I would like all my folders to open in GALLERY view.

I just upgraded to Ventura.

Is there a way to do this SYSTEM WIDE without having to manually reset each subfolder?

I think this works:

1. Open a Finder window, and select your hdd/ssd.
2. Select gallery view in the icon in your window's toolbar.
3. Hit command-J.
4. Click on "Always open in gallery view."

Thanks for the effort, but that is the usual procedure which only affects the folder being viewed . . . it does not include the subfolders within a folder UNLESS I go through the same procedure with each subfolder (and I have thousands of these on my computer).

I am looking for a way to convert ALL folders from the top, down.

I just revisited my earlier experimentation, and, clarifying what I learned yesterday, I found that once I switch "HD" to gallery view I can navigate from "HD" always as my starting point with the left/right arrows and the path bar and remain in gallery view, but if I double-click on anything it opens up in my default column view.

As far as I can tell (including with searching), that's the closest you can get to the "universal" setting you're looking for.

A bit more: "...I can navigate from "HD" always as my starting point with the left/right arrows...."

Or by scrolling.

Hmmm... I just found that double-clicking on a folder on my desktop opens it in gallery view.

You'll be able to get a semblance of what you're looking for, but I suspect that it will take a bunch of experimentation to learn all of gallery view's "features."

The way it used to work:
Start at the top level folder, Macintosh HD or whatever you've named it.
Set things the way you want, then click Use as Defaults.

That, in the past, has changed all the enclosed folders as long as the user has not made customized changes. Clicking on Defaults will not override manual changes that you've made.

I don't know if this still holds true. Also, I don't know if doing a Clean Install of the OS will get you back to a state where all folders can be changed with this one action. That would be a drastic step.

It might seem that it will take you forever to change all individual folders, but it won't. You will live long enough to get them all changed if you only do the enclosed folders of one folder per day.

I tried clicking on "Use as Defaults" (in Ventura), and I didn't see any purpose to it other than to set display parameters, nor do I see any potential purpose to it in our context. After all, once MG2009 changes "HD," new windows will open up in gallery view, and all navigation will remain in gallery view, so se doesn't have to change every folder individually.

I didn't do extensive testing, but I did find that folders opened with a hotkey opened in their default view, not gallery view.

Re: " . . .once MG2009 changes "HD," new windows will open up in gallery view, and all navigation will remain in gallery view, so se doesn't have to change every folder individually."


Yes, Artie, that works for me, too . . . although a tad tedious.


PLAN B: Is there something I can do in TERMINAL which will take those FOLDERS which have been individually customised BACK to an "un-customised" state (i.e. factory, out-of-the-box)? Then, I could set the parameters at the HD/SSD level to see if arrowing/scrolling through the bowels of each folder will appear as Gallery View.

I'm confused by your "a tad tedious."

You seem to want folders to which you navigate in some view other than gallery to open in gallery view? Is that correct?

If so, I'm at a complete loss, nor do I know enough about Terminal to even guess if it can be used to accomplish anything helpful.