoy in SideFolders is that you can set a keyboard shortcut to make it appear or disappear. If you prefer not to move the cursor on the desktop's border, SideFolders will provide this keyboard shortcut alternative.

However, by using keybindings, the app will automatically become 'locked', which means that it will not disappear automatically anymore, and you have to use the keybinding again in order to hide it. This shouldn't be a problem though, if you're used to keyboard shortcuts.

An additional feature is its size flexibility. You may change its size very easily. Just hold the mouse cursor on its border and simply move it in any direction to adjust SideFolders' size. You can make it tall, short, wide, and even as large as your desktop, but note that it will always be annexed to your Mac's desktop border.

Coming now to the app's contents, an interesting feature enables you to move basically any file or folder to anywhere in the list. This can be useful if you want to set to that file or folder a more accessible place, or rank it depending on its importance.

In addition, you can drag any item from your any place (your desktop, for instance) to SideFolders. You can put it inside any existing partition or simply above or below them, thus positioning it to a 'special' place, where you can reach it without any difficulty.

Another useful feature is that you can have a better time organizing your files. This means that you may create actual SideFolders, which are basically 'new folders' but they are created inside the application's window, separated from the other partitions.

You can then organize your files with the help of these folders, each folder consisting of a new category. Moreover, these special folders are 'iconless', which makes them more distinguishable from all the other items.

Besides displaying the usual partitions that are also contained in the Finder, which are: Devices, Shared items and Places, SideFolders will also give you quick access to your Downloads, Recently used items (such as recently used applications and files) and Applications folders. These three have the same rank in the list as the ones from the Finder, thus making them easier to find.

In SideFolders' Preferences, you will be able to hide any partitions and dock SideFolders to the left or right of your desktop. Also, the speed at which the application will jump out and hide can be set: from 1 to 4 seconds. Finally, you can choose your preferred keybinding.

The Good

The application is a great alternative to Finder, because you can access your files and folders faster and easier. It is a great tool to have if you want to access your recently closed files, folders or applications because it can appear by hitting your mouse pointer to your desktop's border or hitting a keybinding. You can also pin important files and organize them in the order of their importance, so you can have them right by your side.

The Bad

Sometimes, adding files and folders to the app’s window took a considerable amount of time and the Mac’s configuration had nothing to do with it, for sure. The problem was also felt on another, better Mac (dual quad core and 12 GB of RAM). Other times, it works fine, after reinstalling it for instance. However, it cannot be asserted that the glitch is permanent. The source of this problem is unknown, but, still, it exists.

In addition, the context menu of all the items that you view in SideFolders is poor. You will only see 'Open with...', 'Show in Finder' and 'Remove'. Basically all the other options are missing.

The Truth

SideFolders provides a quick way to access your most important files and what not, and it gives you the possibility to organize your data in the order of their importance too. You can easily add files that you will want to access later on SideFolder's window.

This way, it will keep them easy to reach; however, you will not have as many options as Finder has, such as the options in a file's context menu.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: