Getting Started with Finder on macOS Tahoe
The Finder is the first thing 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.
The Interface
The Sidebar
On the left side of every Finder window is the Sidebar. It is organized into categories:
- Favorites: Quick access to folders like Applications, Desktop, Documents, and Downloads.
- iCloud: Access to iCloud Drive and shared documents.
- Locations: Connected drives, external USBs, and network servers.
- Tags: Filter files by their assigned color tags.
View Modes
You can change how items are displayed by clicking the View buttons at the top of the Finder window or pressing Command + 1/2/3/4.
- Icon View (Cmd+1): Good for browsing images.
- List View (Cmd+2): Detailed list with columns for Date, Size, Kind.
- Column View (Cmd+3): Excellent for navigating deep folder structures. Clicking a folder slides a new column to the right.
- Gallery View (Cmd+4): Shows a large preview of the selected file with a strip of thumbnails at the bottom.
Navigation Tips
- Go to Folder: Press Command + Shift + G to type a specific path (e.g.,
/usr/local/bin). - Path Bar: Go to View > Show Path Bar to see the file path at the bottom of the window. You can double-click any folder in this path to jump there.
- Quick Look: Select any file and press Spacebar to preview it.
Related Guides
- Organizing Files with Tags and Smart Folders
- Switching from Windows to macOS Tahoe