The Explorer 2D Mac OS

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If I have to name number one application that was driving me crazy when I switched to Mac the Finder would be the top contender. If you browse Apple forums you will often see questions like “is anyone else is frustrated with Finder” and “Why Finder is so weird”.

The truth is that Finder is not bad or weird, you just need to learn to use it properly, like a Pro.

Quartz 2D is the primary graphics library in Mac OS X and is based on version 1.4 of Adobe PDF. It supercedes QuickDraw, which was used in earlier versions of the Mac OS. In Quartz 2D the coordinate space is an abstract concept defined by real values in 2 dimensions. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4, released in September 1997, deepened the level of integration between the web browser and the underlying operating system.Installing version 4 on Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 and choosing Windows Desktop Update would result in the traditional Windows Explorer being replaced by a version more akin to a web browser interface, as well as the Windows desktop itself.

The first question that PC users ask when switching to Mac what is the equivalent of Windows Explorer on a Mac? The equivalent of Windows Explorer on a Mac is the Finder app. Finder is a file manager and it does everything that explorer does: browse folders, search, copy and delete files and folders, start applications and so on.This article explains how to configure the Finder to behave like Windows Explorer.

Are there any alternatives to Finder?
The following apps are considered to be alternatives to Finder:

TotalFinder from BinaryAge. It costs $12 and requires a system tweak to work.
XtraFinder from Tran Ky Nam. It has an unlimited trial and paid ($4.99) versions.
Path Finder from Cocoatech. It costs $40.
FinderPath from Bahoom. Free.
Marta from marta.yanex.org. Free.

Let’s now learn how to configure and use Finder.

Starting, Opening and Closing Finder

How to access Finder in Mac

The only way to access the Finder in Mac is by clicking on the leftmost icon in the Dock. Finder is a fundamental part of Mac Desktop so it is always the first icon in the dock, it cannot be removed or swapped places with other icons.

Often Mac users ask how to open Finder on Mac with a keyboard. Unfortunately, currently, there is no way to start Finder from the keyboard. It is possible to open a Finder window in a specific location with a keyboard, but only when Finder is active in the menu.

To activate Finder without clicking on its icon minimize all applications and then left click on the Desktop. If you see Finder option in the system menu (top bar) next to the Apple logo it means that Finder is currently active. Once active you can use keyboard shortcuts such Shift-Command-H to open the Home folder or Shift-Command-O to open Documents.

How to quit Finder in Mac

Unlike all other applications, the Finder app does not have Quit option in the menu. Since Finder is a part of macOS responsible for drawing the Desktop screen there at least one instance of Finder running all the time. If there are multiple instances of the Finder it is possible to close them all by clicking the red icon at the top left corner of the Finder window.

While quitting or hiding Finder is not an option, it is possible to relaunch the Finder. If there is a need to restart the Finder without restarting the Mac then start the Terminal and type the following command: “killall Finder”. This will kill all Finder instances and immediately start a new one.

How to open a new Finder window

There are three ways to open a new Finder window:

When Finder app is active use Command-N key combination.
Select New Finder Window option in Finder’s File menu.
Right click on Finder icon in the Dock and click on New Finder Window option.

How to switch between Finder windows

If there are multiple instances of Finder open then switch between them by right-clicking on Finder icon in the Dock and select the instance at the top of the context menu. Like with most applications in macOS use Command and ~ (tilde) keys to switch between Finder windows.

Tabs in the Finder

Tabs are another way to have multiple Finder windows.

To open a new tab use Command-T shortcut. Once more than one tab is open you can use plus icon at the right. To open a folder in another tab, select the folder and then click on a gear looking icon in the Finder toolbar and select Open in New Tab option.

And finally, the three key combination Shift, Command and Backslash will bring tab overview window from which you can see all open tabs and add a new one if needed.

To switch between tabs in the Finder use Command and number key. For instance, if you have 3 tabs open then Command-1 will make the first tab active, and Command-2 will activate the second.

How to Navigate in Finder

Finder window consist of 4 main parts:

Sidebar
Main window
Toolbar
Preview pane (hidden by default)

Sidebar

The Sidebar is probably where you start browsing in the most cases. It consists of Favorites, iCloud, Locations, and Tags.

To customize the Sidebar click on Finder window to activate it and then either use Command and comma(,) key combination or select Preferences option from the Finder menu. This will bring up the Finder Preferences window. Click on Sidebar tab and include or exclude things you want to see in the Sidebar.

If for any reason you don’t want to see the Sidebar pane at all you can show/hide it from the View menu or by using Option (Alt), Command and S keys.

Main Window

In this window, you can navigate between folders and perform the majority of operations on files and folders.

You can change the way the items appear in the main window by choosing from one of four possible options in the toolbar. You can see items as a collection of icons, as a list, in columns, and in the gallery view.

My favorite view is the list. When you switch to this view files and folder in the current directory will appear a table of items. By default, items will be sorted by Name. You can always change the sorting by clicking on the Sort icon.

If you sort the list view by None then it will display items in a tree view from which you can see all folders as a hierarchy.

Here are several tips when working with folders in the tree view.

To expand all folders hold Option (Alt) key and click on the little triangle in front of the top folder or use Option-Command-Right Arrow key combination.
To collapse all folders in the Finder hold Option (Alt) key and click on the little triangle in front of the folder or use Option-Command-Left Arrow key combination.

Navigating with Folders

To open a folder in Mac either double click on the folder name or select the folder and the use Down Arrow button while holding Command button.

If you want to go one level up then use Up Arrow while holding Command key.

If you want to go back in Finder to a previously opened folder use left and right arrow icons under red, yellow and green circles in Finder window.

You can always go directly to a specific folder by using Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G) option in the Go menu.

Creating new folders

To create a folder in the Finder first browse to the parent folder and open it. Then right click on free space inside the parent folder and select New Folder option (usually at the top) in the pop-up menu. The new folder will be created under the name of “untitled folder” which can be changed.

Current Path Tips

There are times when you need the full path of the file or the folder. By default, the full path is not visible, but there several tricks to reveal it.

How to show full path in Finder

There are two easy ways to show full path in Finder:

Hold Command key and click (or use right click) on the Title bar of the Finder window
Select Show Path Bar in Finder’s View menu. Once the option is enabled the full path will always appear at the bottom.

You can also use Option-Command-P key combination to show/hide the Path Bar.
You can quickly switch to any parent folder by clicking in Path Bar or Title.

How to copy the full path to the clipboard

To copy the full path of the folder or the file in Finder right click on the item to bring up a context menu. Now hold Option (Alt) key and the menu option Copy “foldername” will change to Copy “foldername” as Pathname. Clicking on this option will copy the full path to the clipboard.

Where is C drive on Mac

As you can see from the picture above the path in macOS goes as Macintosh HD > Users > UserName > FolderName.

PC users used to see C drive as the root of the folder hierarchy. In macOS the role of C drive performed by Macintosh HD.

If you want to create a logical drive equivalent in macOS you can do it in Disk Utility (for macOS High Sierra and later versions):

Start Disk Utility with Spotlight Search
Select Macintosh HD in the left pane
In the toolbar click on Partition
The Disk Utility will ask if you want to create Partition or APFS volume. Choose volume.
Enter the name of the volume, e.g. D-Drive. Do not click on Size Options. If not size is selected then volumes can grow until they reach the disk limit.

Working With Files

macOS supports most common keyboard shortcuts when working with files. Let’s go over them.

How to select multiple files and folders

To select a range of files first select the first file in the range, then hold Shift Key and click on the last file in the range. To select multiple files in random order hold Command key and then click on the files to add to the selection. To select all files in the folder use Command-A key combination.

How to copy and paste files

To copy files to another folder, first select the files and/or folders, then either use Command-C key shortcut or right-click and choose Copy option in the pop-up menu. Then, browse to the destination folder and then use Command-V shortcut to paste the files.

How to move files (cut and paste)

There is no Command-X shortcut in the Finder. To move (cut and paste) files and/or folders, first select the files, then either use Command-C key shortcut or right-click and choose Copy option in the pop-up menu. Then, browse to the destination folder and then use Option-Command-V shortcut to paste the files.

How to delete files and folders

To delete a file or a folder select it in the Finder and then use Command-Delete keyboard shortcut to send the file or the folder to Trash. To delete the file permanently use Option-Command-Delete shortcut and the file will be deleted forever.

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To restore deleted file from the Trash, double click on the Trash icon, find the file, right click on it and select Put Back option in the pop-up menu. The restore file will be put back to the original location.

How to rename a file

To rename a file in the Finder either hit Enter when the file is selected or right click on the file and choose Rename option in the pop-up menu. The name portion (before the extension) will change to edit mode. Type the new name and hit Enter.

