Jim had mentioned that sometimes when people are opening various windows, they sometimes "lose the hierarchy of the files."
Here's the tip: I always use list views. Set the list view to show the middle-sized icon in the "View Options..." selection in the "View" menu, in order to save space.
The large icons that many people associate with the Mac are pretty, but for speedy navigation, a list view is awesome. You can have it sort by file type, most recent date modified (useful for a downloads folder), file name, etc. just by clicking the word above the appropriate column in the window.
Another very useful feature of the list view is the ability to see the contents of a folder without opening the folder. Just click the triangle next to the folder and it gives you an instant hierarchical representation of the contents. Very efficient way to get your stuff organized, and you never have to wonder "is this "Preferences" window I have open the one for Netscape or Internet Explorer or Office, or Photoshop?" again.
I can never understand why 90% of Mac users still use the big icon view with the randomly placed folders and files. Nothing alphabetically ordered, etc. You're lucky to find anything in that type of organization sometimes.
