Questions tagged [finder]
Mac OS X's default file manager and desktop shell
633
questions
144
votes
12
answers
101k
views
Enter to open a file in Finder
I find the Cmd + O shortcut to open a file in Finder unintuitive. Does anyone know how to change it? I'd like to set it so that enter opens a file instead of going into rename mode.
- 1,602
129
votes
12
answers
108k
views
How can I get an address bar in Finder?
I'm used to knowing where all my files are. Is there a way to get an address bar to show up in Finder in OS X (10.5+) like in Explorer in Windows or Nautilus in GNOME?
I also want to be able to copy ...
- 7,144
113
votes
3
answers
163k
views
Open folder for a given path in Mac OS X
Let's say I have a path to a folder in a text document or in the clipboard, for example:
/Users/Joe/Documents/workspace/test
How can I quickly open this folder in Mac OS X?
In Windows I could open ...
- 1,233
71
votes
4
answers
45k
views
Trying to unzip file
When trying to unzip a file, I ghet the following error:
Archive: file.zip
skipping: file.bla need PK compat. v4.5 (can do v2.1)
Can any one help?
- 813
67
votes
5
answers
30k
views
Make OS X's Quick Look work for custom file extensions
I find Finder's Quick Look feature (launched with Space) very useful, but it works only for a limited number of file extensions. In work I often get .properties, .conf, .ddl and other files which are ...
- 785
67
votes
14
answers
190k
views
Trying to delete directory with "rm -rf", but get message that it's not empty
I've tried deleting a directory using "rm -rf" and I'm getting the message "Directory not empty":
Bens-MacBook-Pro:please benjaminhocking$ ls -lart empty_directory/
total 16
drwxr-xr-x 5 ...
- 816
63
votes
16
answers
46k
views
Show hidden files on OS X except .DS_Store
I want to see all hidden files on my Mac except .DS_Store. Is there a way to do that?
- 899
63
votes
18
answers
89k
views
Easiest way to create a new text file in a Finder window on OSX
OK, so if I'm browsing directories in OS X Finder, what's the easiest way to create a new text file?
Right now I have to either open TextEdit, click around until I get to the same directory I'm in, ...
- 7,665
61
votes
1
answer
30k
views
How do you open a folder in OSX using the keyboard?
On Windows, pressing Enter when you highlight on a folder in Windows Explorer will open that folder.
Same on Linux.
On OSX, pressing Enter when you highlight a folder edits the folder's name (like ...
- 913
59
votes
6
answers
96k
views
How to merge (and not replace) folders when copying on the Mac?
There's a similar question about windows. This is the same, but for mac. By the way, it's odd there's no question on this yet, since it seems like it's the most hated thing on Mac OS X.
If I try to ...
- 5,904
58
votes
2
answers
66k
views
How to cut files on Finder on Mac OSX 10.9 Mavericks? [duplicate]
I can't cut files on Mac OSX 10.9 Mavericks after upgrade. I can only copy and delete them. Why? How can I fix this?
- 928
58
votes
1
answer
87k
views
How to auto-arrange/clean-up files for ALL folders in OSX Mountain Lion
I have figured out how to make folders auto arrange their contents. This is achieved in Finder->View->Show View Options (or cmd+J).
From the newly opened window, setting the arrange by dropdown will ...
- 795
42
votes
13
answers
28k
views
Copying and pasting the path within Finder
I've recently moved to the Mac from Windows as my primary machine. One feature I'm really missing is the ability to quickly navigate between folders. I used to do this under Windows by copying the ...
- 2,489
40
votes
4
answers
48k
views
How do I "cut" a file on OS X?
I'm a newbie on the Mac world and I'd like to know if it's possible to cut a file using a shortcut (like Ctrl+X on Windows).
- 514
40
votes
9
answers
76k
views
Create a symbolic link in the Mac OS X Finder
Is there a way to get the same functionality as the unix command ln -s in the Mac OS X Finder (OS 10.5)? I want to be able to create symbolic links while working in Finder windows without opening the ...
31
votes
6
answers
101k
views
How do I enable snap-to-grid by default on Mac OS X?
I'm setting up a new Mac, and when I drag icons on my desktop (or in Windows, if I switch them to icon view), the icons don't snap into place unless I hold the command key down.
I can't recall how ...
- 8,775
30
votes
2
answers
12k
views
Is it possible to turn off Mac OS X extension hiding?
