- How to edit and add files to a folder on a Mac Once your new folder is created, it will be called 'untitled folder.' To change its name, you can either do a slow double click on its name, or you.
- After you type your folder's name, press shift+cmd+O (instead of cmd+O) and it will retain the folder name in list view. No idea why it works, but it is faster than hitting enter and then opening.
- I can still only see the files through the Finder interface on the first MacBook I used to copy them where the directory in question has its actual name rather than 'untitled folder'. Even on my other MacBook through the Finder interface, the folder shows 'untitled folder' and has the directory structure but no actual files.
- Open a document on your Mac. Make sure to open the folder of the files you deleted. Now, select File and click on Revert To. Next, click on Browse All Versions. Now, you can click tick marks along the timeline to scan through different versions. When you have found the version you wish to restore, click Restore.
When the notebook name is selected, type the new name for the notebook, and then press Return. On the same page, click the notebook icon to open the renamed notebook in OneNote for the web. In OneNote for the web, click the Open in OneNote button near the top of the page to open the renamed notebook in OneNote for Mac.
Untitled DocumentSummary: Searching for a file in your Mac is easy when you know where and how to look. This blog talks about the familiar places to look from and methods you can use to find your file. Your Mac has built-in features like Finder, Spotlight, and Terminal to help you locate the files on your system.
You can opt for data recovery if the file you are looking for is lost/deleted. A highly recommended software is Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac that can efficiently do the job for you. Download the free software from the button below:
Despite how well we organize our files and folders, it is always challenging to find a specific file at that exact moment.
As a start, it is always recommended to look at a few familiar places. There is a good possibility that you might find your files there. These places may be:
a. Recent Items: If it was a recent file, you could easily find it in the Recent Items list. To go to Recent items, click on the Apple icon at the top-left side of the screen and then click Recent Items.
b. Downloads: Your Mac stores all your downloaded files in a specific folder. So, you can find the photo or a video or any other file you just downloaded from the Internet in that folder. The folder can be found on the side pane of the Finder screen.
c. Default folders: If you haven't placed your files in a particular folder, then your Mac will put that file in the default folder. E.g., you can try looking for photos in the Pictures folder, files in the Documents folder, etc. You can access these folders from the left-hand window of the Finders screen.
d. Trash: You can find your deleted files in the Trash folder. If you are looking for a file that you had accidentally deleted, you can find it in Trash. You can access Trash by clicking on the Trash icon from Mac's home screen.
RelatedBlog: How to Search Deleted Files in Trash?
In some instances, you might not find the files in common places. It is especially true for older files that have been buried in the Mac hard drive for a long period.
To make your search easier, Mac has built-in Finder and Spotlight search features in its OS that help you find specific files, file types, file formats, etc.
Let us explore the methods one-by-one:
1. Using 'Finder' to find Files
a. To open Finder, click on the icon located on the extreme left on the Dock. The finder icon is usually the first icon on the Dock.
b. In the search box, type the search query.
c. The 'name matches/suggestions' to your query will appear as you start typing. If you identify the file, then click on that suggestion. If you do not identify the name match suggestions, then finish typing your query and hit Return.
d. If you forgot the name of the file, then Finder allows you to search by Date. You can enter the month and year of file creation and hit Return. After that, Mac will display all the results of that month. You can then go through the results to locate the desired file.
e. With Finder, you can also search for the file in a specific folder or search the entire Mac. If you are using Finder inside a folder, then the Finder will search inside that specific folder. It can help if you know that the file resides in that particular folder. If no folder is open, then Finder will search the entire Mac.
f. Once you have located the file, you can open it by double-clicking on the file icon.
2. Using the Spotlight search
a. On your Mac screen, there is a magnifying glass on the upper right corner. Please click on that to open the Spotlight search. Alternatively, press Command + Spacebar to launch the Spotlight tool.
b. Type your search term in the window and hit the Return key.
c. Spotlight search will give you a list of the most relevant results on your system. It will also give you web results related to your search.
Read more to fix and rebuild the Spotlight Index on Mac.
What if you can't find the file?
Finder and Spotlight features can help you find almost any file on your Mac. Nevertheless, there might be instances where you would be unable to locate the files. It might be due to some incompatibility issues with the file or something else.
