Editing Finder (software) (section)

==Description==
The Finder uses a view of the [[file system]] that is rendered using a [[desktop metaphor]]; that is, the files and [[Directory (computing)|folders]] are represented as appropriate icons. It uses a similar interface to Apple's [[Safari (web browser)|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="New OS X headlines"/> 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 [[Discoverability|discoverable]] and remained under the purview of [[power user]]s.

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 "[[Miller columns|column view]]" influenced by macOS's direct ancestor [[NeXTSTEP]].<ref>{{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}}</ref>

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 (macOS)|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 [[Optical disc authoring|record]] files to [[optical media]] on the sidebar.<ref>{{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 }}</ref>