Hidden macOS Finder Tips You Probably Don't Know!

[@snazzy]

NOTE: at 8:51, the shortcut displayed on screen is incorrect. It's ⌥⌘V and NOT ⌥⌘C I'm back from Christmas break and ready to rumble for 2019. Moved into a slightly larger studio, am in the process of finding a full-time employee, and am going to start pumping out more frequent and higher quality content than ever before! This year is going to be the best one yet!

[@riteshpatil7149]

Part 2 plz

[@CJT3X]

Does your employee need to be local or can they be remote?

[@manus_tech_tips]

Snazzy Labs have you thought about making some videos about automator? :) for example, I made one that speaks whatever I write and saves it to a wave file.

[@Starky3000]

Can't you just hold ⌘ and drag then drop to move files? Or is this function not able to be done in newer versions of Mac as I still use 10.9...

[@DominicMuir]

More like this please!

[@konstantintouev4781]

I normally don’t watch these kind of videos because I consider myself a “power user” but yours was really good and I knew almost none of these things. Great job!

[@snazzy]

Thanks!!

[@57z]

Whatch his other videos with Mac tips. I guarantee there will be several tips you’ve never heard before.

[@OtherTheDave]

Same. I’ve been a macOS “power user” since it was called System 7, and I didn’t know about that smart search trick.

[@RedHairdo]

@@OtherTheDave Mac OS 9 forever! :)

[@stealth797]

Same.

[@JeremyNeish]

I consider myself a Mac expert, going back to 1984 and you managed to teach me two new things I will use. Nice!!

[@dbtest117]

Ow, I was 10 in 1988. I noticed they have made the later releases more difficult to do boolean searched in. I find macos degrading, still the best out there from a user perspective.

[@dannywinget]

Great tips! I suck at Mac functions and these always help

[@ThinkCleverAndSmart]

Holy shit the conditional logic is amazing! Never thought I'd learn anything from this video since I've been a power user for quite some time, but you sure proved me wrong! Wow!

[@snazzy]

ThinkCleverAndSmart Thanks!!

[@rob.granger]

@@snazzy Is there a way to do the conditional logic in the Mail smart folders? Option doesn't work...tks!

[@atom6_]

@@rob.granger you set the behaviour - "Contain messages that match - any or all of the following conditions"

[@rob.granger]

@@atom6_ I was trying to get to multiple and and an or in one find, I wound up nesting them to achieve what I was looking for would have been easier with the logic options displayed in Snazzy's video.

[@melellington4892]

I agree wholeheartedly. Been using a Mac since 1984 and was not expecting anything I didn't already know. However, since each new iteration of the MacOS often includes new features and keyboard shortcuts, it is not surprising that I learned something new from this video.

[@wpherigo1]

You’re the Doug Murano of Macs! (A similar attitude - snarky!). Great tips. Back before you were a gleam in your parent’s eyes, they had something called paperback User Manuals. A single, reliable reference point for everything you needed to know about your computer. Locating such info now is difficult, which is why these kinds of videos are INVALUABLE. Thanks, Mr. Snazzy, for the tips and keep them coming!

[@snazzy]

What’s a paper? 😏 Thanks for watching!

[@nancy4don]

Don't know if anybody mentioned it, but you can drag-and-drop a file onto an application's Dock icon or its icon in the Applications folder, and if the app can open the file, it will open it. If not, it will tell you it can't. Nice for when you're not sure what app to use to open a file. If you're trying to save to a certain folder, you can drag that folder's icon to the location selector ("Where") and drop it and it will change to the the folder you dragged. Also, if you highlight a file's icon and then press SPACE, you get a nice preview of that file if a preview is available. I find this incredibly useful for Pages or Word files, photos, videos, etc. Great video!

[@survivorpimp1]

A power user here and I have seen tons of these videos, they never teach me anything new, this one actually had 3-4 new things for me, that’s very rare. Big thumbs up!

[@JDtheComposer]

I'm using a Mac for over ten years now and compared to the average user, I know a lot about macOS. But I learn new things in your videos every time! So great!

