How to set the default finder folder on your mac

– Feb. 25th 2019 12:01 am PT

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By default, a new Finder window on a Mac opens to your most recent files. This isn’t always ideal as you may be looking for a specific file or folder created a while ago. Follow along to learn how to set a default Finder folder on Mac.

How to set a default Finder folder on Mac

1. Open a Finder window.
2. In the menu bar, click on Finder and then Preferences. (You can optionally use the ⌘ + , shortcut.)
3. Under the General tab in Finder Preferences, find New Finder windows show: and click the drop down menu.
4. Select from a predefined list of folders, or click Other towards the bottom to specify a folder.

Now, when you open a new Finder window, it will open the folder you’ve just selected versus recent files.

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It’s likely that your first Mac interaction started by opening a new Finder window and that you’ve probably done something in Finder sometime today as well. For most people, Finder continues to be one of the most used and useful macOS features.

Remarkably, Finder is the default folder Mac management system that has been integral to macOS since the very beginning of its graphical user interface in 1984. You can easily recognize it by the irreplaceable Happy Mac logo. Finder is also always the first icon in your Dock, from which it can’t be removed.

While Finder’s utility can’t be disputed, it’s precisely for the reason of it being so iconic that it is slow to change. There are lots of ways in which Finder could be streamlined but Apple isn’t likely to make those changes anytime soon. So we need to take matters into our own hands, starting with how to change default documents folder in Finder.

Why Change Finder’s Default Folder?

When you click on the Finder icon in your Dock right now, it opens a new window called Recents on your Desktop, showing all the files you’ve recently interacted with. This, however, might not be optimal for most people most of the time. Some might want to see the Desktop folder open up or Downloads, or even something completely custom. What if it’s preferable for you to direct folders to default in Finder as you change your daily workflow?

Good news is macOS does give you an option to choose a default folder Mac would have to work with. In fact, it’s quite easy to set Finder to open with a folder of your choosing at any time.

How to switch the default folder in Finder

If you’ve been reluctantly working with the Recents Finder folder for years, you’d be happy to know that you can change this default right now:

1. Make sure that Finder is active either by clicking on your Desktop or Finder’s Happy Mac logo
2. Open Finder ➙ Preferences (⌘ + ,) from the menu bar
3. In the General tab, find the “New Finder windows show:” dropdown and select one of the suggested options

If you want Finder to open a custom folder by default, pick Other… from the dropdown, find the folder you’re looking for in the dialog window, and click Choose.

How to make Finder on Mac better

Since you’re already working on tweaking your Finder experience, there are a few more things you can easily improve at the same time.

For example, by default, Finder doesn’t show you a path of nested folders, so there’s no way for you to know where your current folder is located on your Mac. To change this:

1. Make sure you have a Finder folder in active state
2. Go to View ➙ Show Path Bar in the menu bar

Now at the bottom of every folder you’ll see the exact path, starting at the root of your hard drive. To quickly navigate between those folders, just double-click on any of them.

If you’re annoyed that every time you try to search something within any folder using its search bar Finder starts to search your whole Mac instead, you can fix this too:

1. Go to Finder ➙ Preferences (⌘ + ,)
2. Navigate to the Advanced tab
3. Set “When performing search:” to “Search the Current Folder”

While you’re still in the Advanced tab of Finder Preferences, you can choose to make sure that your folders are always sorted at the top of any folder. To do this, check “In windows when sorting by name” under the “Keep folders on top:” option.

Finally, if you find your Finder sidebar filled with stuff you never use, such as tags, Bonjour computers, and so on — you can clean it up in seconds:

1. Open Finder Preferences (⌘ + ,)
2. Switch to the Sidebar tab
3. Uncheck anything you don’t want to see

How to add more Finder functionality

Even with all the improvements above, Finder functionality remains quite limited and it’s unlikely that Apple will change that anytime soon. So if you were thinking of making Open and Save dialog windows more useful to you, for example, you need a third-party app to do it.

Default Folder X is the most advanced solution for those who want to upgrade Finder’s functionality. This utility lives in your menu bar and gives you quick access to your favorite Finder folders, most recent files, Mac defaults, and much more. At the same time, Default Folder X expands Open and Save windows with some new amazing features that let you copy and move files across folders, customize recent files on the fly and even edit them without opening, right from the dialog box.

Most importantly, Default Folder X adapts to your specific workflow in the Finder window. Productivity lies in small tweaks, and people who spend a lot of time shuffling files around (e.g. photographers) will find this app worth its weight in gold for letting set custom shortcuts, for example, thus saving hours every week.

As you can see, even though Finder direct folders have some robust functionality, you can make it even better when you change default documents folder to anything you use more often or show folder path or make Finder search within just one folder or expand your Open and Save dialog windows with Default Folder X.

Best of all, Default Folder X is available to you absolutely free for seven days through the trial of Setapp, a platform with more than 200 outstanding Mac apps that significantly expand the default capabilities of macOS, from mounting cloud drivers locally (CloudMounter) to precisely managing windows in Mission Control (Mission Control Plus). Try every one of them at no cost today and see how much more productive you can be!

Khamosh Pathak is a freelance technology writer who specializes in tutorials. His work has also been published on Lifehacker, iPhoneHacks, Zapier’s blog, MakeUseOf, and Guiding Tech. Khamosh has nearly a decade of experience writing how-tos, features and technology guides on the internet. Read more.

Finder is your window to the Mac file system. Every time you open Finder, it defaults to the Recents folder. But if you usually save your work in a different folder, you might want to change the button’s default behavior.

First, open the Finder app by clicking on the button in the Dock that looks like a face. From the menu bar, click on the “Finder” option. Next, click on “Preferences.” Alternatively, you can use the “Command+,” (Command key and the comma) keyboard shortcut to quickly open the Preferences window.

In this window, select the “General” tab and then locate “New Finder Window Show.” Click on the drop-down menu below the option.

