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In Mac OS X Leopard, a spring-loaded folder pops open when you drag something onto it without releasing the mouse button. Spring-loaded folders work with all OS X Leopard folder or disk icons in all views and in the Sidebar. This feature is a great way to organize your stuff in disks, folders, and subfolders.
Here's how spring-loaded folders work:
1. Select any icon except a disk icon.
The folder highlights to indicate that it's selected.
2. Drag the selected icon onto any folder or disk icon — but don't release the mouse button.
You might call this action hovering because you're doing just that — hovering the cursor over a folder or disk icon without releasing the button.
In a second or two, the highlighted folder or disk flashes twice and then springs open, right under the cursor.
 | You can press the spacebar to make the folder spring open immediately. |
3. After the folder springs open, some more handy operations are possible:
• You can continue to traverse your folder structure this way. Subfolders continue to pop open until you release the mouse button.
• If you release the mouse button, the icon you've been dragging is dropped into the active folder at the time. That window remains open — but all the windows you traversed clean up after themselves by closing automatically and leaving your window clean and uncluttered.
• If you want to cancel a spring-loaded folder, drag the cursor away from the folder icon or outside the boundaries of the sprung window — the folder pops shut.
After you get used to spring-loaded folders, you'll wonder how you ever got along without them. They work in all three window views, and they work with icons in the Sidebar. Give 'em a try, and you'll be hooked.
You can toggle spring-loaded folders on or off in the Finder's Preferences window. There's also a setting for how long the Finder waits before it springs the folders open.
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