BinaryNights Blog

Easier Navigation and Folder Item Counts

Until now, it was not possible to use the 4th and 5th mouse buttons to navigate back and forward in ForkLift. We have now added support for this directly to the app, so no additional software or configuration is required. The buttons are hardcoded to control ForkLift’s Back and Forward navigation.

Starting with this version, ForkLift also displays the number of items inside a local folder in the Info Window when the size is displayed. The calculation is recursive, so it includes all subitems, as well as the original folder itself. This means that an empty folder has an item count of 1, which is the same behavior as in Finder.

One lesser-known feature of ForkLift is that clicking the icon in the path bar opens a pop-up showing all connected shares and drives. Starting with this version, remote locations, such as FTP, SFTP, and Amazon S3 connections, are also accessible through this pop-up. This makes navigating between locations easier, especially when the sidebar is hidden.

macOS 27 Golden Gate Compatibility and Interface Improvements

We have also fixed an issue related to this feature. When ForkLift was connected to only one shared volume, it did not appear in the list of available locations in the pop-up. Now, all connected locations are displayed correctly.

This version also fixes several issues caused by changes in macOS. Some features that worked well in previous versions stopped working in Golden Gate, and we have addressed these issues in this release.

In macOS 26 Tahoe, Apple introduced icons in menus, a change that many users disliked. It seems Apple has reconsidered these design guidelines, and menus now contain fewer icons. However, this also meant that some useful icons were automatically hidden in ForkLift. We have restored these icons, including application icons in the Open With submenu and icons for saved favorites and custom tools. Some icons in the Go menu are still missing, but they will return in the next update.

Finally, we have made a small improvement to the Sync Window. In dark themes, the buttons at the bottom of the window did not change color when hovered over, making it unclear that they were clickable. Now, their color changes on hover, making their functionality more apparent.

Full List of changes:

New

• 4th and 5th mouse buttons control the Back and Forward buttons
• Displays the number of items inside a local folder in the Info Window when the size is shown
• Displays remote locations alongside volumes and shares when the icon in the path bar is clicked

Improvements

• Changes the color of the buttons at the bottom of the Sync Window when hovered over in dark mode to better indicate that they are clickable

Fixes

• Fixes a rare issue where the background inside inactive tabs in Column View could remain white after the macOS theme switched to Dark
• Fixes a possible crash after QuickLook and quitting ForkLift
• Fixes a possible crash on macOS Golden Gate when the Search field was visible while editing the Toolbar
• Fixes an issue where the share was not displayed when the icon in the path bar was clicked and only one shared volume was connected
• Fixes an issue where no application icons were displayed in the Open With submenu
• Fixes an issue where no icons were displayed in the menu of saved favorites
• Fixes a minor display issue with themes in the Welcome Window
• Fixes an issue on macOS Golden Gate where selecting Reveal in Favorite Manager from the sidebar did not select the favorite if the Favorite Manager window was not already open
• Fixes an issue on macOS Golden Gate where the X button did not work while editing custom keyboard shortcuts in Settings

Download ForkLift 4.7.7

In version 4.7.6, we have mainly focused on improving the user experience when interacting with files inside ForkLift in different ways.

Improvements to Navigation and Path Bars

We have improved the behavior of the path bars at the top of the panes. Because of limited space, long paths can’t be fully displayed, so the individual folder names inside the path get truncated. In extreme cases, that meant that only the name of the last folder was visible, and other parts of the path could not be made visible even when the user hovered the pointer over those parts of the path. This unfortunately also meant that when the user tried to drag items over these collapsed or truncated folders inside the path bar, the folder did not expand to reveal the location, so the user could not be sure which folder they were dragging into. Now, when you hover over a part of the path bar, the folder name below the pointer expands. This also works when you drag files over the path, so you can clearly see which folder you are dragging them into. This makes working with long paths much easier and makes it clearer where you are moving your files.

We also made it possible to move a tab to the other pane from the Window menu. You can use its keyboard shortcut to move the tab very quickly. If you do not like the keyboard combination that we came up with, you can always change it in the ForkLift Settings.