From here, you can select from a list of pre-defined options. You’ll find the iCloud Drive, Desktop, and Documents folders here.

You can also click on the “Other” option and choose any folder from the file directory (for instance, the Downloads folder).

Browse through the file directory and select the folder you want as the default. Then click on the “Choose” button.

You’ll be taken back to the Preferences menu with your selection as the new default folder for the Finder app. The next time you open the Finder app, it will open whichever folder you selected.

Now that you’ve improved your Finder opening experience, take a look at some other ways to make Finder suck less on macOS.

If you often work with files in a specific folder, then it’s worth designating the folder as the default folder with which every new macOS window automatically opens.

But first, a reminder not to confuse the Finder with the Desktop. The Finder is the first thing that 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. The Desktop is the space where you see file, folder, and application windows.

Okay, back to setting a default folder for the Finder.

Here’s how:

• Click on the Finder.

• Go to the Finder menu bar item in the top left corner of your Mac’s screen and select “Preferences.”

• In the Finder Preference, click “New Finder windows show:” to access the dropdown menu.

• The default location is “Recents,” but you can alter this by selecting “Other.”

• Browse to the location of the default folder you wish to implement and click “Choose.”

You can also choose to have folders open in new windows instead of tabs. To do this, unlock the “Open folders in tabs instead of new windows.”

These instructions apply, for the most part, to other versions of macOS besides Catalina. However, I’m using Catalina on a 16-inch MacBook Pro for this tutorial.

By default, Apple makes you visit the Recents folder whenever you open a new Finder window. If this isn’t the folder you want to see when you open Finder, you can change it.

Here’s how to change the default Finder folder on your Mac.

How to make any folder the default one in Finder

I usually have my Finder window default to the Desktop whenever opening a new window, but you can use the following tutorial to designate any folder of your choice as the Finder default. Perhaps you like to start work from the Documents folder, or some other work-designated folder. No sweat, you can change it by doing the following:

1) Open Finder.

2) Click Finder in the menu bar and select Preferences.

3) Under the General tab, find the New Finder windows show heading, and use the drop down box to select a preferred default Finder window location. If your preferred location isn’t already listed, you can use the Other option to navigate to a specific spot on your Mac.

While we’re at it, you might as well click the Sidebar tab at the top of the Finder Preferences window. Then, uncheck any folders under the Favorites heading that you no longer want to display in the Sidebar.

It only takes a second, but you’d be surprised at how many people keep using the Finder with its default out of the box settings. Change your Finder default landing location, and make your workflow that much smoother. After that, be sure to share any suggestions, thoughts, or opinions down in the comment section that follows.

By default, Finder on macOS opens to the Recents folder. But, if you usually work in a different folder, you can change the folder that opens when you open Finder.

Finder is your access to all your files on your Mac. By default, Finder opens to the Recents folder. But, if you usually work in a different folder, you can change the folder that opens when you open Finder. We’ll show you how using a simple setting in Finder.

Set Default Folder that Opens Finder

You can either open Finder by clicking the app icon on the Dock that looks like a face. Or, you can simply click on an empty area of the desktop to activate Finder.

Then, select Preferences from the Finder menu or press Command + , (the Command key and the comma).

On the Finder Preferences dialog box, click General on the toolbar at the top.

Click on the New Finder windows show drop-down menu.

A list of predefined options displays. If you want to open one of these locations, select the option you want.

If the folder you want is not in the predefined list, select Other.

Browse through the locations on the dialog box and select the folder you want to open by default.

Then, click Choose.

You’ll be returned to the Finder Preferences dialog box and your selection displays in the New Finder windows show drop-down list. Close the dialog box.

The next time you open Finder, your chosen folder will open automatically.

I have a MacBook Pro with Big Sur 11.1 and I found this:

But in Big Sur I don’t have the “set as default” option in the finder window. What do you in Big Sur?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.1

Posted on Jan 16, 2021 10:40 PM

Helpful answers

• Helpful answers
• All replies

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. It looks like you’re having a question about view options in the Finder on Big Sur, and we’d be happy to get your questions answered.

To get started, please check out this helpful link:

We hope this information is useful. Kind regards.

Jan 18, 2021 3:37 PM

There’s more to the conversation

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Welcome to Apple Support Communities. It looks like you’re having a question about view options in the Finder on Big Sur, and we’d be happy to get your questions answered.

To get started, please check out this helpful link:

We hope this information is useful. Kind regards.

Jan 18, 2021 3:37 PM

I looked through the link and it was somewhat helpful. Still, I was unable to find a solution to *quickly* changing all the folder and subfolder options to one setting. Instead I had to go to each folder individually and change them to my preferred setting. I want column and sorted a certain way and the link says it will change *all* folders but it doesn’t. I’m wary of running the script that the old solutions suggest as it is a new OS and I don’t want to inadvertently delete files. Also, I’m not sure this will remain the way the folders always show things. If someone has a cleaner solution to the question that applies to Big Sur I would like to keep this question unsolved to find a better answer eventually.

Feb 23, 2021 11:51 AM

While I personally can’t imagine why anyone would want to default to the Column View, I suppose that there are a few million people out there in the world who would like to do so. However, the software feature allowing us to do it has not been written.

Thus there is no ability to set Column View as the default, to set the persistent grouping and sorting for any folder seen in a Column View other than the one you happen to be looking at, and you should forget about having settings affect child folders that you happen to pop into from aliases and such.

I guess some software really is too difficult to write, even for the crafty wizards of Cupertino! It’s a shame though, because I get so tired of having to force my Mac to do what I want on a daily basis, just to make navigation easier for me. But perhaps I’m not as important a customer as those who want to default to Icon View. It’s like we’re the Hatfields and McCoys.

Feb 23, 2021 4:35 PM

Chalk it up to another weird fetish, I suppose. I guess I won’t suppose my preference deserves special editing from the slave coders that write script in the dark closets in Taiwan that Apple bought last market bubble to fund their wild attempts at a OS that will withstand a month-long build without wiping. I may just submit to the financial load and run Ubuntu and try and find an agreeable sudo chain for my odd inclinations. At least their mascot is a penguin.

