everyday mac tools

Find and open files on a Mac without touching the mouse

· 6 min read

The quickest way to open a file from the keyboard on a Mac is Spotlight: press Command-Space, type part of the file’s name, and press Return to open it or Command-Return to show it in Finder. For files you would rather reach by folder, Finder has a shortcut for every common location, lets you select an item by typing its name, and opens it with Command-Down Arrow. One surprise for anyone coming from Windows: in Finder, Return renames the selected file rather than opening it.

Spotlight for the file you can name

  1. Press Command-Space.
  2. Type a few letters of the file’s name. Spotlight starts suggesting as you type.
  3. Use the arrow keys to move through the results.
  4. Press Return to open the selected file, or Command-Return to reveal it in a Finder window.

If the list is crowded with apps and web suggestions, add kind:pdf, kind:folder or similar after the name to narrow it to that type. When Spotlight does not find a file you know exists, the problem is usually the index, not your typing; Spotlight cannot find a file you know exists covers the causes. And if Command-Space does nothing at all, Command-Space does not open Spotlight explains what may have taken the shortcut.

Jump straight to a folder

Press Command-Tab to bring Finder to the front, or press Option-Command-Space, which opens a new Finder search window from any app. Then these shortcuts take you straight to the usual places:

  • Shift-Command-H: your home folder
  • Shift-Command-D: Desktop
  • Option-Command-L: Downloads
  • Shift-Command-O: Documents
  • Shift-Command-A: Applications
  • Shift-Command-U: Utilities
  • Shift-Command-F: Recents
  • Shift-Command-I: iCloud Drive

For anywhere else, press Shift-Command-G for Go to Folder and type a path, such as ~/Library/Fonts (the tilde means your home folder). It suggests matching folders as you type; press Return to go. Go to Folder works in Open and Save dialogs too, which is the fastest way through a deep folder when an app asks you to pick a file. Find a file fast in the Open or upload dialog has more on those dialogs.

All of these are listed in Finder’s Go menu, so you do not have to memorize them at once. Learn the two or three folders you visit most and look up the rest when you need them.

Move around inside a folder

Once you are in the right folder, a handful of keys do almost everything:

  • Type the first letters of a name to select that item. Type quickly, as one word; a pause starts a new search.
  • Arrow keys move the selection. In list view, Right Arrow expands a folder and Left Arrow collapses it; Option-Right Arrow expands everything inside.
  • Command-Down Arrow opens the selected file or folder. Command-O does the same.
  • Command-Up Arrow goes to the folder that contains this one.
  • Command-[ and Command-] go back and forward through the folders you have visited.
  • Space shows a Quick Look preview without opening anything. Quick Look from the keyboard covers what else it can do.
  • Return renames the selected item. Press Escape to cancel if you hit it by mistake.

Column view (Command-3) is the most keyboard-friendly layout, because Right Arrow steps into a folder and Left Arrow steps back out, so you can walk down a whole path with the arrows alone. Command-1, Command-2 and Command-4 switch to icon, list and gallery view.

Two more are worth knowing. Option-Command-C copies the selected item’s full path, ready to paste into Terminal or a message; copy the full path of a file explains the other ways. Command-Delete moves the selection to the Trash.

Search from the keyboard

Press Command-F in a Finder window to search. By default Finder searches the whole Mac; to make it search the folder you are in, open Finder, Settings, Advanced and set “When performing a search” to Search the Current Folder. Search inside one folder only shows how to switch between the two.

In the results, the arrow keys and Command-Down Arrow work as usual, and Command-R shows the selected result in its enclosing folder, which is the step people usually reach for the mouse to do.

For everything else, Shift-Command-/ opens the Help menu’s search field in any app. Type part of a menu command’s name, use the arrows to pick it and press Return. It is a keyboard route to any command in any menu, including ones without a shortcut. If you also want Tab to move between buttons in dialogs, turn on Keyboard navigation in System Settings, Keyboard.

A catalog that answers as you type

Spotlight is built for many kinds of result at once; if most of your searching is for files, a dedicated file search fits the keyboard habit better. Everywhere is a Mac file search app that catalogs every file on the Mac once, then answers as you type. Option-Space opens it over any app. Type part of a name, move with the arrows, and press Return to open, Command-Return to reveal in Finder, Space or Command-Y for Quick Look, Command-C to copy the full path, or Command-T to open Terminal at that folder. Esc puts it away, and Command-/ lists every operator and shortcut.

Operators such as path: for a folder and ext: for a file type narrow the list without leaving the keyboard. It also finds what Spotlight does not, such as Mail attachments inside the Mail store and files on an external drive that is currently unplugged, shown dimmed with the drive’s name. It searches names and paths, not what is inside files, and it is not a launcher. It asks for Full Disk Access so it can see every folder; if you decline, it works on what it can reach and says which folders it is missing. It is a one-time purchase, free for a day with nothing held back.

Questions

Why does Return rename a file instead of opening it? That has been the Mac convention for a very long time. Use Command-Down Arrow or Command-O to open, and keep Return for renaming.

Is there a key that goes up a folder, like Backspace on Windows? Command-Up Arrow takes you to the enclosing folder, and Command-[ goes back to wherever you were before.

Can Finder open somewhere more useful than Recents? Yes. In Finder, Settings, General, choose the folder you use most under “New Finder windows show”. Make Finder open to the folder you use walks through it.