Selecting Documents and Folders

Introduction: In our next group of videos, we’re going to focus on documents and folders. In this video, what we’re going to do is we’re going to look at how we select files, including how we can select multiple files. You can also use the same techniques in other apps when you learn how to choose these files. If you’re in the Photos app and want to select multiple photos, you can use these same techniques that I’m going to show you in the photos app. Not only will this help you with selecting files in the Finder, but it’ll help you also in selecting other items in other apps. Let’s take a look at how we make selections on the Mac. Let’s go to my Mac.

Making a selection: Now, the first thing we’re going to do is we’re going to open up a new Finder window. I’m going to go down to my Finder here, click on it, and we have my new Finder window. Now, we have a number of different documents here. If I want to select one document, all I have to do is click on it once. Pretty simple. Let’s say I wanted to select this beach photo. I click on it one time, and it is selected. Now, what I can do is I can go and drag it over to another folder if I want to move it. I can double click on it to open it. I can command delete to delete it.

Selecting multiple documents: Now, what I want to do is I want to select multiple files. Well, when I go and select another file– Let’s say I wanted to select this file here as well. When I click on it, it deselects my first file. Well, that’s not what I want. What I want to do is I want to select both of them. Well, then what we do is we use the command key. Now, what I’m going to do is I’m going to hold down the command key. Now you’re going to see that I have this file still selected, and I have my first file still selected. If I wanted to select this travel brochure, hold down the command key, and now we can see we have our three files selected.

If I do not hold down any keys and I go and select another file, let’s go ahead and select this file. What it does is it deselects the other files. Again, I hold down the command key, and now I can select multiple files.

Selecting by dragging: Now, we can also click and drag to select multiple files. Let’s say I wanted to select this file here and this file here. All I have to do is click and drag those two files, and they’re selected. I want to select these two files here. I click and drag, and those two are selected. I want to select this whole row. I click and drag, and now that entire row is selected.

Selecting non-contiguous files. Now, when we’re looking at this in a list view, we have another option. I’m going to go over to our list view, and I’m going to go and select my fourth file here. Now, what I want to do is want to select all of these files that begin with P. If I go and click on this one, it deselects the first one, just like before. If I use the command key– Let’s go ahead and hold down the command key. Then we’re going to go to this file here. It selects both of those.

What I want to do is I also want to select these two, but I don’t want to have to sit there and click each file that I want to select. I could click and drag in here as well but, when we’re looking at it in a list view, it makes it tough. There we go. You might have to do it a couple of times. I’ve been working on Macs for years, and I still have to do that a couple of times when I use click and drag in the list view.

Well, also, what we can do is we can use the shift key. Now, this only works in the list view. I’m going to go and select my first file here. Now, what I’m going to do is I’m going to hold down the shift key, and then I’m going to select my last file here. Watch what happens. It selected every file in between. I want to select these three movies here. I select the first one, hold down the shift key, and select the last one. Now I have all three files selected. Again, this only works when we’re in the list view.

If I go back over to icon view and I go and select the first photo, I go to my shift key, and then I go to the last photo here or the previous video, we can see it only selected my two files. It did not select my three files in between. That only works when we’re looking at our files in the list view.

That’s how we make selections on the Mac.