Column View works a little bit differently than the other two views because the selected folder is automatically opened in the next column. In the other two views, you have to open folders to go inside them, which you can do by double-clicking a folder or by using the Go > Open command. Users usually do not select this command from the menu itself, but rather use its keyboard shortcut, Command-Down Arrow. Going one level up to the parent folder is possible with the Go > Enclosing Folder command or with its keyboard shortcut, Command-Up Arrow.

Because of the different behavior in Column View, you do not have to open the folder, and the other way around, in some cases, it was not possible to navigate the entire path backwards to go through all the parent folders using the command or its keyboard shortcut. Now, we have changed the navigation logic, and you can always go back one folder at a time in the path with the Command-Up Arrow shortcut, even in Column View.

Small Details, Better User Experience

Another useful addition in Column View is that double-clicking the column dividers now resizes the column to a size that fits its content. This means you do not have to manually make the column wider just to see the full file names or assigned tags.

We have also made another change to Icon View. The icons are now aligned more consistently within their rows, making the view less busy and giving you a clearer overview of the items. This is a return to the previous behavior, as some recent changes to Icon View had altered the alignment of the items.

One of the very first requests regarding the ForkLift GUI was a rather small change on the surface. When you hover over a tab, the icon in it is replaced by an X that you can click to close the tab. When you hover over the X, a small box appears around it, highlighting the X and visually turning it into a button. This box was darker than the tab color, which made it less visible in the dark theme than in the light theme.

Some users specifically wanted to see a lighter outline in dark mode, similar to what you can see in Finder or Safari. While this may seem like a very small detail that most users probably do not even consciously notice, it was something that some of you really wanted to see changed.

Interestingly, what looks like a simple visual adjustment turned out to be a little more complicated to implement than we expected. But after some work, we managed to make the change, and the close button now has the lighter outline in the dark theme as well.

macOS 27 Golden Gate and SFTP Improvements

We have also fixed two issues that only occur on the upcoming macOS 27 Golden Gate. When you restarted ForkLift on Golden Gate, its sidebar became a little wider each time, which could eventually make it unnecessarily large. This is now fixed. A more important issue affected Column View, where it was not possible to drag an item from a remote location out of ForkLift, for example to the Desktop or into another application. This has also been fixed, and you can now drag items out of ForkLift in all three views on the newest version of macOS.

This update also addresses a compatibility issue with some SFTP servers.

Full List of changes:

New

• Option to move tabs to the other pane from the Windows menu
• Double-clicking the divider between columns in Column View expands the column to the ideal width needed to display its content

Improvements

• Improved pathbar behavior: truncated folder names in long paths are expanded when hovered over or dragged over
• Changed the color of the box around the X button for closing a tab when hovered over, improving visibility and matching the native macOS behavior
• Improved navigation in Column View when using the Go > Enclosing Folder command
• Improved horizontal alignment of icons in Icon View

Fixes

• Fixes the Applications icon in tabs and the Quick Open pop-up window
• Fixes an issue on macOS 27 Golden Gate in Column View where dragging items from a remote location out of ForkLift did not work
• Fixes an issue in the Multi-Rename Window where long labels were truncated in some languages
• Fixes an issue in the Activities pop-up where the activity title was sometimes truncated during synchronization
• Fixes some compatibility issues with SFTP servers
• Fixes an issue on macOS 27 Golden Gate where the sidebar became wider after every restart

Download ForkLift 4.7.6

Brazilian Portuguese Localization

ForkLift is now available in Brazilian Portuguese, making the app more accessible to users in Brazil.

Safer Handling of Conflicting Files

In the previous version (ForkLift 4.7.4), we tried to address a potential data loss issue that can occur in two edge cases when transferring items with the same names. Normally, this situation can’t occur because only one item with a given name can exist in a single location. However, if you expand multiple folders or search for a term and select items with conflicting names, ForkLift can end up with two or more source items with the same name that are being transferred to the same destination.

In the previous version, we changed the behavior so that a conflict window was displayed in these cases, asking the user to decide how ForkLift should handle the conflict. However, this type of conflict is different from a normal source-versus-target conflict. The conflicting items are all source files, and they may be transferred in an order that can’t be determined in advance. As a result, it isn’t necessarily clear from the conflict window which file would ultimately overwrite which other file. A user could easily select Replace without realizing which file would be kept and which file would be overwritten. Once this happens, the overwritten file can’t be recovered through ForkLift, which could result in unintended data loss.