[@bossaddict08]

Finally a "You didn't know" video that actually has worthwhile content!

[@professornat]

THIS MADE MY DAY! I switched from Windows to macOS and since then ALWAYS was annoyed with the whole mixup of files and folders alphabetically, which makes no sense in structuring data. Now I can live in peace!

[@achin7682]

Buddy, I have not been blown away by any video for a pretty long time but this video...man!!!! I honestly feel so stupid for not watching it earlier and wasting so much time on my previous projects. This is gonna save me a lot of time. Really really appreciate you sharing this knowledge. Cheers

[@peterbreis5407]

A few more: Use a Window in Icon view and drag the icon size slider bottom left to view the file Icon Previews at maximum size. You can now use the Window like you would Bridge in the Adobe Suite to grade and sort your files. You can either right click on selected files (as groups) > Tags/Labels or add a suffix on the file so the name can be searched on. I use a unique •, ••, ••• (bullet = option 8). So one bullet can mean usable, two = good, three = best. You can make unique backgrounds to specific windows in Icon view which helps identify them on sight or gives you very useful ways of organising that folder. Menu > Finder > View > as Icons / View Options > Background > Color/Picture > Drag image onto panel If you chose distinctive color backgrounds you can divide your screen up into windows, one which has files you wish to sort and then quickly drag selected files to the red, yellow, green (traffic lights) background colored windows to sort them. A good precursor to btch rating them using Tags as above. Because Icon view allows you to free drag images around which you can resize to truly see their previews (or use QuickView), a background image is a great way to mark up areas within the window and drag files into piles on those areas. I use labelled background areas in one particular window to drag/pile the images and then move those to other folders as above. Many people do not know that you can drag whatever frequently used files/folders/Apps up onto the Toolbar of your window for quick use. I have folders which I color coded* as another sort method, common Apps like my 2 versions of Pages, Archiver, Renamer and XLD plus many more. You command drag them On/Off or to reorder them. Put the most frequent icons to the left, the ones to the right are only visible when the window is larger. * Get Info on a Folder > click on the folder Icon > Copy/Paste it into an image editor (I used Preview) > change its color > Copy/Paste it back into the Folder Info.

[@peterbreis5407]

Combining ideas, make the colored folders smart folders to tag files automatically when you drag files into them. Or use smart folders like a Hogwart's Sorting Hat to move files according to criteria of your own making into other folders or archives. For archiving I have premade compressed .dmg files which I open and add info snippets or Text files and drag in my archive material. It puts all my files for particular jobs in one place, securing them as finished and compacts the contents for storage. Later I can mount the .dmg and start where I left it off, complete with all the resources.

[@peterbreis5407]

Just a few ideas. I am sure posters can come up with plenty of their own and maybe add to the list.

[@heathdwiggins7261]

shift+command+. and here I thought I knew most everything about Finder keyboard commands but that one is a game changer for me, I've hated going to different utilities or Terminal to toggle back and forth when necessary. Thanks!

[@explorer8888]

I was a PC user from 92 to the summer of 18. Bought a MBP last year and I’m still learning Mac OS. I didn’t know ANY of them. I sincerely thank you for creating and uploading this video.

[@spideythekd]

Being a FCP editor who spends nearly 10 to 12 hours everyday, the most useful videos that i have seen so far which is surly gonna help my daily needs. Thank you so much

[@snazzy]

Cheers!

[@andypro]

Shift + Command + Period is the one shortcut I never knew existed and needed ever since I started using MacOS. I kept finding all these articles where you needed to alter some system settings through scripts, but those were never a good idea or handy. So thanks a million for this tip!

[@lascurettes]

Kudos. I came into this skeptical that I'd learn anything new. I had no idea about the boolean search capability on the Finder search. Thank you for that!

[@piyushsahu6045]

I like how finally there are proper explanatory videos for the macOS GUI (ie to say by individual content creators in high quality). I wish there were more of these when first got started with my mac about 5 years ago

[@JuanCamacho21]

Very helpful! The path bar is useful.

