Finder (software)

The Finder uses a view of the file system that is rendered using a desktop metaphor; that is, the files and folders are represented as appropriate icons. It uses a similar interface to Apple's Safari browser, where the user can click on a folder to move to it and move between locations using "back" and "forward" arrow buttons. Like Safari, the Finder uses tabs to allow the user to view multiple folders; these tabs can be pulled off the window to make them separate windows. There is a "favorites" sidebar of commonly used and important folders on the left of the Finder window.

The classic Mac OS Finder uses a spatial metaphor quite different from the more browser-like approach of the modern macOS Finder.{{cite web|date=October 28, 2003|title=Missing The Boat On Panther|url=https://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/missing_the_boat_on_panther|website=Mac Observer|access-date=October 14, 2021|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029171613/https://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/missing_the_boat_on_panther|url-status=live}} In the classic Finder, opening a new folder opens the location in a new window: Finder windows are 'locked' so that they would only ever display the contents of one folder. It also allows extensive customization, with the user being able to give folders custom icons matching their content. This approach emphasizes the different locations of files within the operating system, but navigating to a folder nested inside multiple other folders fills the desktop with a large number of windows that the user may not wish to have open. These must then be closed individually. Holding down the option key when opening a folder would also close its parent, but this trick was not discoverable and remained under the purview of power users.

The modern Finder uses macOS graphics APIs to display previews of a range of files, such as images, applications and PDF files. The Quick Look feature allows users to quickly examine documents and images in more detail from the finder by pressing the space bar without opening them in a separate application. The user can choose how to view files, with options such as large icons showing previews of files, a list with details such as date of last creation or modification, a Gallery View (replacing the previous Cover flow in macOS Mojave), and a "column view" influenced by macOS's direct ancestor NeXTSTEP.{{cite web|last1=Gruber|first1=John|author-link=John Gruber|date=February 14, 2012|title=Walter Isaacson's 'Steve Jobs'|url=https://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_jobs|access-date=September 3, 2014|website=Daring Fireball|archive-date=September 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913103658/http://daringfireball.net/2012/02/walter_isaacson_steve_jobs|url-status=live}}

The modern Finder displays some aspects of the file system outside its windows. Mounted external volumes and disk image files can be displayed on the desktop. There is a trash can on the Dock in macOS, to which files can be dragged to mark them for deletion, and to which drives can be dragged for ejection. When a volume icon is being dragged, the Trash icon in the Dock changes to an eject icon in order to indicate this functionality. Finder can record files to optical media on the sidebar.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781118022054 |title=Mac OS X Lion For Dummies |first=Bob |last=LeVitus |chapter-url=http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-burn-cds-or-dvds-in-mac-os-x-lion.html |chapter=How to Burn CDs or DVDs in Mac OS X Lion |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |series=For Dummies |isbn=978-1-118-02205-4 |date=August 2011 |access-date=June 29, 2014 |url-access=registration }}

