Speed up your Mac
Discover some clever ways you can navigate your Mac faster
There’s a number of ways you can customise the Finder to suit the way you work, making it quicker and easier to navigate.
Customise the toolbar
Ctrl-click on a Finder window’s toolbar and choose the Customise Toolbar option. You can then drag icons out of the toolbar, or drag them into it from the window that pops up. Use the pull-down menu in the bottom-left corner of this window to view the toolbar options as icons, text or both.
Customise the sidebar
The Finder window’s sidebar is also customisable. You can drag a folder into it and then click on it in the sidebar to open it. Just the thing for easy access to your current project. When you’ve finished, Ctrl-click on it and select Remove From Sidebar from the menu. You can remove connected drives from the sidebar in this way too.
Reorganise your desktop
In Finder, select Use Stacks from the View menu or press Ctrl+Cmd+0 (that’s a zero). This activates (and deactivates) Stacks, a feature that helps tidy your desktop. Your desktop files and folders are arranged neatly, with your files stacked according to type. Click on a stack to open it, and Ctrl-click on it for options.
Master Finder tabs and tags
You can use tabs in a Finder window, just like you do in Safari window. To open a tab, select an open Finder window and press Cmd+T. You can then drag an item out of one tab, and on to another. The other tab opens, and you can place it in one of the window’s folders.
Ctrl-click on a file or folder and you can add a tag by clicking on one of the coloured dots in the menu. Repeat the process to remove it again. You can then click on one of the tabs options at the foot of a Finder window’s sidebar, and view all the items you’ve tagged with that colour. Ctrl-click on one of the tag options in the sidebar and you can rename it.
Master aliases, proxy icons, and more
To make an alias, Ctrl-click on an item (file or folder) and select Make Alia