Although this is a very uncommon use case, we believe it is safer to prevent the transfer from starting rather than asking the user to make a decision that can’t be made reliably from the conflict window. Since the previous fix still had some issues and we had to revisit this behavior, we decided that when source items with conflicting names are selected for transfer to the same destination, ForkLift stops the transfer before it starts and warns the user about the conflict. ForkLift won’t display a conflict window in this situation.

It is unlikely that a user intentionally wants to copy or move several files with the same name, such as five index.html files, to the same location at once. If this happens accidentally, the user should review the files they are trying to transfer and determine which one they actually want to copy or move. They can then transfer the desired file separately.

We also checked how other file managers handle this situation. They generally transfer only one of the conflicting files without notifying the user that a conflict exists. We believe it is safer to explicitly draw attention to the conflict and require the user to resolve it themselves, with a clear understanding of which file contains which content. This prevents the user from making an irreversible choice in the conflict window without being able to clearly determine which file will ultimately be kept.

Sync and Column View Improvements

At the bottom of the Sync Window, ForkLift displays how many files will be synced and how many of those files will be added, updated, or deleted. We have made these buttons clickable, so you can now use them to filter the view by All, Added, Updated, and Deleted files. This can provide a better overview of what is going to happen during synchronization.

We have also added the option to increase or decrease the text size in Column View using the same keyboard shortcuts that were already available in the other views (Command – + and Command – -).

Hopefully, column widths in Column View will now be calculated correctly when the Resize columns to fit option is enabled. We have tried to take every factor into account that can affect the amount of space required by the contents of each column.

When an external drive was open in a pane of ForkLift and the drive was disconnected without ejecting it first, the file list remained visible in ForkLift, giving the impression that the drive was still connected. We have fixed this issue as well.

We have also fixed an issue (introduced in the previous version) where, when transferring items from search results to a remote location, transfers remained in the queue after the maximum number of simultaneous transfers configured in the settings had been completed.

Full List of changes:

New

• Brazilian Portuguese localization

Improvements

• The buttons at the bottom of the Sync Window are now clickable and filter the view by All, Added, Updated, and Deleted files
• When Resize columns to fit is enabled, column widths now take the Bold Folder Names setting into account
• Adds the option to use the Command-+ keyboard shortcut to increase the font size in Column View
• Adds the option to use the Command– keyboard shortcut to decrease the font size in Column View
• Changes the behavior of file transfers when the source contains items with conflicting names. The transfer now does not start to prevent files from being unintentionally overwritten

Fixes

• Fixes an issue with column widths in Column View when the Resize columns to fit setting is enabled and the scroll bar is visible
• Fixes an issue where, after deselecting all items from synchronization, it was possible to click the Synchronize button
• Fixes an issue in the Logs where the number of synchronized items was displayed as the total number of analyzed items during synchronization instead of the number of synchronized items
• Fixes an issue introduced in version 4.7.4 where transfers from search results to remote connections remained in the queue after the maximum number of simultaneous transfers configured in the settings had been completed
• Fixes a possible hang when the remote server is not responding
• Fixes an issue where the file view did not update when an external drive was disconnected without ejecting the disk first
• Fixes small localization issues

Download ForkLift 4.7.5

Version 4.7.4 contains a few smaller fixes that address edge cases when assigning tags, as well as a potential data loss issue. When searching inside an archive and trying to copy files from the search results, the activity showed as successful, but the files were not actually copied. When transferring items with the same name from multiple sources, for example from multiple expanded folders or search results, only one of the files was transferred, which could cause data loss during move operations.

There was also a known issue with the Preview API that we use in ForkLift, which did not follow the Folder Color and Icon & Widget style settings configured in System Settings. We reported this issue to Apple, and it has been fixed in the latest Golden Gate macOS beta, so this issue will not be present in the new macOS.