Feb 23, 2021 5:12 PM

It used to be possible to set a default view. SO again software moves backward. I prefer to have column view as default. It is really annoying that this option to set the default has been taken away.

Mar 31, 2021 7:14 AM

Question: Q: Big Sur 11.1 Change default Finder organization settings for all folders More Less

By Chaitanya | Filed Under: Mac

Do you want to open a specific folder when you open the Finder? If yes then this post is for you. When you open the Finder window, it shows you “All My Files” by default, however you can change this to any folder of your choice. For example, you can set the default folder to Applications folder or Documents or Download or any other folder of your choice. All you have to do is follow the steps –

1. Open Finder
2. Go to the top menu ❯ Click Finder ❯ Click Preferences.
   
3. In Finder Preferences click the dropdown, it would show you the popular folders, you can select one of them or if you want to choose any other folder you created then choose Other
   
4. Select the Folder and click Choose.
   

That’s it. From now on the Finder will open the selected folder when you open it. You can test the same.

In macOS, you can set the default sorting behaviour for the Finder App, so that you do not need to manually change it for every folder in the system.

Procedures

• First, open the Finder App.
• You can browse to the “View” section on the top menu and select “Show View Options”.
• OR right-click anywhere in the application and select “Show View Options”.

• Change the “Sort By” settings to your desired option.
• Remember to click “Use as Defaults” to save and apply the changes.

Occasionally, some folders, that have the old .DS_Store file, will not use the new settings. If that is the case, you can open the same View Options panel.

• Hold the Option key on the keyboard.
• The “Use as Defaults” button will become “Restore to Defaults”.
• Click the button to reset the folder’s sorting preferences.

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No one actually sorts files anymore, so Finder is essential—but it could still be better.

Finder is your path way to all the files on your Mac. Sure, you could (and sho uld) use Spotlight to quickly find and open files. But when it comes to actually managing and working with files, folders, and documents, the Finder app is essential—especially since none of use know how to create a folder hierarchy anymore .

Finder does a really good job of helping you organize files. But there are certain things about it that could be improved . What if every new Finder window didn’t open to display the Recents folder? What if you could easily see the detailed path for a given folder? Well, you can: Here’s how to customize what you see in the Finder app.

How to customize the sidebar in Finder

The sidebar is where you’ll probably start interacting with the Finder, so you should take some time to add the things you want to see there and remove what’s cluttering it up .

Go to Finder > Preferences > Sidebar. From here, select the things that you want to show or hide. For example, you can remove the Tags section, limit the Locations items, and prune down the Favorites section .

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After you have done that, navigate to some of your frequently used folders and drag them to the Favorites section so you’ll always be able to access them easily.

How to change the start folder for Finder

The Finder launches with the Recents folder ready to go. This may not be useful for you —if you store all your files in the Downloads or Documents folder, it might be better to use one of those as a starting point.

Go to Finder > Preferences > General > New Finder Windows Show. Here, choose any folder to serve as the default when you open a new Finder window.

How to show the path bar in Finder

The path bar is a feature that every Finder user should enable. It gives you a sense of where exactly you are in a file directory. Go to View > Show Path Bar to enable it.

You’ll now see the path for every folder at the bottom of the Finder window. You can click on any folder from the path to navigate to it. You can also quickly copy the full pathname. by -clicking on a folder from the path, and choosing the “Copy as Pathname” option.

If you don’t want to always see the file path, you can choose to display it selectively ; just right-click on the file or folder name at the top of your Finder window to see a list of all the folders or files your current file/folder stems from.

How to show the status bar in Finder

By default, t he status bar in Finder only does two things: It shows you how many items there are in a folder (and how many are selected), and how much space is left on your Mac. That’s generally good info to have, however, so i t ’s worth it to spend a little bit of space to enable it at the bottom of the Finder window. To do so , go to View > Show Status Bar.

By default, when you use the Search feature in Finder , it has the eerie habit of searching your entire Mac instead of only searching the current folder. Thankfully, you can make Finder always search the current folder by changing a setting on your Mac.

RELATED: What Is Finder on a Mac?

When Finder uses the default setting, you need to switch to the current folder from the top toolbar every time. This can get quite annoying.

You can change this behavior from the Finder preferences.

First, open the Finder app. You can click the Finder icon from the Dock, or you can use the Spotlight Search feature .

Next, from the top-left corner of the screen, select the “Finder” button from the menu bar. Then, choose the “Preferences” option.

Navigate to the “Advanced” tab from the top.

Here, click the dropdown below the “When Performing a Search” setting and choose the “Search The Current Folder” option.

And you’re all set. The next time you go to a folder in Finder and start searching, it will default to searching in the current folder.

If you want to search all directories instead, just choose the “This Mac” option from the Search toolbar.

Don’t like it when Finder opens the Recents folder every time you launch the app? Here’s how to change the default folder in Finder .

RELATED: How to Set the Default Finder Folder on Your Mac

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The macOS Finder is a handy utility, but it may serve you better if you customize how it looks. Here are several tips on changing the look of Finder!

Finder looks good by default but you don’t have to live with it if you don’t like its style. macOS actually allows you to change the look and feel of Finder, so that the default Mac file manager looks exactly the way you want.

There are actually many aspects of Finder that you can tweak to make its appearance more to your liking.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can customize Finder in macOS.

Using System Preferences to Change Finder’s Look

Changing color schemes is the most basic customization you can apply to Finder. This allows you to change the title bar as well as the highlight color for your file manager.

To access these options, head into System Preferences and click General.

You’ll find Appearance at the top of your screen. Change the dropdown next to this item to select a new color scheme for macOS, including Finder.

Next up is the color that Finder uses to highlight your selected files or folders. Click the dropdown menu next to Highlight color and choose a new color from the list.