[@hlr3932]

⌘ and ⌥ are standard 'modifier' keys in  Macs. This should be clear to anyone using Macs for even a little bit of time (just as when using Windoze, one should be aware of the Start/Win and Alt keys). In which case, it would ALWAYS make sense to hold down either or both of those keys together in any window, app, action to see what other options come up. Similar is the case with ⌃ which is the modifier for 'right click'.

[@alexroot6615]

Who disliked this so well presented and so nicely done video?!! It is nothing but helpful and done in such super-friendly style.

[@emave27]

I've been using Mac OS since 2003, and I think I'm a pro user, but I realized I didn't know many of this tips. Thank you Quinn, I can always learn something with your videos. Cheers!

[@Aviftw]

Awesomeness. I have used macs exclusively for the last 10 years and had no idea I could do a simple move with keyboard shortcuts. I used to curse every time I had to do that. Thanks dude, and stay snazzy!

[@Jenny_Digital]

Whilst there are a few details incorrect, I found this to be hugely helpful and I really appreciate such content. Nobody likes their computer fighting them, and this will make our lives easier.

[@snazzy]

Hey, thanks.

[@Riccardo_Mori]

There are more than 600 comments, so probably this has already been pointed out, but another nice thing about smart folders is that they keep updating when more files fitting their search criteria are added to the Mac. I know it sounds obvious, but when doing a bit of tech support I've found that it wasn't THAT obvious for many people. And thanks for explaining the part when you Option-click the '+' icon to add conditionals to the Finder Search window. I'm a power user and I had completely forgotten about it! Cheers!

[@tsunghan_yu]

you are the only channel where I'll watch mac tips videos. Always learns something new.

[@21ZacDUDE]

I don't own a Mac or Macbook but you make me want one with each Mac video you upload. I watch these just so when I'm asked to help someone troubleshoot something I can school them with shortcuts and tips 😂 love the videos!

[@LeBeautiful]

Snazzy 2k19 with the best tips!

[@bernardwong5857]

Never fail to learn something new whenever you post these mac os tips videos. It's amazing how you seem to keep discovering these hidden gems

[@fauxscot1]

Fine job. Meaty, precise, fast, useful, well-explained, audible and intelligent, great visuals to support the monologue. I can literally make zero recommendations for how this would be any better. Subscribing to you NOW, and hoping your other videos are as useful. (I am Mac-centric now, having abandoned Windows years back, but a few of these finder items were new tweaks for me...). Good job.

[@Navid_AG]

Option key in Mac is a king! 👑

[@jean_mollycutpurse_winchester]

Yes. If only it wasn't printed as, alt.

[@channelpolitica1364]

My mac has it as option

[@dhaferbaker]

I still do not understand people who dislike such videos... man, thank you for all your videos cheers from Europe :)

[@GlenDomulevicz]

Wow!!! I though I knew how to use Finder, you showed that today was another learning day. There are several things I did not know, wish I did and now I do. Thanks for sharing.

[@edoardoguido1688]

Even better: when resizing a window, if you press the Shift key, the window will keep its aspect ratio. If you also keep the Alt key pressed together with the Shift key, you can resize the window from its center and maintain the original aspect ratio at the same time. Your videos are amazing, though. Thank you!

[@chepo1956]

I really enjoyed this Snazzy! In my humble opinion, I think you're one of the smartest KZbinrs around. Your knowledge is awesome and you have the gift of being able to convey your knowledge in layman's terms. I had subscribed a long time ago, but this video reiterates that I made a wise choice.

[@snazzy]

Thanks so much, Jose!

[@jerryyang7058]

Another tip I recently just realised is that: when you use multiple tabs within a finder window, you can press ⌘ + ⇧ + \ to trigger bird view, which is quite handy if you have a lot of tabs within one window and you wanna navigate between each. :)

[@michaelirwin7258]

Being brand new to my Macbook Pro, I applaud anything that shows me how to use it more then the generic way it is presented to me. I do explore it, but sometimes the lazy in me just goes with what I see. Sometimes it's hard to know about things you didn't even know you needed to know...

