10 Cool Finder Tricks for Mac You Should Use (2017)

It's easy to think of Mac's finder just as a file manager, merely in reality, it is so much more. The blue-and-white happy mac icon incorporates a plethora of tricks below its ever smiling face. Then whether you lot are a Mac newbie or a pro-user, I've got you covered. Today, I'll tell you near ten Finder tricks for Mac you should know:

one. Text Clippings

Film the scenario when you need to save a quote you're reading online. Your first instinct would be to select and copy the text, accompanied by pasting somewhere in a text editor and saving information technology. Why go through so much hassle when you can but select and drag the text to whatsoever Finder window or desktop? Yes, it's so natural that you lot wonder how could y'all have non known it.

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You can also save images from the web using the same elevate and drop play a joke on. The extension of the saved image would exist the same as that of the web image. In the case of text, the extension would be ".textClipping".Information technology may seem like a fancy extension, only it'southward merely a plain text file actually.

ii. Folders on Top

All this time, there was no inbuilt mode to sort folders on summit when sorting by proper name in Finder. This may seem fiddling, but collection a large number of people crazy. Finally, with macOS Sierra, you tin can keep folders on top, followed by files sorted by name.

Navigate to "Finder" (in the acme menu-bar) -> "Preferences" -> "Advanced"and check the option where it says "Keep folders on tiptop when sorting by name".

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To be honest, information technology feels a trivial embarrassing to acknowledge that information technology took Apple so long to finally bring this setting. Anyway, now that it'due south in that location, y'all should starting time using it.

3. Lock Files or Folders

Permit me tell you what this is not nigh: Locking your files with a password. Instead, it's about locking a file or folder to forbid accidental moving or deletion.

To lock a file/folder correct-click on information technology and click "Get Info". Check the box where it says "Locked". Your file/folder will at present display a small lock icon to indicate that it is locked.

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At present, if you try moving or deleting this file, it'll ask you for confirmation.

finder_for_mac_tricks3-2 This makes certain you practise not accidentally delete whatever important files. To unlock a file, just uncheck the same box in "Get Info".

4. Merge Open up Finder Windows

If yous have a lot Finder windows open around, your workspace could get a mess pretty soon. Luckily, there's an option which can re-organize all your open windows into tabs in a single window.

This is what information technology looks similar with three Finder windows opened:

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Now I only click on "Window" from the menu bar -> "Merge all Windows".

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This is how it looks like now. Pretty clean, eh?

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5. Quickly Jump to a File Path

Windows makes it super-like shooting fish in a barrel to directly navigate through a file path with the breadcrumbs feature every bit shown beneath:

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macOS has a similar functionality, though not in a very obvious way. In macOS, single tap with two fingers on the topmost window icon.

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From here, you tin can directly navigate to whatsoever location in the file path. The below picture should make information technology clear.

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vi. Remove Items From Trash Subsequently 30 Days

This feature is the result of Apple'south effort to bring better storage direction with macOS Sierra. As its name implies, when this little setting is checked, macOS automatically deletes files from your trash in 30 days. This can assistance to declutter all the files that take been lying around in the trash. Unfortunately, you cannot change the number of days, as of at present.

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Navigate to "Finder" -> "Preferences" -> "Advanced" and cheque the box where it says "Remove items from Trash in xxx days".

7. New Folder With Selection

Usually, when you lot need to motion multiple files, yous select the files, cutting them and paste in a new folder. macOS makes information technology two steps easier, eliminating the need to create a new folder and pasting in it. Select the files y'all desire to move. Right click on any of them and select "New folder with option".

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And so there you accept it, a single step process for moving files to a new folder.

8. Smart Folders

"Smart folders" is a rather underrated feature in macOS. These folders are actually virtual folders which save a search in a new Finder tab. It can be useful to organise your files and run across them in one place. For example, here I have saved a search to find all my MP3s files. This Smart Folder shows me all the MP3 files I've stored anywhere on my Mac, in one identify.

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To set up a Smart Folder, go to Finder's carte bar, click on "File" -> "New Smart Binder". finder_for_mac_tricks8-2

Click on the "+" push button next to the "Relieve" button. Type in any search criteria you need. Information technology could exist the file type, filename, filesize, date created or just about anything.

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Look at some of the filters y'all can ready-up:

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Y'all can add together as many search criteria every bit you similar, using the "+" icon. Next, click on the "Relieve" button to relieve your configuration.

9. Rename Multiple Files

macOS provides a robust solution for renaming multiple files. Select the multiple files, right-click on any of them and click "Rename X items".

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From hither on, you get almost every possible option to rename those files. You lot could add text, replace text or format information technology using your ain naming scheme. Information technology gives a whole lot of control on what and how to rename the files to.

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10. Keyboard Shortcuts

It's no secret that using keyboard shortcuts can dramatically meliorate your workflow. Apart from the usual Copy (Cmd+C) and Cut (Cmd+Ten), Hither are some useful keyboard shortcuts you lot tin can use in Finder:

Selection+Space : Opens an automatic slideshow of all the selected items.
Cmd+F : Search for files.
Cmd+Z : Undo the last operation.
Cmd+[ : Go dorsum in finder.
Cmd+] : Become forward in finder.
Cmd+del: Trash a file/folder
Switch Finder views (Icon, list, cavalcade, cover period) : Cmd+1, Cmd+2, Cmd+three, Cmd+iv respectively.
Cmd+T : Opens a new tab.
Cmd+W : Closes the tab.

You tin notice an exhaustive list of keyboard shortcuts over at Apple's site.

SEE Too: 8 Apple Mail Tips and Tricks for iOS and macOS

Ready To Use Out These Finder Tricks?

According to me, these are some of the best Finder tricks. Finder is an integral part of macOS and I promise you brand the most out of information technology with all these absurd tricks. What other Finder tricks do you use? I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below.