Teach Yourself VISUALLY MacBook Pro, 2nd Edition (2014)
Part I. Discovering MacBook Pro
Chapter 2. Looking Through the OS X Finder Windows
Understanding Finder, Application, and Document Windows
Like windows in the physical world, windows on your MacBook Pro enable you to view objects on-screen, such as folders, files, applications, and documents. By learning to work with windows efficiently, you can accomplish your tasks more quickly and easily.
In OS X, most windows have common elements no matter what application you are using. In some cases, particularly with games and utilities, you might not see familiar windows when you run those applications. Instead, you see windows that are customized to perform specific functions.
Finder Windows
A Title
Shows the name of the drive, folder, or other location you are currently viewing.
B Toolbar
Contains tools to control windows, move among them, change views, and perform actions.
C Search Box
Enables you to search for files or folders.
D Files and Folders
The contents of the drive, folder, or other location you are viewing appear within the main part of Finder windows.
E Sidebar
Contains icons for locations, files, and folders; you can click an icon to view its contents in the Finder window or to open an application or document.
F Status Bar
Displays status information for what you are viewing, such as available disk space on the current drive. Click View and Show Status Bar to display the status bar.
G Scroll Bars
When you scroll or hover the pointer over the scroll area, the scroll bars appear to indicate your position in the window.
H Border
Drag a window border to change the window's size and shape. Drag a corner to resize the window both horizontally and vertically at the same time.
I Size Slider (Icon View Only)
Drag to the left to make icons smaller or to the right to make them larger.
Application Windows
A Application Title
The name of the application window.
B Window Controls
Enable you to close, minimize, or zoom the window.
C Toolbar
Provides buttons and controls for specific actions in the application.
D Content
The content appears in the main part of the window.
Document Windows
A Document Title
The name of the file that appears in the window.
B Scroll Bars
Enable you to move up, down, left, or right within a window to see all of its contents and show you your relative position in the document.
C Border
Drag a border to resize the window. Drag a corner to resize the window both horizontally and vertically at the same time.
D Application-Specific Tools
Most applications provide tools in their windows specific to the application.
View Finder Windows in Icon View
Icon view represents each file or folder as a graphical icon that indicates the kind of object it represents, such as a file or folder. Icon view can be useful for looking through graphical items, such as images. You can adjust the icon size from tiny to huge to suit your preferences. In Icon view, you can set the window's background color or use an image as the background.
View Finder Windows in Icon View
Click a folder in the Sidebar to view its contents.
Click Icon View (
).
Drag the slider to change the icon size.
Click Arrange (
) and select how you want the icons grouped.
Click View and select Show View Options.
Select the Always open in icon view check box (
changes to 
) to have the folder always open in Icon view.
Select the Browse in icon view check box ( changes to ) if you want folders in the current folder to appear in Icon view.
Click the Arrange By arrows and select the arrangement to use.
Click the Sort By arrows and select the sort type.
Drag the Icon size slider to set the icon size.
Drag the Grid spacing slider to set the icon spacing.
Click the Text size arrows and select the text size.
Select a Label position option to place text labels on the bottom or on the right.
Select the Show item info check box ( changes to ) to show additional information about items.
Select the Show icon preview check box ( changes to ) to show a preview if it is available.
Select the Color option (
changes to 
) to use a background color.
Click the color button.
In the Colors window, select the color you want for the background.
Click Close (
) to close the Colors window.
A To use a picture background, select Picture ( changes to ) and then drag an image file onto the image well.
Click Use as Defaults to have every window you open in Icon view use the current settings by default.
Click Close () to close the View Options dialog.
TIP
How can I browse items when I have grouped them?
Items you group are placed in categories by the criterion you select, such as Size. If a particular group has more items than can be displayed, the remaining items appear in either a fan or grid on either side of the displayed items. Click the indicator on either side to move through the items.
View Finder Windows in List View
List view may not look as colorful as Icon view, but it provides much more information. You can more easily sort the content in windows so that the items appear in the order you want. You can also select items stored in different folders at the same time.
View Finder Windows in List View
Click a folder in the Sidebar.
Click List View (
).
Click the View menu and select Show View Options.
Select the Always open in list view check box ( changes to ) if you want the folder to always open in List view.
Select the Browse in list view check box ( changes to ) to cause all the folders within to display in List view too.
Click the Arrange By menu and choose the arrangement.
Click the Sort By menu and choose how to sort items.
In the Icon size area, click small or large ( changes to ).