[@memsom]

The search stuff seems to have been lifted from the BeOS. The guy who wrote BFS works on the file system team now at Apple. Dominic Giampaolo. Smart folders are live queries, and all of the search functions based on criteria are the same idea as the BeOS’ Finder equivalent “Tracker’s” is search criteria. BFS used attributes (metadata) to catalogue files, and enable the database like searches - just like this.

[@nicole9888]

Wow! I’m new to Mac, and especially those tips about the Smart Folders and hidden folders are so good.

[@BradlehDadleh]

I'm getting a macbook pro for the first time! I'm excited and can't wait to use all of your videos to learn the in/outs of mac!

[@snazzy]

Excited for you! You're going to love it.

[@ApaloMcCrae]

Never stop making these videos! Top shelf work, as always. Thank you to the ends of the earth for the smart folder tip. This revolutionizes the way I am going to organize my photos-of which there are hundreds of thousands. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[@bitrot42]

Excellent video! I was surprised how many of these useful tricks I didn't know. I've used one Smart Folder for many years... all files over 100 MB in the past 30 days, largest on top. Makes it easy to figure out where your disk space went when it mysteriously disappears.

[@interestedinstuff]

Sweet. Definitely learned some new stuff. The conditional logic was one I didn't know about. I never use Spotlight, but now Finder's find is actually useful. Thanks.

[@fortheloveofpipes8432]

Snazzy, if you type those same search parameters in spotlight it does the same thing. Type “screen shot” kind: jpeg then click show in finder. You can even type your Boolean parameters to spotlight.

[@GauravPendharkar]

Probably the best videos I ever saw on Tips n Tricks....Thanks a ton for these...

[@irhgsy]

Brilliant, awesome or just brilliantly awesome. I’ve now found at least four tips that have continually frustrated me with Finder. Magic, thank you.

[@CF542]

You've improved my brain and Mac life today. Please write a book. We need lots of this.

[@bradydavidson6248]

I FEEL like I was always able to call myself a power user because I’m a Network/Sys Admin. I’ve also been using a Mac for more than 10 years. But, I knew about none of these! This video was literally an “AHA” moment at least 9 times. So many of the things you mentioned have frustrated me Mac OS for years but I just got over it. I just took the OS as it was “knowing” that there are some things were that way by design not thinking you could customize that function. Thank you for this video!

[@HonoraryGreek]

I've been using Macs since the 80's, and you are teaching me stuff I never knew!

[@ralfstam6633]

I recently switched from Windows 8.1 to MacOS Mojave. I’m definitely going to use most of the tips, excellent stuff!

[@shaanjaiswal9186]

this is one of the most helpful video of yours till now!

[@fkylw]

It's been five years since I came into contact with a useful video that taught me a lot of new things about the Mac and Finder… Thank you!

[@Arkathtoo]

As someone who’s just got their first mac, I love these videos. I can see why power users enjoy the macOS ecosystem so much.

[@snazzy]

Indeed! Thanks for watching. :)

[@Dharma-therapy]

Tip #5: double click on the column under column view will automatically adjust the width which accordingly to the longest file/folder name. Holding option applies to all columns. Tip #9: Shift+CMD+H goes to Home folder. BOOM!

[@seanmalley]

Don't forget Shift+CMD+U for the Utilities folder :)

[@Setright230]

暖能量 thanks for that extra tip helps with my photography files after coming of the card in there raw form. 👍🤷‍♂️🇦🇺

[@thepurpleufo]

These are the best MacOS tips I've ever seen. Stuff that's actually useful. Thank you.

[@dev__adi]

This video made my Finder experience so much better. Didn't know any of these tips

[@ameelmd]

Always love you videos. Knew 85% if what you showed, so it was definitely worth the watch, thank-you. I love Finder, it's always my go to, I feel limited and slowed down when on windows explorer and need to customize file managers in Linux to feel at home. Only thing use Path Finder for is operations in a cue. I know it's a lot more powerful then that, but I find Finder meets my everyday work and play needs.

