Finder Refresh - users don't see new items on a server share

A common occurrence with clients/users on Macs (an ongoing issue with Mac OS X and the Finder), is that when someone else adds new items (files, folders) on a network (server-based) sharepoint/folder/drive, other Mac users don't see those new items, they appear to be missing or "hidden," but they're not.

This is a long-standing issue with (shortcoming of) the mac OS Finder, in that it's not very good at picking up changes or auto-refreshing in response to underlying changes in a network-based volume. It can happen with OS X Server-based AFP, and various vendors' AFP or SMB server-based shares/network folders.

One thing we can easily do is create an AppleScript to prompt/prod the Finder to refresh. Save it as an application, store it somehwhere safe from accidential deletion (eg: /Library/CompanySupport) and then add it (drag and drop) to the top of a Finder window. Users can click on it to cause a Finder refresh.

Optionally, you can add a dialog stating that a refresh is happening.

The AppleScript content is below:

And with a dialog: