How to open a folder in new Finder window (OSX)

Question

When navigated deep into a folder tree in OSX Finder, is there a way to select a particular folder and open it in a new instance of Finder?

This is done easily in Windows Explorer -- simply right click the directory and select "Explorer".

There are many reasons one might want to do this. For example, manually comparing two nearby directory trees.

I'm on OSX 10.6.8

Answer 1

First of all, I assume by "open it in a new instance of Finder", you mean open the location in another Finder window (there is only one instance of the Finder application).

There are a couple ways.

With a folder selected, press Control-Command-O to open it in a new window. This corresponds to the File > Open in New Window command. (I recommend just selecting the File menu in the Finder, and experiment by pressing various modifier keys (Shift, Control, Option, and Command) to see all of the different variations of commands). There is also File > Open in New Window and Close, which is Command-Option-O, but that's likely not what you want in this particular situation.

You can also go to View > Show Path Bar to make sure the path bar is shown at the bottom of the Finder window. Then right-click on one of the folders in the hierarchy and choose Open Enclosing Folder.

You can also turn on the option to "Always open folders in a new window" in Finder preferences, and then double-click on a folder to open it in a new window.