The good thing is that you can locate these untraceable files with Mac's Terminal environment. Here you can perform a deep search in your Mac OS, including system files, etc.
Follow the steps below to use the Terminal feature:
1. Go to Applications > Utilities and launch Terminal
2. Enter the command find / and press the Return key to find all the files that exist on your storage drive. This isn't the best way to locate a file since the command displays all the user-generated & system files. This process is time-consuming and quite cluttered.
3. To search a file in the home directory folder, Enter the command find ~/ or type the command /Users/your system name/desktop
There are simpler ways of searching a file on specific folders via terminal.
4. Type cd and then drag the folder location to the terminal window.
5. Press Return again.
6. Now, you are in the folder which you just dragged in. Enter the command find . -name your file name with file extension—press Return.
The output will be as-
How To Name An Untitled Folder On Mac
(Free) File Recovery software for Mac
What if the file you are searching for on Mac is not there in the first place? What if you have accidentally deleted the file, even from the Trash folder?
How To Name Untitled Folder On Mac
In such scenarios, a free data recovery software for Mac can come to your rescue and recover your deleted or lost data conveniently
For the uninitiated, the free version of the software, Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac, allows you to recover up to 1 GB of lost data.
Watch the video here to see the step-by-step approach to recover your data with Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac.
Summing up
Well, it isn't as easy as it sounds. Searching for a specific file in your Mac can sometimes be a challenge. This blog encounters this challenge by describing different methods by which you can find any file(s). Your Mac has Finder and Spotlight features that can help you locate most of your files. If you can still find your file, you can use the Terminal application on your Mac. The terminal allows you to locate your file with the Mac's extensive command prompt, which does a more comprehensive scan of your Mac's hard drives. You can go for a data recovery software if your file isn't present in the drive or feel that it has been accidentally deleted. A trusted software here is Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac to recover your lost/deleted data.
One of the most basic computer functions — deleting files and folders — is also one of the most essential. If you never get rid of anything, soon enough all those extra gigabytes will take a toll on your Mac's processing power, RAM, and hard drive, not to mention your digital life will resemble a dreadful episode of Hoarders.
So deleting files is good and healthy. But how do you do that? Most people right-click on what they need gone and choose Move to Trash from the menu or use the File option in the menu bar. Others employ the ⌘ + Delete shortcut, which works across the system (even within dialog windows). Experts, however, often find themselves defaulting to the command line delete directory feature. Let's see how and why you should learn it too.
How to remove directory with Terminal
Since macOS is a Unix-based system, nearly all system tasks you do every day with the help of its graphic interface can also be performed via the command line tool called Terminal.
Why delete file command line feature is important
With regards to delete file or delete folder command line functionality, Terminal lets you:
- Effortlessly erase one or multiple files, folders, and apps, bypassing any error messages you can get when you go the traditional route.
- Remove files from Trash, including ones you can't delete by simply emptying the trash.
- Get rid of files that are invisible to you within Finder (usually system or root files, for example, .htaccess).
- Delete files and folders in cases when Finder is unresponsive.
Note: The Mac command line delete file feature is final and irreversible. While it lets you avoid any error messages, it also removes the files completely, without any possibility of retrieving them later on.
Tip: Delete unneeded system files on Mac
Some files are hard to delete in a normal way because they sit deeply in system folders. These are such files as logs, broken downloads, caches, remains of old apps, etc. Still, deleting them could give your Mac an extra boost — that's because they are outdated and clutter your macOS.
To dig these files out, try a free version of CleanMyMac X. Among other things, this app has an impressive System Junk detector. When you download CleanMyMac X (this free version is notarized by Apple), you need to click on System Junk.
Just take a loot at the sheer amount of files it unearthed. To delete them, click on Clean.
How to use delete file command line feature
Removing files from your Mac forever using Terminal is deceptively simple: just use the rm command followed by the name of the file. Here's how it works in practice:
- Launch Terminal from your Utilities folder in Applications.
- Check which directory you're in by typing ls -la
- Then navigate down a directory with cd [directoryname] or up a directory with cd ../
- When you're in the same directory as the file you want to delete, type rm [filename.extension]
- If you want to delete multiple files at once, list them all, but make sure there's a space between each one.
