I want to adjust the font size to 14 point font for all windows on my mac by using the "Use as defaults" option under the View Options for a folder. While it seems like it automatically adjusts all the windows to be list format (my preference), it does not save the font size preference for new windows. Is there a way to set the default font size for all folders?
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 12.6
Hey lingboy,
This may be expected behavior from macOS.
When opening a Finder window, the specific folder you're in is what you're applying changes to. For example if you set the Documents folder to a 14 point font then apply and use it as default, any time you open the Documents folder it will retain that 14 point font.
However other folders will not as it was not set to the default for them. This would be expected behavior from macOS.
If you'd like to see tweaks to how this works, we can recommend leaving feedback for Apple Support here:
Take care.
Hey lingboy,
This may be expected behavior from macOS.
When opening a Finder window, the specific folder you're in is what you're applying changes to. For example if you set the Documents folder to a 14 point font then apply and use it as default, any time you open the Documents folder it will retain that 14 point font.
However other folders will not as it was not set to the default for them. This would be expected behavior from macOS.
If you'd like to see tweaks to how this works, we can recommend leaving feedback for Apple Support here:
Take care.
lingboy wrote:
Ok, so "use as defaults" only ever applies to the specific folder. Is there an option to make all folders open with the same font size? I'm asking because with my new screen resolution, "12 point" is really quite small for me. And the alternatives (screen magnification, lowering the resolution) are overkill for me. I just want to adjust the settings for all windows to open the same way.
No, "use as defaults" will apply going forward, as defaults.
The thing is, any other folder which you may have opened before will have its own settings, so the defaults do not apply - hence the word defaults.
You could do a radical thing and delete all .DS_Store files, which effectively would reset all the folder display settings in the Finder, and so your defaults should subsequently apply.
My notion of defaults is the same as yours.
If you open a new folder after you set the new defaults it WILL honor them.
The thing is that other folders for which some settings were ALREADY set will keep them. Defaults only apply by … default. They do not override previous settings - these settings are saved, fir each folder, in a hidden .DS_Store file.
As I wrote before, you can delete these files and then all your folders will follow the new default.
I can’t see how reporting facts is dismissive.
If you want to delete all those files, let me know.
I agree with you, but then you're missing my original point. When I set options to default, it does indeed keep it as list view or icon view. However, changing the font size and setting this as a default doesn't seem to stick. So, the default setting for font size has a problem. And it seems that every directory I may have already opened (where I've never set any view options) does not apply the new default.
So, perhaps this is in fact the issue - setting a default only ever applies to new directories that one creates. That's a bug in the OS. If I have opened a txt file in TextEdit before, but now want to set Word as a default program for opening txt files, the OS would certainly open all txt files in Word (and not revert to TextEdit for that one file).
Ok, so "use as defaults" only ever applies to the specific folder. Is there an option to make all folders open with the same font size? I'm asking because with my new screen resolution, "12 point" is really quite small for me. And the alternatives (screen magnification, lowering the resolution) are overkill for me. I just want to adjust the settings for all windows to open the same way.
I'm just a bit embarrased for you that you're so confident about having the opposite interpretation of what 'defaults' means. A default is a setting that applies in the context when a specific setting has not been selected. Thus, if you set Word to be the default program for opening .txt files, the understanding would be that it opens all .txt files, not just the one you have recently opened. So, the fact that setting something as a default here only means it applies to a specific folder is actually problematic language. Hence, my posting.
But your dismissive reply aside, there are two types of people who ask questions in fora such as these: (a) those who have not yet tried to figure out a solution on their own and (b) those who have exhausted other venues first to try to figure it out themselves. I belong to the latter group since I've used apple computers since 1993 and do some programming as well. Your responses to questions might improve if you didn't assume everyone is in group (a) or that we didn't pay attention to these sorts of details. I'm a linguistics professor for what it's worth.
lingboy wrote:
I'm just a bit embarrased for you that you're so confident about having the opposite interpretation of what 'defaults' means.
Now that's dismissive...
Say you create new folders A, B and C.
Say you set open folder A and set it to show in Icon View:
Now, set folder B to show in List View, and make List View the default:
Now open Folder C - as you might expect, it will open in List View - that is now the default.
Folder A, on the other hand, already was set to Icon View, so it should still show in Icon View, and indeed it does.
lingboy,
Since theses not an option that is available currently, you'll need to use the link provided previously to submit feedback for any changes you'd like to see in future releases of macOS.
Cheers.
"Use as defaults" in folder view options on Monterey not working