• In System 1.1, the About box with the Mountain scene and the Clean Up command were introduced.
• In System 2.0, the New Folder and Shut Down commands were introduced, alongside a MiniFinder application for quickly launching any chosen application.
• In System 2.1, the Finder was changed to use the Hierarchical File System (HFS) by default.
• In System 5, MultiFinder was introduced. It allows the user to have multiple apps opened simultaneously.
• MultiFinder support was expanded upon in System 6.
• In System 7, Finder's UI is revamped and is updated to allow for native multitasking, taking most of its features from MultiFinder.
• Mac OS 7.6 made drastic performance improvements by increasing memory allocation.{{Cite web |title=Mac OS 7.6, Will it be worth it? |url=http://www.themacintoshguy.com/mactips/archive/tip13.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222120836/http://themacintoshguy.com/MacTips/archive/tip13.shtml |archive-date=December 22, 2010 |access-date=July 27, 2011}}
• Mac OS 8 redesigned the app to be based on the Platinum theme and rewrote it to be PowerPC-native, support 32-bit processors, and be multi-threaded. It also introduced pop-up windows, as well the Simple Finder, an option which reduces Finder menus to basic operations to avoid overwhelming new users.
• Mac OS 8.1 changed the Finder's default file system to be HFS Plus.
• Mac OS 9 introduced 128-bit file encryption to the app.
• Mac OS 9.1 introduced CD Burning and a new "Window" menu.
• Mac OS X 10.0 revamped the Finder from the ground up in the Carbon API; its UI is also redesigned to use Aqua with a web browser like layout, and removes CD burning, DVD burning, and colored labels.
• Mac OS X 10.1 reintroduced CD and DVD burning support from Mac OS 9.1, as well the ability to hide file extensions on a per-file basis. It also made significant performance improvements.
• Mac OS X Jaguar added a search bar to the app, powered by Sherlock 3.
• Mac OS X Panther revamped the app. It gained a brushed-metal interface, live search results, a customizable Sidebar, secure deletion, colored labels reintroduced from Mac OS 9,{{cite news|title=One more cool cat|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-mac103003-column.html|date=October 30, 2003|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|quote=Those nostalgic for Mac OS 9 will celebrate the return of colored file labels in this menu.|access-date=October 8, 2021|archive-date=October 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008040422/https://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-mac103003-column.html|url-status=live}} and ZIP support built in. The icon was also changed.
• In Mac OS X Tiger, the Window menu in the Finder introduced a "Cycle Through Windows" option, while the Get Info window for items in the Finder also added a "More Info" section that includes Spotlight information tags such as Image Height & Width, when the file was last opened, and where the file originated.
• In Mac OS X Leopard, the app is redesigned with skeuomorphic elements, alongside new features similar to those seen in iTunes 7, including Cover Flow and a Source List-like sidebar.
• In Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the app was rewritten from the ground up in Cocoa, and gained support for 64-bit processors. However, it did not receive a major user interface overhaul.
• In Mac OS X Lion, the app received numerous improvements, such as the ability for Finder search to allow multiple search criteria to be specified without creating a smart folder as well as to offer suggestions, the ability for files to be grouped by various attributes, and the ability to merge files under two folders with the same name, though a prompt appears asking to replace or keep both files.{{cite web|title=Finder|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104020714/http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/features.html#finder|url=https://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/features.html#finder|archive-date=January 4, 2012|publisher=Apple Inc.|access-date=August 26, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/11/02/27/inside_mac_os_x_10_7_lion_new_finder_search_item_arrangement_views.html|title=Inside Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: New Finder search, item arrangement views|date=February 27, 2011|publisher=AppleInsider|access-date=September 22, 2023}} The navigation sidebar lost the ability to show the specific icon of a map{{vague|c=Network mapped volume?; "map icon" sounds like an atlas|date=March 2012}} or volume (by default; there is a hack to still add the old ability), instead it shows a grey standard map icon.
• In OS X Mountain Lion, the Finder displays a progress bar in the "size" column when copying a file.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5X9hdt1GFJUC&q=os+x+mountain+lion+%22software+update+app%22&pg=PT479|title=OS X Mountain Lion: Visual QuickStart Guide|last=Langer|first=Maria|date=2012-09-21|publisher=Peachpit Press|isbn=9780133088083|language=en|access-date=October 27, 2020|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027170101/https://books.google.com/books?id=5X9hdt1GFJUC&q=os+x+mountain+lion+%22software+update+app%22&pg=PT479|url-status=live}}
• In OS X Mavericks, tabs,{{Cite web|url=https://au.pcmag.com/software/11651/apple-os-x-1092-mavericks-for-mac|title=Apple OS X 10.9.2 Mavericks (for Mac)|first=PCMag|last=Australia|date=October 21, 2013|website=PCMag Australia}} full-screen support, and document tags are introduced,{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/7|title=OS X 10.9 Mavericks: The Ars Technica Review – Finder|author=John Siracusa|date=October 22, 2013|access-date=June 14, 2017|archive-date=January 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117144154/http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/7/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/8|title=OS X 10.9 Mavericks: The Ars Technica Review – Tabs|author=John Siracusa|date=October 22, 2013|access-date=June 14, 2017|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312062850/https://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/8/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/9|title=OS X 10.9 Mavericks: The Ars Technica Review – Tabs implementation|author=John Siracusa|date=October 22, 2013|access-date=June 14, 2017|archive-date=January 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117103333/http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/9/|url-status=live}} while inch-to-zoom and swipe-to-navigate-history gestures have been removed.
