Speed up Finder
Discover some clever ways you can navigate your Mac faster
THERE’S A NUMBER of ways you can customize the Finder to suit the way you work, making it quicker and easier to navigate.
CUSTOMIZE THE TOOLBAR
Ctrl–click on a Finder window’s Toolbar and choose the Customize Toolbar option. You can then drag icons out of the Toolbar, or drag them into it from the window that pops up. Use the pull–down menu in the bottom–left corner of this window to view the Toolbar options as icons, text or both.
CUSTOMIZE THE SIDEBAR
The Finder window’s Sidebar is also customizable. You can drag a folder into it and then click on it in the sidebar to open it. Just the thing for easy access to your current project. When you’ve finished, Ctrl–click on it and select Remove From Sidebar from the menu. You can remove connected drives from the Sidebar in this way too.
REORGANIZE YOUR DESKTOP
In Finder, select Use Stacks from the View menu or press Ctrl+Cmd+0 (that’s a zero). This activates (and deactivates) Stacks, a feature that helps tidy your Desktop. Your Desktop files and folders are arranged neatly, with your files stacked according to type. Click on a stack to open it, and Ctrl–click on it for options.
MASTER FINDER TABS AND TAGS
You can use tabs in a Finder window, just like you do in a Safari browser. To open a tab, select an open Finder window and press Cmd+T. You can then drag an item out of one tab, and on to another. The other tab opens, and you can place it in one of the window’s folders.
Ctrl–click on a file or folder and you can add a tag by clicking on one of the colored dots in the menu. Repeat the process to remove it again. You can then click on one of the tabs options at the foot of a Finder window’s sidebar, and view all the items you’ve tagged with that color. Ctrl–click on one of the tag options in the Sidebar and you can rename it.
MASTER ALIASES, PROXY ICONS, AND MORE
To make an Alias, Ctrl–click on an item (file or folder) and select Make Alias. This Alias (which is only 1KB in size) can then be moved anywhere you like. Double–clicking on it opens the original file, folder or app.
If you open System Settings and go to Accessibility > Display and turn on Show window title icons, you can get back the proxy icons that were removed with Big Sur. They’re not essential, though. Ctrl–click on the title of a Finder window to see the folder path and select a new folder from within it.
When you first save a new document or file, you get a save dialog window. Navigate to the folder you want to save it to or create a new one with the button in the bottom–left corner, and choose what format to save it to using the File Format menu. If you go to the File menu in the top bar and choose Save As, you can save your doc to a new location or in a new format even after you’ve saved it for the first time. Depending on the app, you might have to hold the Option key to get the Save As option.
USE THE PATH BAR
With a Finder window open, and in the View menu, choose the option Show Path Bar (or press Opt+Cmd+P). The window’s folder path is then shown at the foot of the window, and you can click on a folder shown within that path to open it. Simply repeat the procedure to then hide the Path Bar again.
MASTER QUICK LOOK
Quick Look is easy to use. Click on a file, folder or other such icon to highlight it and tap the Space Bar. A preview of the item appears. Tap the Space Bar again to close it. Select a group of files and press the Space Bar to preview them all at once. Depending on the type of file, you can open or share from the Quick Look menu.