The Finder Toolbar: Add Files, Folders, and Apps

The finder toolbar can hold more than tools

By
Tom Nelson
Tom Nelson
Writer

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

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Updated on July 29, 2020

When OS X was first released, the Finder gained a handy toolbar located across the top of the Mac’s Finder window. The Finder toolbar is usually populated with a collection of useful tools, such as the forward and back arrows, view buttons for changing how the Finder window displays data, and other goodies.

You probably know that you can customize the Finder toolbar by adding tools from a palette of options, but you may not know that you can also customize the Finder toolbar with items that aren’t included in the built-in palette. With drag-and-drop simplicity, you can add applications, files, and folders to the toolbar, and give yourself easy access to your most commonly used programs, folders, and files.

Information in this article applies to macOS Catalina (10.15) through Mac OS X Yosemite (10.10).

How to Add Applications to the Finder Toolbar

You can move any application on your computer to the toolbar for one-click access. Here's how to do it.

Along with applications, you can also add files and folders to the toolbar using this process.

  1. Start by opening a Finder window. A quick way to do this is to click the Finder icon in the Dock.

    Finder icon in macOS Dock

  2. Using the Finder window, navigate to the item you want to add to the toolbar. For example, to add TextEdit, click the Applications folder in the Finder sidebar and then click TextEdit.

    TextEdit in the Applications folder

  3. Hold down the Option + Command keys, and drag the selected item to the Finder toolbar. Release it when you see the plus sign in the green circle.

    Dragging an application to the macOS toolbar

  4. Release the mouse button to drop the application. Its icon appears in the toolbar.

    An application icon in the macOS toolbar

How to Rearrange the Toolbar

If you drop an item in the wrong location on the toolbar, you can rearrange things quickly.

  1. Right-click any blank spot on the toolbar to open the Options menu.

  2. Select Customize Toolbar. The icons in the toolbar start to wiggle.

    Customize Toolbar option in macOS Finder

  3. Drag the misplaced icon in the toolbar to a new location.

    New location for moved icon in Finder Toolbar

  4. When you’re satisfied with the way the toolbar icons are arranged, click the Done button.

    Done button in Finder

Removing Finder Toolbar Items You Added

At some point, you may decide you no longer need an application, file, or folder to be present in the Finder’s toolbar. You may have moved on to a different app, or you're no longer working actively with the project folder you added a few weeks ago.

To remove an item, drag it out of the Finder toolbar while holding down the Command key. Release the mouse button, and the alias disappears.

How to Add an Automator Script to the Finder Toolbar

You can use Automator to create custom apps built on your scripts. Since the Finder sees Automator apps as applications, you can add them to the toolbar just like any other app.

Once you finish the script, save the app, and then use the method in this article to drag it to your Finder toolbar.

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