On the Mac, a lot of programs hide the .zzz extension by default. Is there a way to turn this behaviour off so that extensions are never hidden by default?
I know I don't actually need it, I just ...
- 5,768
29
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Show hidden files in Finder but not on desktop with Mac OS X
I'd like to see the dot hidden files in the Finder but not on the Desktop, is that possible?
(.localized and .DS_Store on my desktop really annoy me.)
I'm using Snow Leopard (Mac OS X v10.6).
Matthieu
27
votes
3
answers
14k
views
"Show In Finder" won't open a new finder window
The "Show In Finder" action isn't working on Mac OS X Mountain Lion. The problem has just started to occur all the time, before it was a bit sporadic, but now it happens all the time.
Things that don'...
- 2,406
27
votes
8
answers
18k
views
How to open context menu in (MacOS) Finder with keyboard
I'm sure most of us here like doing thing as efficiently as possible and therefore we're a bunch of keyboard junkies.
With a file (or group of files) highlighted, is there a way to open the context ...
- 6,205
27
votes
4
answers
147k
views
Make Windows 10 File Explorer look like Mac OSX Finder's column view
I'm switching from a Mac to a PC with Windows 10. Is there anyway (either 1st party or 3rd party) to make the File Explorer in Windows 10 look like Finder's column view in Mac OSX?
Windows 10 File ...
- 400
25
votes
11
answers
23k
views
How do you sort files in OS X Finder so folders appear at the top?
How do you sort files in OS X Finder so folders appear at the top? There doesn't seem to be any option in View Options.
- 631
25
votes
1
answer
4k
views
What are "Paste Item Exactly" and "Duplicate Exactly" in Finder?
While holding Opt and Shift, the Finder menu items Duplicate and Paste Item become Duplicate Exactly and Paste Item Exactly. These require administrator permissions.
How are they different from the ...
- 110k
24
votes
11
answers
15k
views
How to use keyboard shortcuts to navigate the OS X Finder sidebar?
Is it possible to get focus on the Finder sidebar and be able to select an item within "device", "shared", "places" and "search for" only with the keyboard?
- 8,737
23
votes
8
answers
17k
views
How do you duplicate current open Finder view?
I often have a window where i want to drag and drop to a parent folder, and i need another finder window, so i open a new one and need to browse back to where the other window is ...
- 331
22
votes
4
answers
16k
views
How to go up a directory in Finder?
I'm coming from windows were there is a designated button to do this. Just click it and you can go "up" a directory.
I can no find a way to do this in macOS using Finder.
I'm running macOS - Mojave....
- 325
22
votes
2
answers
29k
views
Reset view preferences for all mac folders
I would like to reset the preferences for all my Mac OS X folders.
Is this possible?
- 556
21
votes
10
answers
47k
views
Permanently deleting files on Mac OS
A while back, as relatively new Mac OS X user, I was surprised to learn that you cannot easily delete files. Directly, that is, without moving them to the trash first. On Windows and Linux this can ...
- 5,760
21
votes
9
answers
32k
views
How can I increase the size of thumbnails when opening files?
This is the view I get when I want to upload a file to OS X' browser. I like the thumbnail view, but as you can see, they are too small.
I don't mind showing fewer pictures – I just want a bigger ...
- 386
20
votes
3
answers
15k
views
Mac OS X Finder - Creating New Folder with Right-Click in List View
I am aware that when using Finder in List view, I can create a new folder by right-clicking on an empty row, and pressing 'New Folder'.
However, when I happen to be browsing a folder with quite a lot ...
- 1,961
20
votes
3
answers
21k
views
Forcing Lion Finder to open in List View?
One of my favorite features in Snow Leopard was the fact that Finder would always open a new window in the "List View". Lion instead opens the multi-column view by default.
Is there any way I can ...
- 321
20
votes
4
answers
15k
views
Adding Folder to Finder Sidebar with Custom Name
I'd like to add a a shortcut to Finder's Places Sidebar. The folder's name happens to be Applications, so I want to give it a different name since there's already the standard Applications folder ...
- 24.6k
17
votes
9
answers
16k
views
MacOS X: How to have a handy "Open this folder in iTerm" shortcut?
I think the title states exactly what I want to do. I want a shortcut or even a button within Finder which fires up a new iTerm Tab and changes the location to the location I've open in Finder. Some ...
- 1,075
17
votes
2
answers
7k
views
OS X Lion new Finder view that doesn't allow sorting
In OS X, from Lion onwards, when I click on some of my folders in Finder and the title row of the files contains the usual stuff like "Date Modified" and "Size". However unlike the old Finder view I ...