[@Jbiglin]

Another great tip video with a list that I thought I might already know - but you got me again with 2 I had no idea about and one I had completely forgotten. Thanks!

[@aadarshabhandari8311]

u have been my idol for the mac ideal teacher. thanks snazzy labs. loved your work .

[@mazwrld]

Hey, Quinn I recently found your channel and I really enjoy your content. I've been a PC guy all my life but I've grown to love macOs over the last few months. I guess what am trying to say thanks for showcasing this OS and also your videos are so good, keep making them!!!

[@abirbanerjee2007]

This one is one of your best. Websites offer automator scripts, software links for showing and hiding hidden files on mac, but never have I ever seen listing the shortcut. Thanks. But I don't think the move shortcut is unknown to anyone who uses the mac for his/her main computer.

[@MrHolozip]

Used OSX for around 10 years now... learned a few tricks from this video. Thank you!

[@pingozingo]

In reference to the window size thing, I made a quick action for the touch bar to resize and move the top finder window to my preferred size and position. It uses automator with a apple script. Down side is that it doesn't work when you change the screen resolution. And about the folder shortcuts, you can do the same for chosen folders with an apple script and automator. For my school files I do Shift+CMD+S. If you use notes a lot you can use the method from the last video of adding keyboard shortcuts to add shortcuts for strike through, checklist, etc.

[@diamondbreak]

The best Mac channel on KZbin.

[@barrydev]

Great tips :) 10:51 to scroll horizontally, hold down the "shift" key and scroll up/down.

[@5inque_wu]

Awesome video, learnt so much, although option+command+v is really not easy to press, still use drag and drop or simply copy and delete. For window management though, I still recommend Moom, it is amazing.

[@DoctaM3]

Awesome tips. loved them!

[@pmnoliveira]

Great tips on this video. I also use Shift+Cmd+U (for Utilities) all the time. The hidden files shortcut was great, normally I go to the terminal. Big thumbs up.

[@heathbreinholt3512]

I’m a software engineer and long time Mac user and I found this video super useful. Thanks!

[@snazzy]

Thanks! :D

[@thetid8852]

A lot of these I didn't already know (though not all work in Mavericks). However, I use the Finder replacement Pathfinder, and nearly all of these are either defaults, or can be easily set in Preferences.

[@cedricvanhaverbeke5594]

As a former Windows user i quite enjoy these little tips/tricks. You should check out Spectacle for window resizing in MacOS. It allows you to do the same things you can do on Windows and is a blessing.

[@ChrisBriscoePhotos]

This perfect video should come with every new Mac! I wish I had watched it when I bought my first one. Great job!

[@pablocristianortizquiero2122]

This is the first video i have seen with really useful tips of this kind. Thank you a lot!

[@bendavies8129]

I've been using Mac OS (X) for the best part of 15 years now and didn't know some of these tips, which will definitely be massively helping me out in my day to day - thanks! Also, I thought I could submit a couple of my own tips to help you out. Resizing windows can be such a pain on Mac OS. I occasionally use Windows, and their solution of snapping windows to commonly used sizes seems to be much better than Apple's offerings. There's an awesome app called jitouch which allows you to assign shortcuts to gestures on trackpads and magic mice (as well as ordinary mice, but with less powerful features, since they obviously don't have multitouch surfaces), in which you can assign a gesture to resize any window to occupy either the left or right half of your screen. I combine this with a tiny little app called Right Zoom that allows you to resize any window to occupy the whole screen without actually being in full screen mode by pressing a keyboard shortcut. Setting this keyboard shortcut to something very complex means that it won't interfere with my shortcuts for Adobe, Logic etc, and then I assign a gesture in jitouch to trigger that complicated keyboard shortcut to toggle between the window's original size and occupying the whole screen. I also have gestures set up on my trackpad and magic mouse for changing tabs in my web browsers, reloading pages, minimising windows, scrolling to the top or bottom of pages, and so much more - highly recommended!