Full List of changes:

Fixes

• Fixes an issue with column widths in Column View when the Resize columns to fit setting is enabled
• Fixes a potential data loss issue when transferring items from multiple locations with the same name at the same time
• Fixes an issue where it was not possible to copy from search results inside an archive, even though the activity log showed the operation as successful
• Fixes an issue where closed output windows of Tools created windows in Stage Manager on macOS 26 and macOS 27
• Fixes a selection issue caused by a Path Bar GUI issue in a very narrow window
• Fixes an issue where it was possible to add the same color tag multiple times through the context menu of items
• Fixes an issue where it was possible to add the same tag multiple times in the text field available through the context menu of items

Download ForkLift 4.7.4

In ForkLift 4.7.3, our main focus was on Icon View. We brought back some of the behavior from earlier native macOS versions that had disappeared over the years and was not included in ForkLift 4.

You can now navigate across rows with the arrow keys, so navigation no longer stops at the end of a row. It is also possible to select a range of items, even across multiple rows, by holding down the Shift key and clicking the first and last item in the selection. You can extend the selection further with either Shift-click or Command-click.

We also improved drag selection in Icon View. Previously, selecting multiple items with the mouse could sometimes be difficult because dragging would start instead of creating a selection. The dimensions of items are now better defined, making the behavior of dragging and drag-selecting much closer to what you see in Finder.

We believe these improvements make working in Icon View much smoother and more intuitive.

Full List of changes:

New

• In Icon View, you can navigate to the next row by pressing the Right Arrow key at the end of a row
• In Icon View, you can navigate to the previous row by pressing the Left Arrow key at the beginning of a row
• Range selection with Shift-click in Icon View
• Open in New Window context menu item for tabs
• Home and End keys in Icon View to jump to the beginning or end of the file view

Improvements

• Improved drag selection in Icon View
• Improved stability and performance to help prevent possible crashes and hangs

Download ForkLift 4.7.3

Version 4.7.2 is a quick update that fixes some issues introduced in versions 4.7 and 4.7.1 related to the Multi-Rename feature.

A bug introduced while adding the option to use metadata for renaming files prevented previously saved Multi-Rename favorites from being used. We have now fixed this issue, and old batch rename favorites should work as expected again.

We have also added a text field for defining custom date formats when using dates extracted from metadata. In addition, this version adds Traditional Chinese localization to ForkLift and changes the item info displayed in Icon View to show file sizes. The update also includes other small fixes and enhancements.

Full List of changes:

New

• Displays file size below the icons in Icon View when the “Show Item Info” setting is enabled in the View Options
• Traditional Chinese localization

Improvements

• Adds a missing text field to specify the custom date format in the Multi-Rename Window when adding dates based on metadata

Fixes

• Fixes an issue introduced in version 4.7 that made it impossible to use previously saved Multi-Rename favorites
• Fixes a possible crash when generating thumbnails
• Improves the wording of the warning message shown when file conflicts occur during copy operations
• Minor fixes and enhancements

Download ForkLift 4.7.2

Smarter File Naming with Built-in Metadata Support

In ForkLift version 4.7.1, we have added a major new feature: the ability to include metadata in multi-renaming operations. This means ForkLift can now read and use the information stored inside files, such as photos, videos, documents and audio files, when renaming them.

Metadata is information attached to a file that describes it. For example:

• For photos: when the picture was taken, camera model, exposure time, ISO value
• For audio files: artist, album, track number, year, or title
• For documents: author, creation date

In ForkLift, you can use the following metadata fields when renaming files:

• Title
• Content creation date,
• Dimensions
• Device model
• Original date
• F number
• Exposure time
• Focal length
• ISO speed
• Authors
• Album
• Track number
• Year recorded

Using metadata allows you to turn automatically generated or meaningless filenames into structured and meaningful ones.

For example, instead of:

• IMG_2481.JPG

you can rename files to something like:

• 2025-06-28_Budapest.JPG

This makes your photo library immediately more readable and easier to navigate without opening files. For large photo collections, this is especially useful because it automatically organizes images chronologically and keeps naming consistent across thousands of files.

The same applies to audio files. For example:

• track01.mp3

can become:

• Madonna – Like a Prayer.mp3

This helps fix messy downloads and creates consistent music libraries where every file follows the same structure, making albums easier to browse and keep in order outside of music apps.

Besides the new metadata support for batch renaming, power users will also appreciate that the $PATH environment variable can now be used when creating tools in ForkLift.

Smoother SMB Integration, Richer Media Previews, and Enhanced Stability

We have also improved SMB share handling: share names are now displayed in the same way as in Finder, ensuring consistent behavior between the two apps.

