HOW TO Customise the Finder
1 Viewing choices
There are several folder views – Icons, List, Columns, Gallery – that you can access by clicking the view button in the toolbar. To the right is the item grouping button, letting you group files by date, type, and more.
2 Deeper options
Click View > Show View Options to get deeper options. Here, you can tell Finder to always open folders in your current view (such as columns), adjust the icon size, and change how files are sorted and grouped.
3 Contextual options
Some view options change depending on the Finder view you are using. Gallery view lets you change the thumbnail size and add a preview column, while you can add a background picture or colour in Icons view.
4 Hide the toolbar
To get a minimalist look, click View > Hide Toolbar. This will strip out almost everything except your folder contents, including the sidebar and status bar. To bring the toolbar back, click View > Show Toolbar.
5 Add more buttons
You can add buttons by clicking View > Customise Toolbar, then dragging a button onto the toolbar. You can also add files or even apps by holding ç and dragging them to the toolbar until a green ‘+’ button appears.
6 Rearrange and remove
If your toolbar is looking a little overcrowded, hold ç and drag a button off the toolbar, then let go to remove it. You can rearrange items the same way – hold ç and drag your desired button to a new position.
7 Hide the sidebar
Just like the toolbar, you can hide the sidebar if it is in the way. Simply click View > Hide Sidebar, or View > Show Sidebar to bring it back. Note that this will not hide the toolbar, which must be done separately.
8 Add to favourites
The Favourites section lives in the sidebar. You can drag folders and disks to this section for quick access. To add an app here, hold ç and then drag it into place. To remove something from here, drag it out of the sidebar.
9 Collapse and expand
Sidebar sections can be collapsed or expanded. Hover over a section header until a downward arrow appears, then click it to collapse subsections. To expand, click the arrow again, which will be pointing rightwards.