[@TeddyTechTV]

Good work. More than one tip here that I haven't seen anywhere else and that I find genuinely useful. Thanks!

[@Eweyhen]

Conditional logic in Finder has really helped me out. Holy moly what an awesome tip!

[@massx999]

I've been using macOS for decades and still your videos always teach me something. That hidden files trick, is what I've been looking for my entire life lmao

[@snazzy]

Lol thanks!

[@Spicy_Riker]

Yes! Finally! Thank you and have a nice day ;)

[@Lukas-kh5gu]

this is the kind of video why I subbed.

[@cuneytkaynar9527]

Thank you so much for enlighting the unknown capabilities of the finder's extended search functionality. Question is ; Is there any trick or specific method to make finder search and display/smart folder the hidden items?... Seems it does not as far as I have tested.

[@georgezolla4580]

This was awesome! I knew some of these but the new ones are great! I am going to look at more of your videos!

[@arthurhjorth1490]

Great video - I learned that I can show/hide hidden files and shift between views with short cuts! Had no idea. If I may add one short cut that I use constantly: Cmd + Option + L for the Downloads folder.

[@RhythmGamer]

The cut and paste command has to be the single most useful part of this video. I have been missing cut and paste sense total finder no longer can be used with OS X.

[@alexanderwalter2253]

TotalFinder as well as TotalSpaces are still working in macOS 10.13. You just have to turn off SIP (System Integrity Protection).

[@trentbosnic]

Found out about that one a year ago after being frustrated that I didn't exist - I've used it pretty much every day since then.

[@peterbreis5407]

@@alexanderwalter2253 Yep, and that I don't think is a good idea!

[@pearljamrock]

I'm very new to macOS but liking it so far. Thanks for this video. My favourite feature of the MacBook (excluding the touchpad) is spotlight. It's world's better than anything on windows.

[@Mr_RichardH]

Quinn, I've been using Macs since 1987 and only knew one of these. Brilliant. Thank you!

[@m.facher6922]

One of the best MacOS videos I have seen in a long time.

[@cathfragment]

In Finder and other apps, when two or more windows are opened and you want to move the background one without bringing it to the foreground, press "Command" while clicking on the title bar to move it. Works across apps as well.

[@zawacchi]

Didn’t know about Smart Folders until this video. I’ll definitely start using them. Thanks!!

[@snazzy]

I love them!

[@efthlouk]

You’re always getting a thumbs up for me! Kudos for all the super user tips 👌🏻

[@KyleBigler]

I'm not a Mac user, but my wife is and I often jump on her computer to help her out with different projects. This video just made my life much easier! Thanks!

[@snazzy]

Cheers!

[@KyleBigler]

@@snazzy One year later and I just picked up my first Mac 🎉 Needless to say, I've been binging your videos for the past week. Forgot I even left this comment until I rewatched this video. 😂 REALLY appreciate your content!

[@chriswatson2407]

Thanks very much Mr Snazzy. I have had a mac along side my Windows workstation for five years and use both all day but I really couldn't ever figure out how to use search.

[@bbrunorocha]

THANK YOU !!! number 6 was an amzing tip, I was really frustrated moving from PC to a Mac a couple of years ago and never figuring it out!

[@Ceremyjohen]

Great tips! Thanks!

[@grichu]

I come from windows and i thought finder was hell. Thank you for making it much more user friendly to me! This will really will be a big improvement in my workflow!

[@Aydosh1991]

Fantastic. Even though I have been using Macs for more than 2 decades, you taught me some new very useful tricks. 😊

[@aldenhew6743]

Been using mac for 5 years, still a lot of features not aware off. This Video is indeed helpful!

[@tomnguyen6158]

recently move to the Mac OS, you video help me a ton..thankyou

[@epradeep]

One of the most useful videos I have watched in quite some time :), Keep them coming. Thank you so much for the tips, they were very helpful and insightful.

[@snazzy]

Pradeep Raghunathan Thank you!!

[@MaorKlir]

Great video! Keep on bringing them tips Quinn!