The "New Folder" function (shift+cmd+N) places the newly-created folder in the folder selected in the left sidebar. An entirely more useful and consistent choice would be within the folder selected in the right panel. This is more useful in that the means of obtaining this function is, at present, extremely cumbersome and the present function is easily supported within the design I recommend by selecting no folder at all in the right panel. It is more consistent because the "Duplicate" (cmd+D) function places the duplicated file in the folder of the original item -- not in the folder selected on the left. The present design is inferior by any evaluation. It is neither the expected behavior nor is it as flexible.
Note: I did find an Applescript which permits the behavior I'm looking for, but for the life of me I cannot see where that was installed. I'll try to identify that.
Similarly, the Spotlight search function only offers options for the scope of the search as the entire Mac or the folder selected in the left sidebar. Once again, the workaround is similar, but tedious -- one can move the folder one would like to use into the left sidebar and then select it, but this makes more work and necessitates a clean-up step of removing the folder from the left sidebar afterward. It is once again the suboptimal choice and not even the simplest, most apparent design.
