Update Finder Front Window

This little AppleScript program tells the Finder to update its front-most window. It is very useful when you work with image files and programs that do not send the Finder the proper Apple Events so that it knows it must reload icons, etc.

For instance, if you use GraphicConverter (an otherwise excellent program, one of the very few that supports lossless JPEG rotation) to rotate your images, the Finder icons are not updated until the Finder restarts. Update Finder Front Window allows you to do the necessary update without restarting the Finder.

To install, just unstuff the archive, put the application into the Applications folder, and drag it from there to the dock. Whenever you want to update your front-most finder window, just click Update Finder Front Window's dock icon.

It is important to launch Update Finder Front Window from the dock (or from the Recent Items menu), not by double-clicking the application, because the latter will make the application's folder the front-most Finder window. That is why I recommend putting Update Finder Front Window in the dock.

The implementation is very simple, just a 3 line AppleScript. You can open the application with ScriptEditor if you want to have a look at it or change it.

Download: UpdateFinderFrontWindow.sit

Last updated: 25 Jun 2002