Select Files and Folders With Keyboard

An easy way to select a file or folder while in Finder is to begin typing the file or folder name.

For example, in the following image you can see there are multiple Applications that begin with the letter “T” (TextEdit, TextWrangler and Transmit):

By typing “T”, Finder selects TextEdit, the first application that begins with a T.

To select TextWrangler or Transmit, you would type “TextW” or “Tr” respectively.

To cancel the current select, hit the escape key. This clears the completion and lets you begin a new one if necessary.

On Windows, you type the first letter of the file or folder you want to select. To select another file or folder that begins with the same letter, press the same key again. This will cycle through all of the available options.

Update: A few users have been asking about how to launch the selected file/folder from the keyboard. Hitting enter will rename the file/folder. Mike C. comments that pressing or will work. Additionally, you can also use .

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Written by Brad Jasper on August 25, 2005 at 12:14 pm - Select Files and Folders With Keyboard has 8 comments - Categorized in Easy Tips, Finder Tips, Hardware Tips, Laptops, keyboard shortcuts

8 Responses to “Select Files and Folders With Keyboard”

1. 
   Justin
   As a recent switcher, I'm used to doing this and then hitting "Enter" to open the file... when I try to do this on my Mac it just starts renaming the file, am I missing something? August 25th, 2005 at 12:55 pm
   
   
2. 
   Alan
   This works great so select, but can I run or open the selected app/file from the keyboard? Every time I hit return, I start renaming. I have to reach over for the mouse and click if I want to run the app I've keyboard-selected. August 25th, 2005 at 6:14 pm
   
   
3. 
   jonathan
   anyone know about launching that program from the keyboard, i miss being able to hit enter and open the file. August 25th, 2005 at 6:39 pm
   
   
4. 
   Mike C.
   jonathan: I miss that, too. Luckily we're covered -- try Command+O or Command+DownArrow.
   
   Brad: Finder will also find the nearest alphabetical match. If you don't have any files that start with 'V' but you press it anyway you'll get as alphabetically close as possible, like something with 'U' or 'W'. August 25th, 2005 at 7:59 pm
   
   
5. 
   jonathan
   thanks mike! August 25th, 2005 at 9:06 pm
   
   
6. 
   Jeremy Kemp
   Expanding on Mike's Command-DownArrow hint, you can also hit Command-UpArrow to go up a level to the parent folder. Using these hints, you can get anywhere in your system really quickly using just the keyboard. August 26th, 2005 at 11:07 am
   
   
7. 
   Brad
   Hey Jeremy,
   
   Thanks, I didn't know that. August 26th, 2005 at 11:11 am
   
   
8. 
   JoshB
   If you really like keyboard navigation, I *highly* recommend checking out Quicksilver, an amazing program for launching programs, opening files, and many other things, all from a few keystrokes. I use it all the time and I wonder how I ever got by without it.
   
   It's free and open-source, and you can find it at http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/. Being OSX-only, it integrates into the OS beautifully. August 26th, 2005 at 12:07 pm
   
   

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