In addition to the above, there are a few other options as well that you can tweak to change the appearance of Finder on your Mac.

Hide Various Elements in Finder

Finder shows various items like sidebar, toolbar, path bar, and status bar in its windows. These options let you quickly jump to various places on your Mac. However, if you don’t use them, they don’t deserve a place in your Finder windows.

You can actually hide these items from appearing in Finder, and this way Finder will look less cluttered.

Hide the Sidebar

Sidebar usually contains your Mac drives, connected servers, and some of the main folders on your Mac. If you don’t need to access these items, you can hide the sidebar from appearing in your Finder windows.

Click the View menu at the top and select Hide Sidebar to remove the sidebar from Finder.

Hide the Toolbar

The toolbar appears at the top of your Finder windows, and this offers some basic viewing options for your files and folders. If you don’t use this toolbar, you can remove it from Finder.

Select the View menu at the top and click Hide Toolbar. If you’re only looking to remove certain items from the toolbar, click the Customize Toolbar option in the View menu instead.

Hide the Path Bar

The path bar appears at the bottom of your Finder window displaying the full path to your current folder. If you don’t use paths, you can safely remove this bar.

Click View > Hide Path Bar from a Finder window to hide this bar.

Hide the Status Bar

The status bar shows the items you’ve selected as well as your Mac storage information (there are apps for macOS to get detailed storage info). Most users don’t need this information, and if you’re one of them, here’s how to remove this bar.

Click the View menu and select Hide Status Bar. You’re all set.

Change the Folder Icon in Finder

Finder uses the same icon for all your folders but you can change this icon for your selected folders.

Keep the new folder icon ready on your Mac, and then follow these steps to change the icon for your folders:

1. Open your image in Preview, click Edit, and select Copy.
2. Right-click the folder you want to change the icon for, and select Get Info.
3. Click the current folder icon at the top, and press Command + V on your keyboard.

Your image should replace the existing folder icon.

Change the Default View Mode in Finder

Finder gives you four modes to view your files, and you can switch to any mode by just clicking an icon in the toolbar.

If you use a specific mode with certain folders, you can actually make that mode the default view mode for that particular folder or folders.

Here’s how you do that:

1. Open your folder and select the view mode you want to make the default.
2. Click the cog icon in the toolbar and select Show View Options.
3. Tick Always open in option at the top.

Customize How Items Are Displayed in a Finder Window

There are several options that you can play with to change how your folders, their icons, text styles, and other elements appear in Finder. You can access these options by right-clicking a blank area in a Finder window and selecting Show View Options.

From the newly opened panel, you can change your icon size, font size, hide certain elements, and even change the background color for Finder.

Add and Remove Tags in Finder

Tags make it easier to find relevant files in Finder. You can both add new tags as well as remove existing tags from Finder.

This helps make Finder more personalized, and here’s how you do that:

1. Open a Finder window, click Finder at the top, and select Preferences.
2. Click the Tags tab.
3. You can tick a tag to add it to Finder, or you can untick a tag to remove it from Finder.
4. To add a new tag, click the Add (+) icon at the bottom.
5. To delete a tag, select the tag in the list and then click the Remove (-) icon at the bottom.

Choose What Appears in the Finder Sidebar

Like tags, you can customize the items that appear in your Finder’s sidebar. This allows you to add as well as remove items from your sidebar.

1. Click Finder at the top and select Preferences.
2. Click the Sidebar tab.
3. Tick the items that you’d like to see in the sidebar.
4. Untick the items you want to remove from the sidebar.

The changes are instant and you don’t need to click any buttons to save your settings.

Personalizing Finder on Your Mac

Finder is no doubt an extremely useful utility, and you can make it even more useful by customizing its various aspects as shown above. This helps you make Finder look and work exactly the way you want.

To make things even faster, you should take some time to learn a few Finder shortcuts to quickly get things done with just a few key presses.

A printable cheat sheet containing the most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts you’ll ever need.

Mahesh is a tech writer at MakeUseOf. He’s been writing tech how-to guides for about 8 years now and has covered many topics. He loves to teach people how they can get the most out of their devices.

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By default, Finder on macOS opens to the Recents folder. But, if you usually work in a different folder, you can change the folder that opens when you open Finder.

Finder is your access to all your files on your Mac. By default, Finder opens to the Recents folder. But, if you usually work in a different folder, you can change the folder that opens when you open Finder. We’ll show you how using a simple setting in Finder.

Set Default Folder that Opens Finder

You can either open Finder by clicking the app icon on the Dock that looks like a face. Or, you can simply click on an empty area of the desktop to activate Finder.

Then, select Preferences from the Finder menu or press Command + , (the Command key and the comma).

On the Finder Preferences dialog box, click General on the toolbar at the top.

Click on the New Finder windows show drop-down menu.

A list of predefined options displays. If you want to open one of these locations, select the option you want.

If the folder you want is not in the predefined list, select Other.

Browse through the locations on the dialog box and select the folder you want to open by default.

Then, click Choose.

You’ll be returned to the Finder Preferences dialog box and your selection displays in the New Finder windows show drop-down list. Close the dialog box.

The next time you open Finder, your chosen folder will open automatically.

The Finder is the main way you explore your Mac – it’s how you find folders, launch files and apps, and how you delete unwanted items.

To help you explore macOS’ file system, the Finder gives you several ways to view its contents. If you select “View” from the Finder menu bar, then you can choose to display its files, folders and apps as either Icons, Columns, Lists or as a Cover Flow. Each of these views is better suited to displaying a different kind of content, for example “Cover Flow” is perfect for viewing folders that contain images, as it displays a thumbnail preview of each image, whereas “List” is better suited to folders that contain a large number of files.

However, there’s one major drawback to Finder views: by default, your currently-selected view is a master setting that’s applied across every part of your file system. Just because you want to view your “Pictures” folder as a Cover Flow, doesn’t automatically mean you want to view the contents of your “Spreadsheets” and “Applications” folders as a Cover Flow, too.