How to create a new file

There is no button or menu option in the Finder to create a new file, so I wrote an extensive article on this topic you may want to check:
How to Create New File on Mac

How to batch rename files

Select the files to rename
Right-click on one of the files
Choose Rename N items… option in the pop-up menu
Use Add Text, Replace Text or Format options to batch rename files
Hit Rename button

Example 1: Adding text

If I want to add word original after or before the name of each file I have to choose Add Text option from the dropdown, type original and choose if I want to have it before or after the filename. Note that there is a preview which will show how the filename will change before renaming happens.

Example 2: Replace Text

If I want to replace word cup to mug in all selected files I can use Replace Text option.

Example 3: Number files

Let’s assume that you have pictures you took during your vacation on a cruise to the Bahamas and when you uploaded them from your camera they have names DSC001.jpeg, DSC0002.jpeg, etc. To rename them to Bahamas1.jpeg, Bahamas2.jpeg, etc. use Format option, type Bahamas in Custom Format, and hit Rename button.

How to find files in Finder

I wrote a very detailed article on this topic: How to find any file on Mac

How to show hidden files

To show hidden files (files started with dot or system files) use three keys Command, Shift and dot. To hide them again use the same keyboard shortcut.

How to open a file

To open a file in a default application either double click on the file or use Command and Down Arrow keys.

To open a file in a non-default application right click on the file and choose Open With option in the pop-up menu.

To change the default application for all files with specific extension first use Command-I shortcut to open file information dialog. Expand Open With section and select the new application. Click on Change All… button.

How to Preview files

One of the best features of macOS is the ability to preview almost any type of file. To quick look a file just hit Spacebar on the file and it will do what you expect it to do: show file contents if it’s a document, show images, play sound if it’s an audio file, play video if it’s a movie.

You can even quick look multiple files by selecting them and hitting a Spacebar. You can move between files using arrows or switch to a list view by hitting Command and Enter keyboard shortcut.

Alternatively, you can enable a Preview pane in the Finder by using Shift-Command-P shortcut or choosing Show Preview option in View menu. Once enabled you can move between files and see their contents in the Preview pane.

How to email a file as an attachment

To send a file to Mail application select the file in the Finder. Then click on “Share the select items” icon that looks like a square with an arrow and click on Mail. This will open a new email message with the file attached. Alternatively, drag the file from the Finder to the open email message.

Customizing Finder

Almost all parts of the Finder can be customized so you can configure the app the way you want it. Let’s review the most common customization tips below.

How to add to Favorites

To add a folder to the Favorites section in the Finder Sidebar first select the folder and then either use Control-Command-T keyboard shortcut or choose Add to Sidebar option in Finder’s File menu. To delete the folder from the Sidebar right click on it and choose Remove from Sidebar option in the context menu.

How to show hard drives

To show hard drives in the Finder Sidebar, go to Finder Preferences in the menu, select the Sidebar tab and enable Hard Disks checkbox under Locations. To show hard drives on the Desktop enable Hard Disks checkbox in the General tab.

Check Finder Preferences for all other things to show/hide in the Finder: file extensions, Documents, Desktop, Downloads folders, etc.

How to clear Recents folder in Finder

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Every time you touch a file or folder on your Mac the macOS remembers it in the Recents folder. While in most cases it is a very useful feature in some cases you wish to avoid being tracked.

It is not possible to clear Recents folder in the Finder because Recents is not an actual folder. It is so called a smart folder which is populated automatically based on the last accessed time of the file or the folder. Deleting an item in Recents will delete the actual file or folder. There is, however, a way to prevent some “sensitive” from being tracked.

To add a folder to a not follow list open System Preferences, click on Spotlight icon, click on Privacy tab, click on the plus icon and add all folders or entire disk to the list.

In case you need to hide Recents folder completely from the Finder go to Finder Preferences and uncheck it from the Sidebar configuration.

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Advanced Techniques

Open terminal in Mac

There are many instances when the Terminal needs to be opened with a specific folder. To open the Terminal app from the Finder, first browse to the desired folder, then right click on the folder and choose New Terminal at Folder option in the pop-up menu. To add a tab in the open Terminal window choose New Terminal Tab at Folder.

Using Finder tags

I wrote an article about organizing your files with colored tags on Mac which may be helpful for you.

That’s all. Please send me an email at [email protected] if you have any questions.

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