- 1,372
17
votes
3
answers
18k
views
Is there any way to invert file selections on Mac OS X like we do it on Windows?
I'm Windows OS lover but recently I've got Mac Notebook as a gift. So now I just want to know if is there any option under Edit that lets me invert my selection? For example, I select only files that ...
- 113
16
votes
9
answers
22k
views
Finder Using Nearly 100% CPU
I'm having a problem where the Finder uses WAY too much CPU time. It's using up to 100% of one of my cores.
I'm running 10.6.2 on a MacBook Pro w/ 6GB of RAM, plenty of fast (SSD) disk space. I also ...
- 1,497
16
votes
8
answers
25k
views
How to execute a shell script with selected files/folders in finder?
I'm coming from Linux where it's easy to run a script against a set of files in nautilus or dolphin, but I was kind of surprised to see that this isn't easy in OSX.
Preferably, I would love to be ...
- 336
16
votes
3
answers
7k
views
How do I launch a bash script from Finder in OS X?
How do I launch a bash script from Finder in OS X?
I'm OK working at the CLI, but my little script is not so loved by my GUI-bound colleagues.
- 1,166
16
votes
3
answers
18k
views
Making the Backspace key go to the previous folder in Finder
Is there an way of modding OSX so that it behaves a little more like Windows 7. Specifically I really want to be able to press BACKSPACE and for Finder to show the previous folder... just like Windows ...
- 4,464
16
votes
3
answers
5k
views
How to tell where an item in the Trash came from?
The Mac OS X 10.6 Trash shows an option "Put back" for files that were trashed after installing 10.6. However, it does not show where the file will be put back to.
So: using Finder, is there any way ...
- 31.2k
15
votes
5
answers
40k
views
Sort All Files (any depth) within a Folder by Size
I have a folder full of folders and files. I want to sort files by size (so I could remove the largest files).
I know how to do that in Windows Explorer, but I can not find a way to do it in Mac OS X ...
- 4,817
15
votes
1
answer
6k
views
How to prevent applications on an external hard drive from showing up in the "Open With" contextual menu?
I have two hard drives on my machine (Lion). One contains the regular copy of OS that I use everyday, the one has a slightly older copy of the OS that I keep as a backup (in case the first drive stops ...
- 4,477
15
votes
4
answers
34k
views
How to use wildcard characters in Spotlight search?
I'm used to using the search window in Windows that provided the ability to use options such as:
Date of Creation/Modification
File Size
File Extension
Wild Card Characters
How can I search with ...
- 4,995
14
votes
2
answers
40k
views
How to access a shared drive from the command prompt on OS X
I have a shared drive called "music". It shows up in Finder without problems.
How do I access this from the command prompt on a Mac? I can't find it anywhere – is there a way to access it?
- 484
14
votes
4
answers
22k
views
How can I make Finder display video file duration?
I have to open the files in VLC to see what the file duration is which frankly is ridiculous due to Finder not showing any information, even if I look in Get Info there is nothing
Is there a way to ...
- 2,067
14
votes
5
answers
24k
views
Dropbox context menu missing in OS X
Problem
My Dropbox context menu is missing in OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.8). While the Dropbox service runs normally, Finder doesn't show the icons and also doesn't give me the ability to browse files ...
- 228k
14
votes
1
answer
9k
views
OSX: assign extension to content kind
Here I have a folder containing a bunch of *.mkv files (video, obviously) and *.srt files (subtitles, obviously). I want to keep them within one folder but I don’t want them to be mixed together. It ...
- 861
14
votes
4
answers
6k
views
How can I create a new folder within a nested folder hierarchy using Finder?
Here's a thing that's been annoying me for a long time: Using OS X 10.6, when you navigate through folders, expanding them to see their content, you sometimes want to create a new folder at the bottom ...
- 228k
13
votes
1
answer
24k
views
How to Set a Default Arrange Type in OS X Lion?
I'm having trouble setting a default arrange type in Mac OS X Lion.
I remember doing it in Snow Leopard very long time ago but I forgot it.
- 131
13
votes
1
answer
10k
views
What is the 'Stationery Pad' setting in OS X Finder?
In the OS X Finder, when I do a Get Info on a file I notice a checkbox for 'Stationery Pad' right above 'Locked' (see attached).
What does this do?
- 1,266