Wouldn’t it be be easier, if you could apply a different default view, to each folder?

In this article, I’ll show how to set different Finder view preference for different folders, so that each folder is automatically displayed in the best view for its specific content.

Set the default Finder view

To start, let’s set a default view that’ll be used whenever you open a folder that doesn’t have a unique view assigned to it:

• Open a new “Finder” window.
• Navigate to any folder on your Mac.
• Open the “View” dropdown and choose the view that you want to use as your default, such as “as Columns” or “as Cover Flow.”

• Select “View > Show View Options” from the Finder toolbar.
• Click the “Use as Defaults” button.

Assign a different view to each folder

Now we have our default, let’s take a look at how you assign a specific view, to a specific folder:

• Open the folder in question.
• Select “View” from the Finder’s menu bar, and then select the view that you want to assign to this particular folder.
• Select “View > Show View options” from the Finder menu bar. This launches a new menu.
• Find the “Always open in (this) view” checkbox, and select it.
• Find the “Browse in (this) view” checkbox, and select it.

Now, every time you open this folder, Finder will display it in your chosen view.

Got carried away? Easily restore the Finder’s default settings

While assigning unique views to each of your folders can help you spot the items you want, it’s easy to get carried away. If it gets to the point where every folder is opening in a completely different view, then it can make for a jarring and confusing browsing experience.

Rather than going through each folder and changing the view manually, you can reset the folder settings across your entire file system, by deleting your Mac’s .DS_Store files. These files contain information about how each of your folders should be displayed, so deleting them will restore your Finder to its default settings. The .DS_Store files are hidden by default and will be re-generated automatically, so you should be able to delete them without encountering any issues.

To delete the .DS_Store files and restore the default settings for every folder across your Mac:

• Open a Finder window and navigate to “Applications > Utilities.”
• Launch the Terminal app.
• Copy/paste the following command into the Terminal:

sudo find / -name .DS_Store -delete; killall Finder

• Press the “Enter” key on your keyboard.
• When prompted, enter your password. Press “Enter.”

The Terminal will now search for, and delete all of your Mac’s .DS_Store files, restoring your Finder settings to their default state.

Before you go

After spending over 20 years working with Macs, both old and new, theres a tool I think would be useful to every Mac owner who is experiencing performance issues.

CleanMyMac is highest rated all-round cleaning app for the Mac, it can quickly diagnose and solve a whole plethora of common (but sometimes tedious to fix) issues at the click of a button. It also just happens to resolve many of the issues covered in the speed up section of this site, so Download CleanMyMac to get your Mac back up to speed today.

Source: iMore

Certain actions that you perform on your Mac will cause macOS Big Sur default apps to open. For example, clicking a document may open Pages. But what if you want Microsoft Word to open instead? You can also set your default web browser and email reader, meaning your best Mac can easily open your favorite apps. Here’s how to set default apps on Mac!

How to change the default Mac app for specific file types

1. Right-click on a file that uses the file type you’d like to change the default for. For example, one with a .jpg extension (a photo).
2. Click on Get Info in the pop-up.

Click Open With if the section isn’t already expanded.

Source: iMore

Click the drop-down menu.

Click the app you want to use.

Source: iMore

Click Continue when the Finder asks you if you’re sure.

Source: iMore

Now, anytime you open a file with that extension, the Finder will automatically open it with the app you’ve selected.

How to set your default web browser

1. Launch System Preferences from the dock, Finder, or by clicking the Apple icon in the Menu bar.
2. Click General at the top left of the window.
3. Click the drop-down next to Default web browser.

Click the web browser you’d like to use as the default.

Source: iMore

How to set your default email reader

Mail is likely the default email app on your Mac, but just in case you have others downloaded, you can set the default reader. Here’s how:

1. Launch Mail from your dock or the Finder.
2. Click Mail in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
3. Click Preferences.
4. Click the drop-down next to Default Mail Reader.

Click the app you’d like to set as the default.

Source: iMore

Questions?

Let us know in the comments below.

Updated August 2021: Updated for the latest version of macOS Big Sur.

I had my MacBook for years before I decided to finally find out what the difference between the New Finder Window and New Smart Folder is. On the surface, they look like the same thing, but they’re not.

• A New Finder Window is the regular Finder Mac folder you can store files in. If you right-click on your Finder icon and click New Finder Window, it simply opens up another default Finder window.
• A Smart Folder is a folder that you can configure and customize to your needs, and then save it in your Sidebar for immediate accessibility.

To make a custom Smart Folder, click on the Save button in the Smart Folder toolbar. Give it a fitting name, choose a folder location, and whether you want to add it to your Finder Sidebar.

In this example, I’m creating a Graphics folder, which I want to place on my Desktop, and I also want to have it accessible in my regular Finder window’s Sidebar.

As soon as I hit save, my new Smart Folder for graphics is created, and I can now access it in my sidebar every time I open up the Finder window:

There is a myriad of different ways you can configure your Smart Folders. I’ll leave that part up to you, have fun!

Has this been helpful to you?

You can support my work by sharing this article with others, or perhaps buy me a cup of coffee 😊

I’ve seen a lot of cluttered and disorganized Downloads folders on Mac. A lot. For me, at least, it’s much easier to keep my downloaded files cleaned up and organized if I download to my Desktop which I’m constantly looking at then to download to the downloads folder which I don’t pay attention to until it gets too cluttered to find anything.

So if you’re the same way, it’s good to know that you can change where Safari, Firefox, and Chrome automatically put their downloads.

So for today’s article, let’s go over how to change the default download folder on the Mac!

Luckily, the process of changing the default download directory pretty similar in the three main Mac browsers.

Change the Default Download Location in Safari

1. Open the Safari app and click on the Safari drop-down menu at the top left.
   
2. Choose Preferences.
3. Make sure General tab is selected and then change the File Download Location to wherever you want.
   

