Features I love in KDE4: Column view in Dolphin

Until recently, I was accustomed to the icon view in file managers. This was a habit carried over, partly from Windows Explorer, but mainly from Konqueror, the file manager of KDE 3.5; and in those rare moments when I used GNOME, I always used Nautilus with the icon view.

So, it seemed logical to carry on with the icon view tradition in Dolphin/KDE4. However, couple of moons ago, I tried the column view and I found it infinitely more productive, especially for documents and other textual information. I am vaguely aware that the column view has existed on the Mac for a long time. However, since I've never had the luxury of owning one, I thank Dolphin/KDE developers for this nifty feature. Here is the obligatory screenshot:

Of course, while browsing photo collections, icon view with previews would be a better choice but when I'm at work, column view is an absolute boon.Managing files is so much easier now, particularly when you have directory hierarchy that runs several levels deep. No more going back and forth to search for the right location or file. The column view complements the breadcrumb navigation bar; and in some respects, improves it by providing quick visual feedback of the entire directory tree you have traversed. Then, there is the cool horizintal slide effect when the columns are too many to fit in the current window view.

To use column view in Dolphin, you can either use the Menu item View -> View Mode -> Columns or click on the icon in the toolbar. There is also the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+3.