In addition, ForkLift now supports previewing certain video and audio files (for example: .mka, .mkv, .webm, .wma, .wmv,. avi, .mov, .flv, .f4v) when using the third-party QuickLook Video app. Previously, these previews were only available in Finder, but ForkLift can now display the same previews when the QuickLook Video app is installed correctly.

ForkLift version 4.7.1 also fixes several minor issues in the Go to Folder window. The update resolves a crash during sync operations when excluding items based on file size, and fixes a significant issue on the upcoming macOS 27 “Golden Gate,” where dragging items in column view was not possible. We are not currently aware of other issues on this new macOS version.

The update also includes additional fixes and improvements. Please see the full changelog below.

Full List of changes:

New

• Option to use metadata when renaming files in the Multi-Rename window
• Tools can inherit the $PATH environment variable from the shell

Improvements

• New metadata added to the Info Window
• Aligns SMB share names with Finder for consistent display
• Updates the divider color between preview and info sections in the Preview Pane for better visibility in dark themes
• Adds support for previewing media files in ForkLift when the QuickLook Video app is installed
• Improves undo logging behavior for Multi-Rename operations

Fixes

• After changing the default application for a file type, the change is now saved correctly
• Fixes an issue where the entire path in the Go to Folder window was selected after choosing a path from the dropdown using Tab or Right Arrow
• Fixes an issue where duplicate paths could appear in the Go to Folder history
• Fixes an issue where selecting a path from the Go to Folder dropdown opened the item instead of revealing it in the file view
• Fixes an issue in the Go to Folder window where pressing Tab or Right Arrow after entering / inserted a second slash
• Fixes a possible crash when entering a path starting with ~ in the Go to Folder window on Amazon S3 connections
• Fixes a possible crash when selecting Size as an exclusion filter in the Sync Window or when opening the Sync Window with a previously saved file size filter
• Fixes an issue where the location of a pinned tab could change to a subfolder after switching between column view and other views
• Fixes an issue where reordering remote favorites in the sidebar was not always possible
• Fixes an issue where rotated video dimensions were displayed as negative values

Download ForkLift 4.7.1

A small update focused on usability improvements and fixes

ForkLift 4.6.4 brings a collection of small improvements and fixes that make everyday use of ForkLift smoother and more convenient.

Two notable enhancements focus on file navigation. Quick Select now recognizes accented letters, making it easier to find files whose names contain accented characters. In addition, the Go to Folder window can now recognize and locate aliases and symlinks, improving navigation throughout your file system.

Full List of changes:

Improvements

• Adds warning before deleting a theme from the Settings to avoid accidental deletion
• Small GUI enhancements
• Quick Select is able to find accented letters
• Go to Folder is able find aliases and symlinks

Fixes

• Fixes an issue in Column View in rename mode where the selected file name could float over the other files when scrolling
• Fixes path bar inconsistencies
• Fixes the Quit and Keep Windows command in the Keyboard shortcuts in the Settings
• Makes the Sync to command inactive while one pane is in search mode
• Fixes a possible hang while changing themes in the Settings

Download ForkLift 4.6.4

Item Info in Icon View and Audio Details

In ForkLift 4.6.3, we added Item Info in Icon View. When enabled, it shows the number of items in folders, along with additional details such as video duration and image dimensions. You can enable this option in Icon View via View > Show View Options > Show Item Info. Keep in mind that each tab has its own settings, so you need to enable it in every tab where you want it to appear. When opening a new tab, it inherits the settings of the active tab, so the Item Info setting will carry over automatically. Displaying this information requires additional system resources, so you can disable it at any time under View > Show View Options > Show Item Info.

The Preview Pane and Info Window now display additional information for audio files.

Navigation Improvements: Go to Folder and Keyboard Enhancements

An additional new feature is the option to add the $SOURCE_HOSTNAME and $SOURCE_USERNAME placeholders while creating a tool in the Settings. These placeholders let your scripts automatically access the current remote connection details. This makes tools more flexible because they can run on any server without hardcoding hostnames or usernames. As a result, you can create reusable, context-aware automation.

