Get more from Files

Find the iOS file manager’s hidden features and extend its powers

Files is iOS ’s equivalent of Finder in macOS and enables you to browse files stored on your device or in iCloud Drive. You can add other cloud services too and — with the help of a third–party app — access files on Macs, PCs and network– attached storage (NAS) drives.

By default, the only locations in Files’ sidebar are iCloud Drive (assuming you’ve signed in to iCloud) and On My iPhone/ iPad. These two locations work a little differently from each other — as folders on your device’s storage are created and controlled by apps; you can’t move or delete them yourself, or add new ones. You can create folders in iCloud Drive.

The large pane on the right is where you browse within storage locations. Simply tap to open a folder or file. By default, this pane isn’t scrolled all the way to the top. Swipe down on it to reveal some extra options. Tap one of the attributes listed there — name, date, size or tags — to sort the pane’s contents by it. Tap the list icon to the right to switch between icon and list views, and the folder icon to the left to create a new folder (on iCloud Drive). Tap a folder to look inside it. The previous folder’s name appears top left. Tap it to go back there.

You can add third–party cloud services, such as Google Drive and Dropbox, under Locations in the sidebar. By default, you can’t add non–cloud storage, such as shared folders on your Mac or NAS, but we’ll show you a way around that.

To reveal options for an individual file, long–press it. A contextual menu will appear. For multiple files, tap Select, then tap the files you want to use. Options will appear at the bottom of the screen.

When browsing your iCloud Drive, you can delete folders created by apps, but you can’t move them. All the other options are similar.