• In OS X Yosemite, the Finder is updated to include a refreshed user interface with updated typography and translucency, along with a new icon. Functionally, it also adds official support for extensions, allowing synchronization and cloud storage applications such as Dropbox to display sync status labels inside the Finder display.{{cite web|last1=Siracusa|first1=John|date=October 16, 2014|title=OS X Yosemite review|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/10/os-x-10-10/17/|access-date=15 August 2015|website=Ars Technica|archive-date=July 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720235927/https://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/10/os-x-10-10/17/|url-status=live}}
• In OS X El Capitan, the app gains a new security feature called System Integrity Protection (SIP),{{Cite web|url=http://arstechnica.co.uk/apple/2015/09/os-x-10-11-el-capitan-the-ars-technica-review|title=OS X 10.11 El Capitan: The Ars Technica Review|date=September 29, 2015|access-date=September 29, 2015|website=Ars Technica|last1=Cunningham|first1=Andrew|last2=Hutchinson|first2=Lee|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930120734/http://arstechnica.co.uk/apple/2015/09/os-x-10-11-el-capitan-the-ars-technica-review|archive-date=September 30, 2015|df=mdy-all}} sometimes referred to as "rootless"{{Cite web|url=http://arstechnica.co.uk/apple/2015/06/preview-os-x-el-capitans-first-beta-is-a-promising-heap-of-refinements/4/#h1|title=First look: OS X El Capitan brings a little Snow Leopard to Yosemite|date=June 17, 2015|access-date=June 18, 2015|website=Ars Technica|last=Cunningham|first=Andrew|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619203247/http://arstechnica.co.uk/apple/2015/06/preview-os-x-el-capitans-first-beta-is-a-promising-heap-of-refinements/4/#h1|archive-date=June 19, 2015|df=mdy-all}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.macrumors.com/2015/06/12/os-x-el-capitan-trim-support|title=OS X El Capitan Opens Door to TRIM Support on Third-Party SSDs for Improved Performance|date=June 12, 2015|access-date=June 18, 2015|website=MacRumors|last=Slivka|first=Eric|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619202908/http://www.macrumors.com/2015/06/12/os-x-el-capitan-trim-support|archive-date=June 19, 2015|df=mdy-all}}) that protects certain system processes, files and folders from being modified or tampered with by other processes even when executed by the root user or by a user with root privileges (sudo). Apple says that the root user can be a significant risk factor to the system's security, especially on systems with a single user account on which that user is also the administrator. System Integrity Protection is enabled by default, but can be disabled.{{Cite web|url=http://devstreaming.apple.com/videos/wwdc/2015/706nu20qkag/706/706_security_and_your_apps.pdf|title=Security and Your Apps|date=June 2015|access-date=June 18, 2015|website=Apple Developer|publisher=Apple|last=Martel|first=Pierre-Olivier|pages=8–54|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619201207/http://devstreaming.apple.com/videos/wwdc/2015/706nu20qkag/706/706_security_and_your_apps.pdf|archive-date=June 19, 2015|df=mdy-all}}{{Cite web|url=https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/mac/releasenotes/MacOSX/WhatsNewInOSX/Articles/MacOSX10_11.html|title=What's New in OS X|date=June 8, 2015|access-date=June 18, 2015|website=Mac Developer Library|publisher=Apple|at=At section OS X v10.11|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611174304/https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/mac/releasenotes/MacOSX/WhatsNewInOSX/Articles/MacOSX10_11.html|archive-date=June 11, 2015|df=mdy-all}}
• In MacOS Sierra, the app gains an option to show folders always at the top of the view hierarchy, for instance in list views.
• In MacOS High Sierra, the app now uses the Apple File System (APFS) as its default.
• In MacOS Mojave, the app now has metadata preview accessed via View > Show Preview. In addition, the software updates are once again performed from the app,{{cite web|url=https://www.macobserver.com/reviews/quick-look/apples-macos-mojave-a-user-perspective-review|title=Apple's macOS Mojave: A User Perspective & Review|first=John|last=Martellaro|date=September 26, 2018|access-date=January 14, 2019|archive-date=January 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115023323/https://www.macobserver.com/reviews/quick-look/apples-macos-mojave-a-user-perspective-review/|url-status=live}} while a new Gallery View replaces Cover Flow, and lets users browse through files visually.{{cite news|url=http://osxdaily.com/2018/06/04/macos-mojave-announced-features|title=MacOS Mojave Announced, Checkout the New Features|date=June 4, 2018|work=OS X Daily|access-date=June 6, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180607183913/http://osxdaily.com/2018/06/04/macos-mojave-announced-features|archive-date=June 7, 2018}}
• In MacOS Catalina, with the removal of iTunes, iOS device management is now done in the app.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/3/18647182/apple-itunes-podcasts-music-tv-mac-os-wwdc-2019|title=Apple breaks up iTunes, creates separate Podcasts, TV, and Music apps for macOS|last=Carman|first=Ashley|date=June 3, 2019|website=The Verge|access-date=June 3, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/itunes-shutting-down-1203231598/|title=Apple Is Officially Killing iTunes, Replacing It With Three Dedicated Media Apps|last=Roettgers|first=Janko|date=June 3, 2019|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=June 3, 2019}}
• macOS Big Sur introduces a complete graphical redesign of the Finder, along with the rest of the user interface, sporting the removal of the brushed metal interface elements, a full-height sidebar and all new iconography. Big Sur also slightly modifies the Finder icon with rounded corners.{{cite press release|title=Apple introduces macOS Big Sur with a beautiful new design|url=https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/06/apple-introduces-macos-big-sur-with-a-beautiful-new-design/|date=June 22, 2020|publisher=Apple Inc.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622183825/https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/06/apple-introduces-macos-big-sur-with-a-beautiful-new-design/|archive-date=June 22, 2020|access-date=June 22, 2020}}
• In MacOS Monterey, the toolbar was given a redesign and a few new features introduced.
• In MacOS Sonoma, the feature allowing all apps to be hidden was changed, previously, it required holding down the option key when the icon was tapped, though now, in merely requires pressing the icon on the dock.{{cite web | url=https://appleinsider.com/inside/macos-sonoma/tips/how-apple-has-changed-option-key-behavior-in-macos-sonoma#:~:text=In%20previous%20versions%20of%20macOS,of%20merely%20hiding%20app%20windows | title=Changes to Option key behavior in macOS Sonoma | date=October 16, 2023 }}
• In MacOS Sequoia, a show folder items option was added.https://appleinsider.com/inside/macos-sequoia/tips/how-to-use-the-show-library-folder-option-in-macos-sequoias-finder