- Press Enter to execute the command.
Now all the files you specified after rm are gone for good. Navigate directories in your Mac and repeat the process as many times as you want.
a. To open Finder, click on the icon located on the extreme left on the Dock. The finder icon is usually the first icon on the Dock.
b. In the search box, type the search query.
c. The 'name matches/suggestions' to your query will appear as you start typing. If you identify the file, then click on that suggestion. If you do not identify the name match suggestions, then finish typing your query and hit Return.
d. If you forgot the name of the file, then Finder allows you to search by Date. You can enter the month and year of file creation and hit Return. After that, Mac will display all the results of that month. You can then go through the results to locate the desired file.
e. With Finder, you can also search for the file in a specific folder or search the entire Mac. If you are using Finder inside a folder, then the Finder will search inside that specific folder. It can help if you know that the file resides in that particular folder. If no folder is open, then Finder will search the entire Mac.
f. Once you have located the file, you can open it by double-clicking on the file icon.
2. Using the Spotlight search
a. On your Mac screen, there is a magnifying glass on the upper right corner. Please click on that to open the Spotlight search. Alternatively, press Command + Spacebar to launch the Spotlight tool.
b. Type your search term in the window and hit the Return key.
c. Spotlight search will give you a list of the most relevant results on your system. It will also give you web results related to your search.
Read more to fix and rebuild the Spotlight Index on Mac.
What if you can't find the file?
Finder and Spotlight features can help you find almost any file on your Mac. Nevertheless, there might be instances where you would be unable to locate the files. It might be due to some incompatibility issues with the file or something else.
The good thing is that you can locate these untraceable files with Mac's Terminal environment. Here you can perform a deep search in your Mac OS, including system files, etc.
Follow the steps below to use the Terminal feature:
1. Go to Applications > Utilities and launch Terminal
2. Enter the command find / and press the Return key to find all the files that exist on your storage drive. This isn't the best way to locate a file since the command displays all the user-generated & system files. This process is time-consuming and quite cluttered.
3. To search a file in the home directory folder, Enter the command find ~/ or type the command /Users/your system name/desktop
There are simpler ways of searching a file on specific folders via terminal.
4. Type cd and then drag the folder location to the terminal window.
5. Press Return again.
6. Now, you are in the folder which you just dragged in. Enter the command find . -name your file name with file extension—press Return.
The output will be as-
How To Name An Untitled Folder On Mac
(Free) File Recovery software for Mac
What if the file you are searching for on Mac is not there in the first place? What if you have accidentally deleted the file, even from the Trash folder?
How To Name Untitled Folder On Mac
In such scenarios, a free data recovery software for Mac can come to your rescue and recover your deleted or lost data conveniently
For the uninitiated, the free version of the software, Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac, allows you to recover up to 1 GB of lost data.
Watch the video here to see the step-by-step approach to recover your data with Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac.
Summing up
Well, it isn't as easy as it sounds. Searching for a specific file in your Mac can sometimes be a challenge. This blog encounters this challenge by describing different methods by which you can find any file(s). Your Mac has Finder and Spotlight features that can help you locate most of your files. If you can still find your file, you can use the Terminal application on your Mac. The terminal allows you to locate your file with the Mac's extensive command prompt, which does a more comprehensive scan of your Mac's hard drives. You can go for a data recovery software if your file isn't present in the drive or feel that it has been accidentally deleted. A trusted software here is Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac to recover your lost/deleted data.
One of the most basic computer functions — deleting files and folders — is also one of the most essential. If you never get rid of anything, soon enough all those extra gigabytes will take a toll on your Mac's processing power, RAM, and hard drive, not to mention your digital life will resemble a dreadful episode of Hoarders.
So deleting files is good and healthy. But how do you do that? Most people right-click on what they need gone and choose Move to Trash from the menu or use the File option in the menu bar. Others employ the ⌘ + Delete shortcut, which works across the system (even within dialog windows). Experts, however, often find themselves defaulting to the command line delete directory feature. Let's see how and why you should learn it too.
How to remove directory with Terminal
Since macOS is a Unix-based system, nearly all system tasks you do every day with the help of its graphic interface can also be performed via the command line tool called Terminal.
