OS X Mavericks: Choose options for viewing items in Finder windows

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Choose options for viewing items in Finder windows

You can choose among four ways to view items in a Finder window: as icons, as a list, in columns, or in Cover Flow. To choose a view, you use the View buttons in the Finder window toolbar:

View Buttons

Choose view options for a Finder window

  1. Open a Finder window. (One way to do this is to click the Finder icon in the Dock.)
  2. Click each of the four view buttons to see which one you like. If the View buttons aren’t visible, choose View > Show Toolbar.
  3. Choose View > Show View Options, then try out the different options and menu items. Your changes take effect immediately, so you can see the results of your choices.
  4. To have this window always open in the view you’ve chosen, select the “Always open in…” checkbox.
  5. To have all of this window’s subfolders open in the view you’ve chosen, select the “Browse in…” checkbox.

    If a subfolder opens in a different view, choose View > Show View Options for that subfolder’s window, then deselect both “Always open in...” and “Browse in...”. The checkboxes must be selected for the main window, and deselected for the subfolders.

To reverse your changes, press the Option key, then click Restore to Defaults (not available in column view).

Set the default view options for multiple windows

For list view, icon view, and Cover flow, you can use your favorite set of view options as the default options for multiple Finder windows.

For example, if you set the view options for a window in list view, then click Use as Defaults, all windows in list view will have the options, while windows in icon view and Cover Flow are not affected.

  • Follow the steps under “Choose view options for a Finder window,” above. When you’re finished choosing options, click Use as Defaults (not available in column view).
  • To use the same view and view options for a window and all of its subfolders, select both “Always open in...” and “Browse in...,” then click Use as Defaults.

    If a subfolder opens in a different view, choose View > Show View Options for that subfolder’s window, then deselect both “Always open in...” and “Browse in...”. The checkboxes must be selected for the main window, and deselected for the subfolders.

To set the default view options for most windows on your Mac, open the window for your internal disk (usually named Macintosh HD), then follow the steps to set defaults.

Adjust the view as you work

As you work in a Finder window, you can adjust the view in several ways:

  • To organize the window in any view, click the item arrangement button, then choose one of the ways to group items.

    Item arrangement button

  • In icon view, to arrange the icons neatly, choose View > Clean Up.
  • In list view, column view, and Cover Flow, drag the line that’s between the column headings to resize the columns. To expand a column to reveal its longest entry, double-click the column divider.
Last Modified: Oct 20, 2015
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