Live: Mac Finder Views and View Options

In This Tutorial

Learn everything about the four Finder views in macOS, how to select and sort files, customize view options, use the desktop view, and even access Finder views in Open and Save dialogs. Get tips for choosing a favorite view and managing files efficiently.

Strengths and Weaknesses Of Each View (01:36)

• Icon View: 2D layout, great for visual organization; best for moving items freely
• List View: Spreadsheet-like rows with sortable columns; best for sorting and viewing details
• Column View: Shows folder hierarchy in columns; good for navigating nested folders
• Gallery View: Large preview with scrollable thumbnails; best for images and PDFs

Selecting Files In Each View (03:27)

• Icon View: Click to select; Command-click adds/removes; Shift-click selects ranges; drag a rectangle to select multiple
• List and Column Views: Command-click for individual files; Shift-click selects a range; Command-A selects all
• Gallery View: Works like a horizontal list; Shift-click for range, Command-click to modify selection

Sorting In Each View (07:45)

• List View: Click column headers to sort; click again to reverse; Control-click header to add/remove columns
• Icon and Column Views: Use View > Sort By; sorting locks positions until turned off
• Clean Up vs Sort: Clean Up is one-time; Sort By keeps items permanently arranged
• Groups: Use View > Use Groups to cluster by kind, size, or dates; Option-click headers to sort within groups

View Options (15:27)

• Open with View > Show View Options (Command-J)
• Icon View: Adjust icon size, grid spacing, text size, label position, show more info, change background color or image
• List View: Adjust icon/text size, choose columns, show relative dates, calculate folder sizes
• Column View: Toggle preview pane, auto-resize columns, show or hide icons
• Gallery View: Adjust thumbnail size, show preview and file info

Desktop View (21:34)

• Desktop is a separate “fifth” Finder view, always Icon View with unique layout
• Customize with Show View Options for icon size, text size, grid spacing, and Snap to Grid
• Supports temporary Clean Up, permanent Sort By, and Stack By for automatic grouping

Finder Views Outside Of the Finder (25:30)

• Open, Save, Import, and Export dialogs support Icon, List, and Column views
• Use Command-1, 2, 3 to switch views; Gallery View is usually unavailable
• Grouping and sorting settings persist between uses

Picking a Favorite and More Tips (27:01)

• List View allows unique multi-level selection and simultaneous access to files in multiple folders
• Use Command-A plus Command-Right Arrow to expand all folders; Command-Left Arrow collapses them
• Experiment with views based on your task; preferences may change as your work changes

Questions (28:57)

• Cleanup is a one-time snap-to-grid without locking sort
• You can change folder colors individually or globally in System Settings > Appearance
• Desktop supports Clean Up Selection and Stack By for organization

Summary

This tutorial covered the four primary Finder views, how to select, sort, and group files, and how to customize view options for each. It explored the unique Desktop view, showed that Finder views also appear in Open and Save dialogs, and shared tips for selecting a favorite view and working more efficiently with Finder windows.