Why delete file command line feature is important
With regards to delete file or delete folder command line functionality, Terminal lets you:
- Effortlessly erase one or multiple files, folders, and apps, bypassing any error messages you can get when you go the traditional route.
- Remove files from Trash, including ones you can't delete by simply emptying the trash.
- Get rid of files that are invisible to you within Finder (usually system or root files, for example, .htaccess).
- Delete files and folders in cases when Finder is unresponsive.
Note: The Mac command line delete file feature is final and irreversible. While it lets you avoid any error messages, it also removes the files completely, without any possibility of retrieving them later on.
Tip: Delete unneeded system files on Mac
Some files are hard to delete in a normal way because they sit deeply in system folders. These are such files as logs, broken downloads, caches, remains of old apps, etc. Still, deleting them could give your Mac an extra boost — that's because they are outdated and clutter your macOS.
To dig these files out, try a free version of CleanMyMac X. Among other things, this app has an impressive System Junk detector. When you download CleanMyMac X (this free version is notarized by Apple), you need to click on System Junk.
Just take a loot at the sheer amount of files it unearthed. To delete them, click on Clean.
How to use delete file command line feature
Removing files from your Mac forever using Terminal is deceptively simple: just use the rm command followed by the name of the file. Here's how it works in practice:
- Launch Terminal from your Utilities folder in Applications.
- Check which directory you're in by typing ls -la
- Then navigate down a directory with cd [directoryname] or up a directory with cd ../
- When you're in the same directory as the file you want to delete, type rm [filename.extension]
- If you want to delete multiple files at once, list them all, but make sure there's a space between each one.
- Press Enter to execute the command.
Now all the files you specified after rm are gone for good. Navigate directories in your Mac and repeat the process as many times as you want.
Surprised there was no confirmation before your files were deleted? Luckily there's a way to add one as a safeguard for not deleting the wrong file by accident. Just use -i after the rm but before the first filename, like this: rm -i [filename.extension]. Terminal will then ask you whether you're sure you want to delete the file. Reply y or yes followed by Enter and the file will be gone. This also works for multiple files, but you'll have to confirm the removal of each one separately.
How to make command line delete directory
Surprisingly, you can't delete a folder using the rm command because it has its own: rmdir.
Otherwise, rmdir works exactly the same as rm:
- Navigate to the appropriate directory using Terminal.
- Type rmdir [directoryname]
- Hit Enter.
Sadly, you can't use the -i hack when you're deleting folders, so be extra careful!
Another thing to keep in mind is that rmdir only deletes the directory, but can't delete any files or folders located within that directory.
To delete a folder with everything in it, you need to use rm -r followed by the folder's name. Using -i to create a warning here is possible and done like this: rm -ir [foldername].
When it's too difficult to find a folder or file via Terminal, but you can detect them in Finder, simply drag and drop the file onto the Terminal window to generate its path.
Delete large and old folders using CleanMyMac X
As it happens with folders, they are easy to mess up and lose track of. That's why many apps provide an alternative interface for searching and deleting files which is more flexible than the Finder. For example, using CleanMyMac X (the app we've mentioned above) you can find massive folders that might have been evading you. You also can filter them by file type and other criteria.
The latest released version of this tool looks like this:
This app by developer MacPaw is available for a free download here. Using this app, files are removed for good, and as far as we know, it's irreversible.
Other ways to delete files and folders on Mac
The shortcut combination
We are sure you know how to drag to your files to the Trash. But here is an alternative way which deletes files at once, bypassing the Trash. There's one less step involved (you don't have to empty the bin). And you cannot reverse this action.
Select a file, and press [Option + ⌘ + Delete]
Delete hidden folders on Mac
Some folders on your Mac are made invisible to protect them from accidental deletion. They are system and support files you would ignore most of the time. But what if a folder seems empty but still takes up space? You can apply another shortcut combination to highlight these unseen objects. Then, you can delete them at your own risk.
To highlight hidden folders: [Press Shift + ⌘ + . dot key]
This best works if you open some system folder, like Library
Again, delete these folders only if you are sure what they are.
That was how to remove files and folders on your Mac, shown in multiple ways. Want to know more? Explore our blog for a whole universe of Mac tips!
