Organize your files in the Finder on Mac
The Finder is your Mac’s home base for everything you’ve stored — files, folders, apps, and connected devices. To open the Finder, click its icon in the Dock. From there, the sidebar on the left gives you quick access to the places you go most: your Desktop, Documents, Downloads, iCloud Drive, and any locations you’ve pinned for easy access. To jump to a location, click any item in the sidebar. To customize the sidebar, choose Finder > Settings, then click Sidebar.
Browse and preview your files Switch views and use the Preview pane to see files without opening them. | Folders, tags, and Smart Folders Organize files with folders, color tags, and automatically updating Smart Folders. | Connect and sync devices Connect an iPhone or iPad and sync content directly in the Finder. |
Browse and preview your files
The Finder offers four ways to look at your files. To switch views, use the view buttons in the toolbar.
Icon view Displays files as large thumbnails, making it easy to identify content at a glance. Ideal for photos, graphics, and image-heavy folders. | List view Shows files in a compact list with details like size, kind, and date modified — useful when you need to sort or find a specific file quickly. |
Column view Displays folders and their contents side by side in columns, so you can navigate nested folders while always seeing where you are in the hierarchy. | Gallery view Shows a large preview of the selected file with a filmstrip of other items below. In Gallery view, you can also access Quick Actions — like rotate, markup, or create a PDF — directly from the preview. |
Whichever view you’re in, you can sort and group items to find things more easily. To keep folders at the top when sorting by name, choose View > Show View Options and turn on Keep Folders on Top. To group items by a shared attribute — like Date Last Opened, Kind, or Size — click the Group button in the toolbar and choose an option.
Tip: Turn on the Preview pane to see the contents of any selected file without opening it. Choose View > Show Preview.
Folders, tags, and Smart Folders
To create a new folder, Choose File > New Folder, or press Shift-Command-N, and give it a name. For files that live in multiple projects or categories, tags offer more flexibility — to add a color tag, Control-click any file, choose a color tag from the menu, and that file becomes instantly findable in the sidebar or via Spotlight, regardless of where it’s actually stored.
For even more powerful organization, create a Smart Folder. A Smart Folder automatically collects any file that matches rules you define — for example, all PDFs edited in the past month, or every file tagged “Work.” The files themselves don’t move; the Smart Folder just presents them together in one place. To create a Smart Folder, Choose File > New Smart Folder, set your criteria with the + button, and save it to the sidebar so it’s always up to date.
Want to learn more?
Control Center Quickly change settings like screen brightness, connect to Wi-Fi, and turn on Do Not Disturb. | Notification Center Get all of your notifications from apps like Messages and Mail, in one place. | Spotlight Search for anything on your Mac with Spotlight. |
Or if you’re ready for something new, check out how you can customize your wallpaper on your desktop to add a personal touch. Then, get familiar with Safari (the built-in browser on your Mac) by searching the web, take a screenshot using a keyboard shortcut, or download a new app to your Mac.