Stewart Alsop II in 1988 said "It is testimony to either the luck or vision of the original designers" of Finder that "the interface has been able to survive tremendous evolution without much essential damage" from 1984. He praised its spatial file manager as "probably a more complete definition of a PC-based universe than any" competitor, with users able to seamlessly use floppies, local and remote hard disks, and large and small file servers. Alsop said that even if Apple had stolen Xerox's technology for Finder, it was now very different. While criticizing the lack of a right mouse button and MultiFinder's clumsiness, he concluded that "Apple remains the king of user interfaces. Finder is the only interface with 1.5 million people sitting in front of it daily. Apple is spending tremendous amounts of money on both development and basic research to remain the leader".{{Cite journal|last=Alsop II|first=Stewart|date=1988-01-18|title=Apple's Finder: Maturity in UI|url=http://vintagecomputer.net/cisc367/PC-Letter_19880118.pdf|journal=P.C. Letter|volume=4|issue=2|pages=4–5|access-date=November 23, 2017|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308060223/http://vintagecomputer.net/cisc367/PC-Letter_19880118.pdf|url-status=live}}

Introducing Mac OS X in 2000, Steve Jobs criticized the original Finder, saying that it "generates a ton of windows, and you get to be the janitor."{{cite web|last1=Rothenberg|first1=Matthew|date=January 4, 2000|title=New OS X headlines Jobs keynote|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-os-x-headlines-jobs-keynote/|website=ZDNet|access-date=July 5, 2024|archive-date=June 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628135325/https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-os-x-headlines-jobs-keynote/|url-status=live}}