Click the Text size pop-up menu and select the text size.
Select the check box options for each column to display.
Select the Use relative dates check box ( changes to ) to see relative dates, such as Yesterday or Today.
Select the Calculate all sizes check box ( changes to ) to see folder sizes.
Select the Show icon preview check box ( changes to ) if you want to see previews.
Click Use as Defaults to use the current settings by default.
Click Close ().
Drag a column heading to the left or to the right to change the order in which columns appear in the window.
Note: The Name column always appears on the far left; you cannot move it or move another column ahead of it.
Release the trackpad when the column is in its new position.
To change the order in which the items are sorted, click the column heading by which you want to sort the items.
To reverse the sort order, click 
.
To reveal the contents of a folder, click 
or press 
+
.
A The folder expands so that you can see the folders and files it contains.
Click 
to collapse a folder or press +
.
TIPS
How do I expand all the folders within a window at the same time?
Press and hold 
while you click a folder's . The folder expands, along with all the folders contained within that folder. Press and hold and click any folder's to collapse all the folders in the window again. From the keyboard, you can press ++ to expand all the folders or ++ to collapse them.
How do I tell where a folder is when I view its window?
Click View and then click Show Path Bar. A bar appears at the bottom of the window that shows you the path from the startup disk to the location of the current folder.
View Finder Windows in Column View
Column view is best for navigating quickly around your MacBook. This view allows you to see the contents of folders along with the locations of those folders. You can click any folder's icon to immediately see the contents of that folder in the same window. This view is the default view for Open dialogs.
View Finder Windows in Column View
Click a folder in the Sidebar.
Click Column View (
).
Click View and select Show View Options.
Select the Always open in column view check box (
changes to 
) if you want the folder to always open in Column view.
Select the Browse in column view check box ( changes to ) to have subfolders display in Column view too.
Select an option on the Arrange By pop-up menu to arrange items.
Select an option on the Sort By pop-up menu to sort items.
Open the Text size pop-up menu to choose the text size.
Select the Show icons check box ( changes to ) to display icons.
Select the Show icon preview check box ( changes to ) to see icon previews.
To show a preview of a file, select the Show preview column check box ().
Click Close (
).
Select a location in the Sidebar to view it.
Click a folder to see its contents.
A The contents of the folder appear in the column to the right of the one on which you clicked.
Note: As you move through the folder hierarchy, columns shift to the left so that you always see the last column opened toward the right side of the window.
Click a file.
B You see information about the file in the far right column, including a preview of the file if that option is enabled. You can page through files such as text documents and PDF files. If the file is dynamic, such as audio or video, you can play its content in the preview.
To change the width of a column, drag the handle at the base of its right edge to the left or right.
To group items, click Arrange (
) and choose how you want the window grouped.
TIPS
How do I resize all the columns at once?
Press and hold 
while you drag one column's handle. All the columns are resized at the same time. Double-click a column's handle to resize the column to show the longest file or folder name.
How do I tell the difference between a folder and a file?
In Column view, folders always have a right-facing triangle at the right edge of their column to show that when you select this triangle, the folder's contents appear in a new column to the right. Files do not have this arrow.
View Finder Windows in Cover Flow View
Cover Flow view provides a graphical way for you to quickly scan the contents of a Finder window. It displays thumbnail images for items, enabling you to scroll through files and folders with ease. You can flip through the various folders and files to browse them in the Cover Flow viewer, which appears in the top part of the window. In the bottom part of the window, you see the items in the folder you are browsing in List view.
View Finder Windows in Cover Flow View
Open a Finder window.
Click Cover Flow View (
).
A The Cover Flow viewer appears in the upper part of the window.
B The items in the folder you are viewing appear in the lower part of the window in List view.
To browse the contents of the folder quickly, drag across the “covers” to the left or right.
As you browse, a preview of each item flips by in the Cover Flow viewer in the upper part of the window.
C The item currently selected is the one directly facing you and is highlighted on the list in the lower part of the window.
To jump to a specific file or folder, click its icon.
To make the Cover Flow viewer larger or smaller, drag 
up or down.
Configure the Sidebar
The Finder's Sidebar enables you to navigate easily among files, folders, and applications. The Sidebar contains several default locations and folders, but you can add and remove items so the Sidebar contains the items you use most frequently. The Sidebar contains four sections. Favorites are your favorite items; a number of defaults are stored here. Devices include hard drives and other devices (such as iPods) connected to your MacBook Pro. Shared includes disk drives or computers you are accessing over a network. Tags shows the list of tags you can use for easy reference and access to items.
