Tips and tricks
Small things that save time.
Shortcuts and features that are easy to miss in your first week. Each clip was recorded in FileOctopus on demo files.
Split a window from the keyboard
⌃⌥⌘→ splits right and ⌃⌥⌘↓ splits down. ⇧⌘Return zooms the focused pane; press it again to bring the others back.
⌃⌥⌘→⌃⌥⌘↓⇧⌘Return
Save a layout and come back to it
Arrange panes, tabs and folders, then choose Window ▸ Save Workspace… to bring the whole set-up back later in one step.
Jump to any place with Quick Open
Press ⌃⌘P and type a few letters of a folder or place. ⌃⇧⌘P opens the Command Palette for menu commands.
⌃⌘P⌃⇧⌘P
Search in plain English
Type “pdfs from last week over 8 kb”. FileOctopus turns it into filter chips you can edit or remove.
⌘F
Find text inside PDFs and screenshotsPRO
content:"brand workshop" finds the phrase inside documents, and even inside images, in folders where you turned content search on.
Collect files from many folders on the ShelfPRO
Drag files to the Shelf as you browse, then copy or move them all to the active pane in one go.
Rename many files, with a preview
Select several files and choose Rename. Replace text, add a prefix or number them, and check every new name before you rename. ⌘Z undoes it.
⌘Z
Four folders at oncePRO
View ▸ Pane Layout ▸ Grid shows four panes, two by two.
Find files by where you downloaded them
from:github finds files whose recorded source is GitHub.
Filter a long folder in place
View ▸ Filter Current Folder narrows what's already listed, without a search across subfolders.
Pin a search to the sidebarPRO
Run a search, then choose File ▸ Save Search… and Add to Sidebar. It reruns every time you open it; “last week” always means last week.
Undo a copy, move, rename or Trash
⌘Z reverses file operations, including changes made in Get Info.
⌘Z
Merge two folders with the same name
When a folder already exists, the clash sheet can merge the two instead of replacing one.
Resize icons from the keyboard
⌘+ and ⌘− in Icon view, from 16 to 512 points. Each folder keeps its own size.
⌘+⌘−
Send files to the other pane without dragging
Select items and press ⌃⇧⌘C to copy or ⌃⇧⌘M to move them into the folder shown in the other pane. Your focus and selection stay where they are.
⌃⇧⌘C⌃⇧⌘M
Drop a pane tab on an edge to split
Drag a pane tab to the edge of another pane and drop it: a new split opens there. Cancel the drag to keep the layout.
Tab-complete paths in Go to Folder
In ⇧⌘G, folders appear as you type. Press Tab to complete a name; type a leading dot to see hidden folders.
⇧⌘GTab
Hold Back to see where you've been
Press and hold the toolbar's Back or Forward button to see the tab's history and jump to any folder in it.
Open every subfolder in List view
In List view, ⌥→ expands a folder and everything inside it. ⌥← collapses it again.
⌥→⌥←
Exclude with ! and anchor with ^ and $
“invoice !draft” leaves out drafts, “^invoice” finds names that start with it and “final.pdf$” names that end with it. They mix with ext:, size: and mtime: filters.
Send a search result to another pane
With several panes open, right-click a result for Reveal in Pane, Copy to Pane or Move to Pane.
Paste a screenshot as a file
Copy an image or PDF in any app, open a folder and press ⌘V. It is saved as a new “Pasted” file.
⌘V
Hover a drag over a folder to open it
Hold a drag over a folder and it opens so you can drop deeper. Escape takes you back.
Coming from Windows? Make Return open files
Settings ▸ General has Windows Explorer habits, off by default.