Ars Technica columnist John Siracusa has been a long-standing defender of the spatial interface of the classic Mac OS Finder and a critic of the new design.{{cite web|last=Siracusa|first=John|date=April 2, 2003|title=About the Finder...|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2003/04/finder/|access-date=December 20, 2006|website=Ars Technica|archive-date=August 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814181334/http://arstechnica.com/apple/2003/04/finder/|url-status=live}} Daring Fireball blog author John Gruber has voiced similar criticisms. In a 2005 interview{{cite web | url=http://www.guidebookgallery.org/articles/interviewwithjohngruber | title=Interview with John Gruber | date=September 2005 | access-date=January 13, 2007 | author=Marcin Wichary | publisher=GUIdebook | archive-date=January 10, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110041012/http://www.guidebookgallery.org/articles/interviewwithjohngruber | url-status=live }} he said that the Finder in version 10.3 of Mac OS X had become "worse than in 10.0" and that "the fundamental problem with the OS X Finder is that it's trying to support two opposing paradigms at once – the browser metaphor ... and the spatial metaphor from the original Mac Finder ... and it ends up doing neither one very well." Reviewing the same version of Mac OS X, Siracusa comments that the Finder "provides exactly the same self-destructive combination of spatial and browser-style features as all of its Mac OS X predecessors".{{cite web|author=John Siracusa|date=November 9, 2003|title=Mac OS X 10.3 Panther: Same as it ever was|url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2003/11/macosx-10-3/11/|access-date=August 4, 2012|work=Ars Technica|archive-date=October 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010140123/http://arstechnica.com/apple/2003/11/macosx-10-3/11/|url-status=live}}

Third-party macOS software developers offer Finder replacements that run as stand-alone applications, such as ForkLift, Path Finder, Xfile, and XtraFinder. These replacements are shareware or freeware and aim to include and supersede the functionality of the Finder. After Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger the UNIX command line file management tools understand resource forks and can be used for management of Mac files.

There are minor differences between Finder versions and Classic OS to System 7. From System 6 onward, the version numbers are unified.

Since the introduction of Mac OS X, the largest rewrite of the Finder was with the 2009 release of Mac OS X 10.6, into the Cocoa API, though little change was visible to the user.{{cite web|title=11 major new Snow Leopard features|url=https://www.macworld.com/article/199787/snow-leopard-changes.html|date=August 26, 2009|access-date=October 13, 2021|work=Macworld|publisher=IDG|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029171616/https://www.macworld.com/article/199787/snow-leopard-changes.html|url-status=live}}

{{Timeline of Macintosh operating systems}}

• Miller columns
• List of file managers
• Comparison of file managers
• File Explorer

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.earlymacintosh.org/#software Apple Macintosh before System 7]
• [https://arstechnica.com/apple/2003/04/finder/ Ars Technica: About the Finder...]
• [https://arstechnica.com/apple/2003/11/macosx-10-3/9/ Ars Technica: Review of OS X 10.3] – discussing the lack of fundamental changes to the Finder

{{Apple software}}

{{macOS}}

{{Mac OS}}

{{File managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finder (Software)}}

Category:1984 software

Category:File managers for macOS

Category:Macintosh operating systems

Category:Macintosh operating systems user interface