Configure the Sidebar
To remove an item from the Sidebar, Control+click it.
Click Remove from Sidebar.
The item is removed from the Sidebar, but remains on your MacBook Pro.
To add something to the Sidebar, click its icon, open the File menu, and choose Add to Sidebar.
To change the order of items in the Sidebar, drag them up or down the list.
To collapse a section of the Sidebar, point to that section and click Hide.
To expand a section of the Sidebar, point to that section's title and click Show.
Work with Finder Tabs
When you are managing your files, you will often find you need to work in multiple folders at the same time. Instead of opening multiple Finder windows and arranging them so you can see them all, you can open multiple tabs within the same Finder window and navigate quickly among the tabs by using the tab bar. Finder tabs are especially useful if you switch a Finder window to full-screen mode. You can drag files or folders from one Finder tab to another to copy or move the items.
Work with Finder Tabs
Open a Finder window.
Click the folder you want to view in the window.
Click the button for the view you want. For example, click Columns () to switch to Columns view.
Press 
+
or click File and New Tab.
Note: The Finder hides the tab bar by default when only one tab is open. You can display the tab bar by clicking View and Show Tab Bar or pressing 
++
.
A The tab bar appears.
B A new tab opens, showing your default folder or view.
Click the folder you want to view.
Click the button for the view you want. For example, click Icon (
) to switch to Icon view.
Click New Tab (
).
A new tab opens, showing your default folder or view.
Note: You can use a different view in each tab if you like, so you can set up your folders the way you prefer them.
Drag the tab along the tab bar to where you want it.
Note: You can drag a tab to another Finder window if you want. You can also drag a tab out of a Finder window to turn it into its own window.
Click Full Screen (
).
The Finder window appears full screen, giving you more space for working with files, folders, and tabs.
Note: To exit Full Screen view, move the mouse pointer (
) to the top of the screen so that the menu bar appears, and then click Exit Full Screen (
). Alternatively, press 
.
TIPS
How do I close a Finder tab?
Move the mouse over the tab, and then click Close (
) when it appears. You can also press +
or click File and Close Tab.
How do I copy or move files using Finder tabs?
Select the files in the source tab, and then drag them to the destination tab on the tab bar. To put the files in the folder open in the destination tab, drop the files on the destination tab in the tab bar. To navigate to a subfolder, hold the mouse over the destination tab until its content appears, and then drag the items to the subfolder.
Using the Action Pop-up Menu and Quick Look
The Action pop-up menu is a convenient means for giving commands in Finder windows. This contextual menu contains a list of commands that you can use on the files or folders you have selected. The list is contextual, so it changes depending on what objects you have selected; the Action pop-up menu shows the same commands as the contextual menu you can display by Control+clicking an item. The Finder's Quick Look command enables you to view the contents of a file or group of files without actually opening them. This can save time, especially when you are looking for specific files.
Using the Action Pop-up Menu and Quick Look
Using the Action Pop-up Menu
Open a Finder window.
Click the file you want to affect.
Click the Action pop-up menu (
).
Select the command.
Using Quick Look
Open a Finder window containing files.
Select the files you want to view.
Note: To select multiple files at the same time, click the first file, and then press and hold while you click the other files.
Press 
.
The Quick Look window opens and shows the contents of the files you have selected.
To move forward and backward through the items you selected, click 
or 
.
To see thumbnails of each item you selected, click Thumbnails (
).
To see Quick Look in full screen, click Full Screen (
).
To open the file in a related application, click the Open With button.
When you are done with Quick Look, click Close (
).
Configure the Finder Window Toolbar
The toolbar that appears at the top of the Finder window contains buttons that you can use to access commands quickly and easily. For example, the various View buttons appear there along with the Action menu button. Although the Finder toolbar includes a number of buttons by default, you can configure the toolbar so that it contains the buttons you use most frequently.
Configure the Finder Window Toolbar
Open a Finder window.
Click View and select Customize Toolbar.
To remove a button from the toolbar, drag its icon from the toolbar onto the desktop.
When you release the trackpad, the button disappears in a puff of smoke.
To add a button to the toolbar, drag its icon from the sheet and drop it on the toolbar at the location in which you want to place it.
When you release the trackpad, the button is added to the toolbar.
To change the location of a button on the toolbar, drag its icon from the current location to where you want it.
When you are finished customizing the toolbar, click Done.
The Customization sheet closes and you see your customized toolbar.