As you can see, I’ve got mine set to “Desktop,” but you can pick an alternate location with that “Other” choice. Clicking “Other” will bring you to the familiar macOS open/save dialog box, from which you can select any folder you want to use.

If you’re feeling really fancy, you could instead change that toggle shown in my second screenshot above to “Ask for each download,” which will mean that you can file away everything you download exactly where you want it to go, every time. While this is a nifty feature but it can get cumbersome to have to choose a download location for each and every download you do.

Change the Default Download Location in Firefox

With the Firefox browser, you’ll start the same way as you did with Safari.

1. Launch Firefox and click on its named menu(i.e. the FireFox pulldown menu) in the upper lefthand corner.
   
2. Select Preferences.
3. Under the General tab, at the label: Save files to click choose and select the folder you want your downloads to go to.

Again, the “Always ask me where to save files” radio button you see above will make Firefox ask you each time you initiate a download.

Change the Default Download Location in Chrome

Google made it just a teeny bit harder to change your default downloads folder in the Chrome browser, but the steps begin the same way as the other two browsers.

1. Launch Chrome and select the Chrome menu from the top of your screen.
2. Select Preferences.
   
3. Scroll down the settings on the side menu until you see Advanced. Click on it.
   
4. Choose Downloads.
   
5. Click on Change next to Location and select the folder you want your downloads to go to.
   

As with Safari and Firefox, there’s a choice to make the browser ask you where to put the file you’re downloading every time.

As Steve Jobs used to say, “Oh yeah, there’s one more thing.”

Mail also uses the Downloads folder to store attachments you save, so if you’d like to be really thorough, you could change that, too.

Click on the Mail pulldown menu at the top of Mail then select Preferences. Next, under the General tab, you can change the download location just as you can with the web browsers:
So now that you’ve got all of your browsers (and Mail!) set to do exactly what you need them to, you can go forward knowing that your Downloads folder will never get too cluttered and disorganized again. Getting things done is so much easier when you stay organized.

If you’re a Mac user and enjoyed this article, you might want to check out this TechJunkie article: How To Flush the DNS in Mac Mojave.

Do you have any tips or tricks for managing downloads on your Mac? If so, we’d love to hear from you in a comment below!

Messing around with certain macOS files could brick your Mac computer, so Apple has made them hard to find. But if you’re confident in your skills, here’s how to access them safely.

Your computer has backend directories, libraries, and files that help keep the operating system running smoothly. If you were to delete or move any of these files, something could go seriously wrong. It’s why we don’t recommend you playing around with them unless you know what you’re doing.

Windows users can find these files in File Explorer, where it’s easy to make changes and mistakes. In order to prevent Mac users from doing the same, Apple hides many of these files by default in macOS. That means you don’t have to worry about ruining your computer, but it makes things a bit harder when you do need access.

You can view these hidden files on a Mac via Finder or through your Mac’s Terminal app. Just remember that there are few reasons to mess around with these files—like relocating program directories or troubleshooting drivers—and if you’re looking to clear up some hard drive space, there are other ways of accomplishing that.

View Hidden Files in Finder

In Finder, you can click your hard drive under Locations, then open your Macintosh HD folder. Press Command + Shift + . (period) to make the hidden files appear. You can also do the same from inside the Documents, Applications, and Desktop folders.

Anything your computer doesn’t want you messing with will be grayed out, but you can still take a peek inside. When you’re done, hit Command + Shift + . (period) to make the folders invisible again. This will ensure you don’t accidentally change something in the future.

You can also quickly access the

/Library folder from Finder’s top menu. Click Go to see all the shortcuts for accessing the different folders inside your hard drive. However, if you hold down the Option key, there will be a new Library option with no shortcut visible. Click Library to view the content of the

View Hidden Files in Terminal

Another way of performing this task is by using the macOS Terminal app, which gives you text-based access to the computer’s operating system. Find Terminal under Launchpad > Other > Terminal, then run the following commands:

Type defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true and press Enter

Type killall Finder and press Enter

Once both lines of code run, you should see your hidden files in Finder and any temporary files saved on the desktop. When you want to hide these files again, replace the value true with false, which would look like:

Type defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles false and press Enter

Type killall Finder and press Enter

This method might seem less helpful than going through Finder, but Terminal can also help you hide individual files and folders on your computer. This would be most helpful if you have password-protected files or just want to prevent anyone who uses your Mac from messing around with something that’s not already hidden. Open Terminal and write the following:

chflags hidden [Press Space]

Drag the file you wish to hide into the Terminal window to display its path

Press Enter to hide the file from view

Of course, anyone can find these files using the methods listed above, so this is not a real substitution for file encryption or any other legitimate security measures.

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By default, when using the Finder search feature, it has the eerie habit of searching your entire Mac instead of just searching the current folder. Fortunately, you can make the Finder always search the current folder by changing a setting on your Mac.

When the Finder uses the default setting, you must switch to the current folder from the top toolbar each time. This can be quite annoying.

You can change this behavior from the Finder settings.

First open the Finder app. You can click the Finder icon from the Dock, or you can use the Spotlight Search feature.

Then select the “Finder” button from the menu bar at the top left of the screen. Then select the “Settings” option.

Navigate to the “Advanced” tab from the top.

Click the drop-down menu under the “When performing a search” setting and select “Search in the current folder”.

And you’re ready. The next time you go to a folder in the Finder and start searching, it will by default search the current folder.

To search all directories instead, simply select the “This Mac” option from the search toolbar.

Do not like it when Finder opens the Recent folder every time you launch the app? To change the default folder in the Finder.

RELATED: To set the default Finder folder on your Mac

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Changing to a new default documents folder in Mac OS X is simply a matter of creating a new folder inside your Home Directory. This can be useful when your Documents folder becomes crowded or, for example, keeping this year’s documents separated from those of last year. Each time you open a file from the new folder, or save a file to it, the application you use remembers that folder and uses it as its default folder the next time you launch that application. A helpful naming convention is to name the new folder “MyDocs20xx” using the year the folder was created.