In this new version, we have added a lot of enhancements to the Go to Folder feature. The Go to Folder feature is useful because it lets you jump directly to any directory by typing its path instead of clicking through multiple folders. You can activate the Go to Folder pop-up with the Command-Shift-G keyboard shortcut (or from the Go menu). We have added a history section to Go to Folder, making it easier to find previously visited locations. Compared to previous behavior, the top match is now the location itself, not a subfolder, which makes navigating to the correct path easier. You can navigate the list of suggested locations using the up and down arrow keys. Pressing the right arrow will insert the selected suggestion into the path, allowing you to continue typing and refine your search as new matches appear. Once the path is correct, press Enter to open the selected location.

Now you can expand and collapse folders not only with the right and left arrow keys, but also using Command key combinations (Command-Right Arrow, Command-Left Arrow), matching Finder behavior. This brings back a familiar interaction that some users missed due to muscle memory.

Full List of changes:

New

• Available Item Info in Icon View, which can be enabled in View Options
• History of previously visited locations in the Go to Folder pop-up
• Option to add the $SOURCE_HOSTNAME and $SOURCE_USERNAME placeholders in the Tools section of Settings

Improvements

• Enhanced Tab key behavior for selecting matches in the Go to Folder pop-up
• Right Arrow key now behaves the same way as the Tab key in the Go to Folder pop-up
• Multiple improvements to navigation in the Go to Folder pop-up
• Displays more information about audio files in the Info Window
• Option to expand folders using the Command-Right Arrow keyboard shortcut
• Option to collapse folders using the Command-Left Arrow keyboard shortcut

Fixes

• Adds back the Open in New Window context menu item for workspaces in the sidebar, which went missing in version 4.6.2
• Fixes an issue that caused the Theme Editor not to close when the Settings window was closed

Download ForkLift 4.6.3

External Drive Tags, comments, and Checksum Improvements

We recently introduced the ability to calculate checksums for files, making it easier to verify that files have not been altered or corrupted during transfers and that two files are truly identical. Checksums can be calculated for multiple files at the same time, with the file names and checksums displayed in a dedicated window.

In ForkLift 4.6.2, we improved the usability of the Checksum Window by adding support for selecting multiple items at once. You can now easily copy selected items or use Command-A and Command-C to copy all entries. The copied content is exported in CSV format, making it easy to paste into spreadsheet applications such as Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers.

Changes to the Preview API on macOS Sequoia and Tahoe

In version 4.6.1, we introduced a new Preview API to support the new style of folder icon previews. Unfortunately, this API currently has several limitations that cannot be addressed by us directly. We have reported these issues to Apple and hope they will be resolved in future macOS updates.

The new style folder icons are only available on macOS Tahoe, so in ForkLift 4.6.2 we have disabled the new Preview API for users on macOS Sequoia because it caused multiple issues with icon previews on that version of macOS. As a result, users on macOS Sequoia will no longer experience the negative side effects of the new API.

Users on macOS Tahoe will continue using the new API and will still be able to see colored folders and icons added to folders in Finder. However, the API currently does not correctly handle certain folder icon customizations made in System Settings, which means some custom folder appearances may not be represented accurately in ForkLift. Unfortunately, this limitation is outside of our control.

We have also fixed a possible crash introduced in the previous version, along with several other possible crashes and hangs, and some other fixes and improvements.

Full List of changes:

Improvements

• Displays tags on external drives
• Comments added in ForkLift now show up in Finder as well
• Adds an option to select multiple items in the Checksum Window; the copied list is in CSV format, so it can be easily pasted into spreadsheet applications
• Adds “Edit” and “Hide from Sidebar” options to the context menu of Sync favorites in the Sidebar

Fixes

• Fixes an issue with the movement of favorites in the sidebar that pointed to the same server
• Fixes a possible hang caused by recent items in the sidebar
• Fixes a possible crash in List View
• Displays a folder icon on remote locations when the folder name contains a dot
• Displays the Kind of folders correctly when the folder name contains a dot
• Fixes an issue that made it impossible to delete the last remaining digit from the Time Offset Correction field in the Sync Window
• Fixes a possible hang after a tab or window was closed during an unfinished search operation
• Fixes a possible crash after a tab or window was closed during an unfinished search operation
• Removes the new Preview API on macOS Sequoia introduced in version 4.6.1 due to several issues with icon previews

Download ForkLift 4.6.2