Window size control - I'm on a mission

[Andy Hughes]

Over time I have learned that one of the most important aspects of computing is controling the size of the windows I deal with (the real estate on my screen, and the way the files are presented). I love OSX but there are some controls I want to have that I can't figure out, and I think they would be very nice. Maybe there is a system setting or preference that I can't figure out, or maybe some shareware could help, but I can't find them. Anyway, here is what I want to do...

1. I want to set the size of all windows in the finder and my applications I open to open to a size I specify. I have a nice 17" screen, and I keep my doc on the right (cause it feels more like my old friend the pull down in OS 9) and I keep a bit of desktop real estate visible, which is the width of the standard digital clock that I keep in the lower right of my screen. So, what I want is EVERY window I open to go to the max size and bump against the top, left, bottom, and right side of my monitor and against that clock edge. Why? Because I am trying to be neat and work and get the most out of my desktop space for each window I use. I can figure out how to get between applications and between windows in an application, but I want that nice generous feeling of using a large window... all the time.. Also, when I open a new window in the same program I want it to lay right on top of the old one, not staggered overand down a bit... which messes up my layout described above.
2. I like to show my files by lists, with small icons, with the various kinds of the list items to sort by, like date and kind, etc. and I AM SICK of opening a window and being half way down in the list!!! I want to set my windows to always open at the top of the window when I open it new, and I don't have to scroll to the top to get to my most recently used items or the top of an alpha list. If they would do this and maximize the size I specify as listed above in item 1, I would feel like I was a LOT more in charge of my computing environment.
3. I want a setting so ALL of my finder windows to do this and look the same. They can keep the KIND OF LISTING I did last (like alpha or last date), but I want them to always open to the size I want and top of the list.

I can figure out how to resize them when I need to move thing around between windows, but if I close a window in the finder and open it again, I want it back to my standard full size configuration.

I have searched in shareware domains and here in osx but I don't seem to come up with a match.

So, I turn to you, oh wise and compassionate osx users, and ask
GIVE ME CONTROL OF MY WINDOWS!
It seems fundamental, but right now when I open something, I don't know what I am going to get and I grow weary of it. Expose is cool, but day to day I need order and control!

[ElDiabloConCaca]

1. This is the closest thing I've found:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19072

2. You can always hit "home" instead of scrolling all the way to the top.

3. In the current state of the Finder, I don't think this is possible. For example, not everyone has their Finder windows set to open in new windows. If I navigate to my music folder in column view, but have the music folder set to open in list view, by golly, I don't want it switching to list view on me since I got there through the column view.

Sorry for the non-helpful replies, but I think what you're asking just isn't possible with the current Finder. Have you given Path Finder a try?
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/16678

[Andy Hughes]

Thanks. I didn't know about what the "home" key did...very useful. I'll give "folder control" a try try. Maybe someone at apple will think my way of thinking about this is useful. I know there are lots of other ways of looking at folders, files, and windows... I just want to be able to set it up "my way".

Cheers for the reply!

[texanpenguin]

What you describe is essentially the Windows way of doing things. It has its own merits, but it's just not the way the Finder works.
Maximising in that sense is unnecessary. Mac OS X maximises things only to the size required to show all the content.