Launch the Finder and click the “Home” icon. Create a new folder by selecting “New Folder” from the File menu. Type “MyDocs” or another suitable name to change the name of the new folder. Press “Enter.”

Drag any files or folders from the “Documents” folder into the “MyDocs” folder as desired.

Double-click any file in the MyDocs folder to launch its associated application. Alternatively, launch any application from the Applications folder and create a new document.

Click “Save,” “Save As,” or “Export,” from the application’s File menu. These options vary among applications. Navigate to the “MyDocs” folder if it is not already the new default folder and click “Save” or “Export.”

Open any other application you normally use. Navigate to the “MyDocs” folder and save a file to that folder. The next time you open each of these applications, the MyDocs folder will be the default documents folder for that application.

• Apple Support: Mac OS X: Using Your Home Directory
• Apple Support: How to Change User Account Name or Home Directory Name

A published author and professional speaker, David Weedmark has advised businesses and governments on technology, media and marketing for more than 20 years. He has taught computer science at Algonquin College, has started three successful businesses, and has written hundreds of articles for newspapers and magazines throughout Canada and the United States.

Posted on March 14th, 2021 by Craig Grannell and Kirk McElhearn

The cloud is where it’s at. Apple increasingly nudges people to store their documents in the cloud. Since macOS Sierra, you can opt to store your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud, making whatever’s within them more easily accessible from other Macs and mobile devices.

If you use this feature, your home folder – the one with the house icon and user name – is less important than in the past, but it remains that some important folders remain housed there – one of which is Downloads.

How to access Downloads

You can easily access the Downloads folder is easily accessed from Finder’s sidebar. If you don’t see it under Favorites, go to Finder > Preferences, and turn it on in the Sidebar tab. You can also quickly get to it from Go > Downloads (Option+Command+L).

The Downloads folder is aptly named. It’s where your Mac stores files downloaded by Safari, attachments you download from Messages, and where many other apps save files when you download them from the internet or other devices on a local network. This setting can be changed: in Safari, for example, go to Safari > Preferences, click General, choose Other from File download location, and then select a different folder. Most people, though, stick with the default.

Browsers typically make it easy to quickly get to downloaded files. In Safari’s case, a Download button appears in the toolbar, which you click to view a list of recent downloads. Clicking the magnifying glass button next to an item reveals the downloaded file in Finder. (Clicking the Clear button hides the Downloads button until you download something new.)

Managing your downloaded files

The Downloads folder can become a messy mix of semi-abandoned cruft and items you actually need. You might download music from the likes of Bandcamp or Amazon, but then import it into the Music app, making the original downloads redundant. Perhaps these files will end up nestled with app installers, PDF copies of bills you need for your taxes, and other accumulated documents you haven’t yet got around to filing properly.

In order to filter what you find, choose View > As List to use the Finder’s column view. Sorting items by size can help you quickly discover – and potentially trash – large items. But also try sorting by kind to quickly go through documents of a certain type, and also by date, to find items that have been hanging around for months like a bad smell.

If that sounds like too much hard work, take a look at file organization tool Hazel (432, Noodlesoft). The app lets you set up rules that determine what happens to certain types of files in any watched folder – and any considered superfluous to requirements can be automatically sent to the Trash. Everything happens in the background, without you having to lift a finger.

How can I learn more?

Each week on the Intego Mac Podcast, Intego’s Mac security experts discuss the latest Apple news, security and privacy stories, and offer practical advice on getting the most out of your Apple devices. Be sure to follow the podcast to make sure you don’t miss any episodes.

You can also subscribe to our e-mail newsletter and keep an eye here on Mac Security Blog for the latest Apple security and privacy news. And don’t forget to follow Intego on your favorite social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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Finder represents your access to all files on a Mac. By default, Finder will open the Recents folder. But, if you usually work in a different folder, you can change the default open folder when you open Finder.

• How to Find the Library Folder on a Mac
• How to Password Protect Files on a Mac

Finder is the first thing you see when your Mac finishes booting. The Finder uses windows and icons to show you the content of your Mac, iCloud Drive and other storage devices.

Finder represents your access to all files on a Mac. By default, Finder will open the Recents folder . But, if you usually work in a different folder, you can change the default open folder when you open Finder. The following article will show you how to use a simple installation in Finder to accomplish this.

Set the default folder to open in Finder

You can open Finder by clicking on the application icon on the Dock (looks like a face). Or, you just need to click on an empty area of ​​the screen to activate Finder.

Then, select Preferences from the Finder menu or press the Command key and comma ( Cmd + , ).

Select Preferences

On the Finder Preferences dialog box, click General on the toolbar at the top.

Click the New Finder windows show drop-down menu.

Click the New Finder windows show drop-down menu

A list of predefined options is displayed. If you want to open one of these locations, select the option you want.

If the directory you want is not on a predefined list, select Other.

Browse to the locations on the dialog and select the folder you want to open by default.

Then, click Choose.

You will be returned to the Finder Preferences dialog box and your selection will display in the New Finder windows show drop-down list. Close the dialog box.

The next time you open Finder, the folder you select will automatically open.

You can go home again — and then pin that home to the sidebar in Finder.

The Home folder on your Mac contains a number of folders — Applications, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Movies, Music, Pictures, Public — that you’ll likely access frequently. But strangely, the Home folder is hard to find the in Finder by default. I’ll show you how to find your Home folder and add it to Finder’s sidebar for quick and easy access.

‘Home’ is actually your user folder

The first thing you should know about the Home folder is that it’s not named Home. It features a home icon, but its title is the name you chose for your user account. It lives in the Users folder (along with any guest folders if you created additional user profiles).

How to find your Home folder

To find your Home folder, open Finder and use the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-H. You can use the Go pull-down menu from the menu bar to go to the Home folder. (Oddly, the home folder is called Home in this menu.)

