SAVE TIME IN FINDER

TIDY UP THE SIDEBAR

You can drag default items out of the bar to remove them – wait for a cross to appear, then let go – and folders you want into the Favorites section. Recent macOS versions let you drag sections into the order you want.

MAKE SHORTCUTS ELSEWHERE

Aliases are another way to reach files and folders that you don’t want in Finder’s sidebar, or in the Dock’s right side. Drag one, hold AltCmd, and drop elsewhere to create a link to it.

TAG YOUR FILES

Tags also help when you need to quickly look up files. Ctrl-click a file (or a selection) and choose a tag from the menu (which you can set in Finder > Preferences > Tags). Or choose Tags to pick another, or create a new one.

FIND ITEMS BY TAG

Start typing a tag name in Finder’s search bar, and choose it from the suggestions to see all items tagged as such. To add a tag to the sidebar for instant access, click Show All, and drag a tag from the list to that section.

BRING FOLDERS TO THE TOP

If you’re methodical about filing in folders and, despite other shortcuts, often dig deep, go to Finder > Prefs > Advanced. For “Keep folders on top”, check “In windows when sorting by name” to more rapidly drill down.

SPEED UP SEARCHING

When you type in Finder’s search bar, by default it shows files from all across your Mac. Often click the name of the folder just viewed in the search options bar? You can make that the default in Finder > Prefs > Advanced.

REPLACE TEXT IN FILE NAMES

Select files, Ctrl-click one, and choose Rename to pick from three renaming schemes. Replace alters only names containing what you specify. Leave the second box blank to remove text.

MORE COMPLEX RENAMING

Add Text can prefix or suffix all names with a phrase you set. Format gives the files the same base name, prefixed or suffixed with a number, counter (with leading zeros) or time and date (in “DD-MM-YYY” at “hh. mm.ss” format).