Jump to a higher folder

There are quick routes to get from the folder you’re viewing to higher levels of your Mac’s storage. ≈- click a Finder window’s title to see a list of parent folders all the way up to the top of your Mac, then click one to jump to it. Alternatively, choose View > Show Path Bar. This adds a bar across the bottom of Finder windows; double-click a folder to jump to it, or hold Alt and double-click a folder to open it in a new tab. You can also drag items from the main view to a folder in the bar to move them.

opening and saving

Need to open from or save in a folder that’s tucked away on your Mac? Got that folder open in Finder? Drag the folder from Finder’s main view or the icon in its title bar and drop it onto an Open or Save dialog to focus the dialog on that location.

Tag files and folders

Drag items onto a tag in the sidebar to apply it to them. Set the tags listed there in Finder > Preferences > Tags. Click the circle left of a tag there to assign a color. To apply other tags,

≈- click an item, pick Tags, then type; or click Show All and then click a tag.

Resize columns

In Column view, ≈- click a divider for options to resize: the column to the left to fit its longest item name; all columns individually by the same rule; or all columns equally to the longest name. (Or: Double-click; hold Alt and double-click; or hold Alt and drag.)

take a closer look

Select one or more items and press the spacebar to take a quick look at them, or choose View > Show Preview to add a column on the right of any view – even search results. You can scroll and zoom in on docs and pics. Drag the line to the left to resize the preview.