How to Customize Your Finder View

First, open Finder by clicking the Finder app in your Dock.

Select the view options, or drop down depending on the size of your Finder window. The available icon View options are as follows:

1. Icons
2. In a list
3. In columns
4. In a gallery

Making this choice is really about trying each one to see what you like. So, I recommend trying each out until you find the one that you prefer.

Next, try out the different item grouping options, which are also really about personal preference. The item grouping options are as follows:

1. Name
2. Category (in my case Application Category)
3. Date Last Opened
4. Date Added
5. Size Tags

These groupings names will vary slightly depending on which file type you are organizing. However, the concept is basically the same. Try each one until you find the one that best organizes your files, data, and/or apps!

If Groups aren't quite enough organization for you, and to make even more changes and customizations, click "View" in the upper left-hand corner of your menu bar. Then hover over "Sort By." Here you can decide how data is shorted for viewing. The options are as follows:

1. Name
2. Kind
3. Date Last Opened
4. Date Added
5. Date Modified
6. Date Created
7. Size
8. Tags

As you can see, there are a bit more options here than with the groupings. Since this is about personal preference, try a few of the above options to see what you prefer. If you decide Groups are for you, you can always go back and customize the organization view groups rather than Sort By.

Now you can customize even further. Of course, if you are happy with what you have, you can stop here. However, if you want to customize your Finder View even more, proceed with these steps:

1. Click "View" in the upper left-hand corner
2. Click "Show View Options"

Once you have brought up all the view options, move onto the next step!

Here, there are several additional options for customizing your Finder viewing experience! The options you see may vary based on your previous viewing choices (whether you chose icon or list, etc.) as well as what Finder is currently open to.

First, if you struggle to see all the apps or titles clearly, consider changing the icon or text size.

Then, you can also adjust things like grid spacing. You can even turn on "calculate all sizes" which will allow you to see the size of every document, app, etc. without opening it. This can be super handy when clearing out excess data on your Mac.

Lastly, if you like the customizations you have made, consider clicking "Use as Defaults," making your customized Finder viewing options the new default.

Now, you can try out using Finder customized in just the way you prefer it!