Finder lets you discover advanced functionality naturally. But sometimes you need a cheat sheet. Theres always something new to learn.
TL:DR – These are my favourite advanced Finder moves. I'll add to the list as I remember more.
Contents
Mac keyboard shortcuts
Show Hidden Files in Finder
If you've always used % ls -al in a terminal to show hidden files, maybe you'd missed that you can do this in Finder too. To show hidden files in a folder use the shortcut keys (Command, Shift, Dot).

Switch between the windows of the app you're using
To switch windows in the same app use ` (Command, Grave accent).
Screenshot a window or menu
- On your Mac, select the items.
- Open the window or menu you want to capture.
- Press and hold these keys together 4 Space Bar ( Shift, Command, 4 and Space bar).
- The pointer will turn into a (Camera) icon. To cancel taking the screenshot, press the Esc (Escape) key.
Advanced Menu Items
Rename a group of files in Finder
- On your Mac, select the items.
- Control-click one of them or Select All (Cmd A).
- In the action menu or popup menu, choose Rename.
- In the dialog box titled Rename Finder Items, choose to replace, add text or change the name format.
- To replace text, choose
Replace Text
and enter the text you want to remove in theFind
field, then enter the text you want to add in theReplace with
field. - To add text, choose
Add Text
and enter the text you want to add in the field, then choose to add the text before or after the current name. - to format, choose
Format
in the pop-up menu, choose a name format for the files, then choose to put the index, counter or date before or after the name. Enter a name in the Custom Format field, then enter the number you want to start with.
- To replace text, choose
- Click Rename.