Matt Elliott/CNET

Move your Home

With your Home folder selected in Finder, hit Command-up arrow to move up one level in Finder. Now, you can click and drag your Home folder and drop it on Finder’s sidebar.

Alternatively, you can go Finder > Preferences and select which folders you’d like to pin to the sidebar. In Preferences, click the Sidebar tab and then check the boxes for the folders you want in the sidebar and uncheck those you don’t.

A parting note about iCloud Drive

With MacOS Sierra, you can sync your Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud Drive. If you choose this option, then you’ll notice that the Desktop and Documents folders are moved from your Home folder to the iCloud Drive folder. By default, these two synced folders show up in iCloud section of the Finder sidebar, which means you might not necessarily need your Home folder in the Finder sidebar, too.

One of the staples of the macOS environment, Finder is an ever-present part of everything Mac. The Mac version of Windows Explorer, Finder is where you “find” all of your documents, media, folders, files, etc. Its smiling blue/gray icon is always on your Dock or at the top of the screen on your menu bar. While Finder seems pretty straightforward after a few uses, there are likely some preferences you may not know about. Each of these preferences can take your Finder experience to the next level.

Adjust Default Finder Search

For anyone who has ever opened Finder and used its search feature, you likely don’t know that any search is limited to whatever folder you currently have open in Finder. Instead, head to “Finder -> Preferences -> Advanced” and make a few tweaks to search your whole Mac instead.

You can choose to search your whole Mac, use a previous search scope or just search the current folder. It’s a quick but incredibly helpful tweak when you need to find a file quickly.

Change the Default Folder

Do you have a preferred folder you use for work or a favorite folder for downloads? Apple provides a default Finder folder that is your starting point for all your Finder needs. Fortunately, you are not limited to keeping this as your default folder.

To make this change, head to “Finder -> Preferences” and click on the “General” tab. You will now see “New Finder windows show,” and if you click on it, you can change the default Finder window to any window of your choosing.

Rename Multiple Files

Another small but incredibly useful Finder preference is the ability to rename multiple files at once.

If you want to rename a bunch of files, start by selecting them. Hold down the Command button to select all of the files you want to rename. The best part of this Finder trick is that the files do not need to be in order. You can rename two files in one row and five in another. Once every file is selected, right-click on your mouse or trackpad and select “Rename X items” with the X standing in for the number of files you have selected. There are now three options to choose from:

• The far-left drop-down allows you to Replace Text, Add Text or Format the names of all of the selected files.

• In the middle, you can write your own title which can be anything you want.

• The far-right drop-down allows you to add the new text before or after the existing file name.

Customize the Toolbar

One of the biggest annoyances when working in Finder is not being able to quickly access the function you need to perform an action. That ends today, as you can easily customize the Finder toolbar to put every shortcut you need one click away.

Hover your mouse anywhere on the toolbar, right-click and select “Customize the Toolbar.” A new window will open showing a variety of potential shortcut actions you can add to the toolbar. These include options like Quick Look, Get Info, New Folder, Delete and more. As an added bonus, you can also add a favorite folder to the Finder folder. Just click and drag a Folder into the top toolbar for quick access.

Merge Open Finder Windows

We have all enjoyed having too many open Finder windows. The more windows that are open on a Mac, especially on a smaller screen, can be a real headache.

To avoid window clutter, click on “Window -> Merge All Windows” and combine all open Finder windows. Alternatively, avoid opening multiple Finder windows by pressing Command + T inside an open Finder window for a new tab. You can open multiple tabs to help find what you are looking for.

Fullscreen Quick Look

Another one of those handy tricks you mayhave never known about is seeing Quick Look in fullscreen. It can be incredibly handy. As you are searching through multiple files, videos, photos, or documents, Quick Look is a fast and easy way to preview a file. Instead of opening up a default application like Word, PowerPoint, Pages, or Photos, Quick Look enables you to see nearly any file type at a quick glance.

What if you want to see Quick Look in fullscreen? All you need to do is press the Option key at the same time as the Space bar to activate Quick Look. You can also hold the Option key down if you have placed the Quick Look icon in your Finder toolbar.

Now that you have mastered your Finder, you should look into customizing the files, folder and hard drive icons in Finder or uncovering the hidden customization options in macOS. Taking a few extra minutes to learn these customization tips can go a long way in helping your day-to-day macOS experience.

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David is a freelance tech writer with over 15 years of experience in the tech industry. He loves all things Nintendo.

If you have dozens of folders on your Mac, it’s easy to lose track of where you put which files. macOS offers a built-in color coding system that can help with this, but if you really want to make your folders stand out, you can change their icons.

You can change a Mac folder’s default blue icon to any picture or color you want. It’s a great way to personalize your computer and make your most important files stand out.

Quick tip: These steps will also let you change the icons for any file and application that didn’t come pre-installed on your computer. You may need Administrator access, however.

How to change the folder icons on a Mac

First, you need to pick out the picture that you want to set as your new icon. This can be a meme, a picture of yourself, the same folder icon but in a different color — anything you like.

1. Open the picture you want in Preview, your web browser, or whichever photo viewer you use.

2. Copy the image to your clipboard. You can almost always do this by clicking Edit in the menu bar at the top of your screen, and then clicking Copy. Alternatively, try right-clicking the picture and then selecting Copy.

Quick tip: If you can’t copy the picture you want, take a screenshot of it first. Check out our article on how to take screenshots on a Mac for more information.

Next, we’ll paste it into the folder’s icon slot.

3. Find the folder (or file or app) that you want to change the icon for and right-click it, then select Get Info.

4. At the top of the info window that appears, click the current icon. It’ll become highlighted in blue.

5. Press Command + V to paste the image you copied into the icon slot.

You’ll see the icon change immediately.

Quick tip: If you paste the image in and the icon turns into a generic placeholder, go back and make sure that you opened and copied the new image you want correctly.

If you ever want to change the icon back to the default, open the info window and select the icon again, then press Command + X.

Ryan Ariano and Devon Delfino contributed to previous versions of this article.