The Finder is the first thing that you see when your Mac finishes starting up. It opens automatically and stays open as you use other apps. It includes the Finder menu bar at the top of the screen and the desktop below that. It uses windows and icons to show you the contents of your Mac, iCloud Drive, and other storage devices. It's called the Finder because it helps you to find and organize your files.
Open windows and files
In the Search Results window, in the Search Companion section, fill out All or part of the file name field. See the search tips section for tips on searching for files. If the computer has more than one hard drive, or you want to search a USB flash drive or CD/DVD, click the Look in drop-down list and select the appropriate drive. Search my Files gives users the possibility to filter the search results by date, file size, or attributes, include network drives in the scanning process, and exclude hidden and system directories. Open a Find Window (cmd-f) or do a spotlight search and select 'show all' Hit the little '+' icon (to the right of the 'save' button) Select File Type as a search criteria and select the correct one.
To access Spotlight, go to your Mac’s desktop and click on the search icon on the top right corner of the screen. Here, type the name of any file or folder that you are looking for. In no time, the system will start looking for suitable content with respect to the searched keyword.
To open a window and see the files on your Mac, switch to the Finder by clicking the Finder icon (pictured above) in the Dock. Switching to the Finder also reveals any Finder windows that might be hidden behind the windows of other apps. You can drag to resize windows and use the buttons to close , minimize , or maximize windows. Learn more about managing windows.
When you see a document, app, or other file that you want to open, just double-click it.
Change how your files are displayed
To change how files are displayed in Finder windows, use the View menu in the menu bar, or the row of buttons at the top of the Finder window. You can view files as icons , in a list , in columns , or in a gallery . And for each view, the View menu provides options to change how items are sorted and arranged, such as by kind, date, or size. Learn more about customizing views.
When you view files in a gallery, you can browse your files visually using large previews, so it's easy to identify images, videos, and all kinds of documents. Gallery View in macOS Mojave even lets you play videos and scroll through multipage documents. Earlier versions of macOS have a similar but less powerful gallery view called Cover Flow .
Gallery View in macOS Mojave, showing the sidebar on the left and the Preview pane on the right.
Use the Preview pane
The Preview pane is available in all views by choosing View > Show Preview from the menu bar. Or press Shift-Command (⌘)-P to quickly show or hide the Preview pane.
macOS Mojave enhances the Preview pane in several ways:
- More information, including detailed metadata, can be shown for each file. This is particularly useful when working with photos and media, because key EXIF data, like camera model and aperture value, are easy to locate. Choose View > Preview Options to control what information the Preview pane can show for the kind of file selected.
- Quick Actions let you easily manage or edit the selected file.
Use Quick Actions in the Preview pane
With Quick Actions in macOS Mojave, you can take actions on a file without opening an app. Quick Actions appear at the bottom of the Preview pane and vary depending on the kind of file selected.
- Rotate an image
- Mark up an image or PDF
- Combine images and PDFs into a single PDF file
- Trim audio and video files
To manage Quick Actions, click More , then choose Customize. macOS Mojave includes a standard set of Quick Actions, but Quick Actions installed by third-party apps also appear here. You can even create your own Quick Actions using Automator.
Use Stacks on your desktop
macOS Mojave introduces Stacks, which lets you automatically organize your desktop into neat stacks of files, so it's easy to keep your desktop tidy and find exactly what you're looking for. Learn more about Stacks.
The sidebar in Finder windows contains shortcuts to AirDrop, commonly used folders, iCloud Drive, devices such your hard drives, and more. Like items in the Dock, items in the sidebar open with just one click.
To change the items in your sidebar, choose Finder > Preferences from the Finder menu bar, then click Sidebar at the top of the preferences window. You can also drag files into or out of the sidebar. Learn more about customizing the sidebar.
Search for files
To search with Spotlight, click the magnifying glass in the menu bar, or press Command–Space bar. Spotlight is similar to Quick Search on iPhone or iPad. Learn more about Spotlight.
To search from a Finder window, use the search field in the corner of the window:
When you select a search result, its location appears at the bottom of the window. To get to this view from Spotlight, choose “Show all in Finder” from the bottom of the Spotlight search results.
In both Spotlight and Finder, you can use advanced searches to narrow your search results.
Force Delete File Mac
Delete files
To move a file to the Trash, drag the file to the Trash in the Dock. Or select one or more files and choose File > Move To Trash (Command-Delete).
To remove a file from the Trash, click the Trash to open it, then drag the file out of the Trash. Or select the file and choose File > Put Back.
To delete the files in the Trash, choose File > Empty Trash. The storage space used by those files then becomes available for other files. In macOS Sierra, you can set up your Mac to empty the trash automatically.
Search My Files For Macbook Pro
System Information User Guide
Search My Files For Mac Os
Find Large Folders Mac
Use the sidebar of the Storage pane to sort through items by category, see how much space is used, and quickly find documents, apps, books, movies, backups, and other files. Then delete what you no longer need.
Note: The categories you see vary, depending on the apps and files on your Mac.
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, click Storage, then click Manage.
Click a category in the sidebar:
Applications, Music, and Books: These categories list files individually. To delete an item, move the pointer over the file name, then click the Delete button .
Note: If you delete an item that you got from the iTunes Store, the App Store, or Apple Books using your Apple ID, the item is still in iCloud, and you can download it again.
Documents: See all the documents on your Mac. You can quickly view large files or downloads by clicking the corresponding button, and sort files by clicking Name, Kind, Last Accessed, or Size near the top of the window. You can also click File Browser to view the contents and amount of storage used by various folders in your file system.
Note: Some folders and files that are already represented by categories in the sidebar—other than Documents—are dimmed.
To delete a file, move the pointer over the file, then click the Delete button ; click the magnifying glass to view the file in the Finder.
iCloud Drive and Mail: These categories provide general recommendations for optimizing storage. To accept the recommendation, click the button.
iOS files: See iOS backup and firmware files listed individually. To delete an item, move the pointer over the file, then click the Delete button .
Trash: In this category, click Empty Trash to erase all the items in the Trash. Move the pointer over a file, then click the Delete button to delete an individual file.