SideFolders is a Mac app that provides you with quick access to common folders, recent downloads, and recently accessed files on OS X. The app presents you with a draw that slides out from either the right or left of your screen when you move your cursor to the edge of your screen.
SideFolders is available in the App Store for $4.99
Stop looking for the same files over and over again. Just add them to SideFolders and access them at the flick of your wrist.
SideFolders allows you to drag and drop files to and from any application without loosing focus of the application you are working with.
Organize your files in a logical hierarchy independent of your filesystems hierarchy.
The purpose of the app is to provide quick access to your important files, but isn’t that what Finder is for? And if Finder does not provide you with quick enough access then why not add a shortcut on your dock to important folders? Will SideFolders do a better job for accessing your documents?
For me, SideFolders doesn’t solve any problems I have with accessing files. I place my most frequently used apps in my dock, I use Alfred to quickly access apps within my application directory, I have Dropbox shortcuts in my doc and in my status bar, and I use the grid view on my documents and recent downloads folder to quickly access recent files.
In fact, if anything SideFolders slowed me down whenever I was working on my Mac. I constantly accidentally opened up SideFolders when moving my cursor to the right and left of my screen. A far better approach would be to use a keystroke shortcut to launch SideFolders or reduce the sensitivity of launching SideFolders by setting up a hot corner. A hot corner would allow you to choose one of the four corners of your screen to launch SideFolders and consequently reduce the possibility of accidentally launching the app.
The design of the app is a bit disappointing too. The app doesn’t inherit any OS X styles and as a result it looks very out of place. I’m not sure why a more Finder-esque design approach wasn’t taken.
Verdict: With a bit of work SideFolders could be a promising app. But as things stand, SideFolders doesn’t improve my productivity or solve any issues I have with accessing apps or documents.
Rating: 1/5
A free trial of SideFolders is available from their site.
