Keyboard Shortcuts to Copy, Move and Rename Files on a Mac

Most file chores on a Mac can be done without touching the mouse, as long as you know a handful of Finder shortcuts. These are the ones that matter:

• Copy: select the files, press ⌘C, open the destination, press ⌘V.
• Move: ⌘C, then ⌥⌘V in the destination (Move Item Here).
• Rename: select one item, press ↩, type the new name, press ↩ again (esc cancels).
• Duplicate: ⌘D.
• New folder: ⇧⌘N.
• Move to Trash: ⌘⌫.
• Undo the last one: ⌘Z.

Below: the rest of the Finder's file shortcuts, where they run out, and how a second pane in Folia Files turns copying and moving into a single key.

The Finder's file shortcuts

Copy and move

⌘C and ⌘V copy files the way they copy text. To move instead, finish with ⌥⌘V: the files leave their old folder. ⌘X does not cut files in the Finder; How to Copy a File Path and Cut and Paste Files on a Mac explains that two-step move in detail.

With the mouse, modifier keys decide: a drag to a folder on the same disk moves, a drag to another disk copies, ⌥ forces a copy and ⌘ forces a move.

Rename, duplicate, create

• ↩ turns the name of the selected item into a text field, with the name selected but not the extension.
• ⌘D makes a copy next to the original, with "copy" added to its name.
• ⇧⌘N creates an untitled folder; ⌃⌘N creates one and moves the selected items into it (New Folder with Selection).

Trash and delete

• ⌘⌫ moves the selection to the Trash, and ⌘Z right after brings it back.
• ⌥⌘⌫ deletes immediately, after a confirmation: no Trash, no undo.
• ⇧⌘⌫ empties the Trash.

Get around without the mouse

• ⇧⌘G (Go to Folder) opens any path you type or paste.
• ⌘↑ goes to the enclosing folder, ⌘↓ opens the selection, ⌘[ and ⌘] go back and forward.
• ⇧⌘H, ⇧⌘D and ⌥⌘L jump to your home folder, the Desktop and Downloads.
• Typing the first letters of a name selects that item, and Space previews it with Quick Look.

Where the Finder's shortcuts stop

They work well for one file in one folder. They get slow when the job is "these files, over there":

• The destination has to be open somewhere. Copying or moving means opening a second window or tab, switching to it (⌘` cycles through windows), pasting, then coming back. No command sends the selection to another open folder.
• ↩ always renames. The Finder has no setting to make it open files, which surprises anyone coming from Windows, where ↩ opens and F2 renames.
• One name at a time. ↩ renames a single item; renaming a batch goes through the right-click menu.
• No selection by pattern. To pick every PDF in a folder, you sort by kind and ⇧-click, or run a search.

Two panes and the keyboard in Folia Files

Folia Files keeps the Finder shortcuts above (⌘C, ⌥⌘V, ↩, ⌘D, ⇧⌘N, ⌘⌫, ⇧⌘G…) and puts the destination right next to the source, in a second pane. The whole round trip then stays on the keyboard.

1. Open the destination beside the source

• View › Clone Pane Beside (⌘\) opens a second pane on the same folder; ⇧⌘\ puts it below.
• In that pane, ⇧⌘G or Tools › Quick Open… (⌘P, a few letters of the folder's name, ↩) takes it to the destination.
• Or select a folder and press ⌥⌘O (File › Open in New Pane).

How to View Two Folders Side by Side on a Mac has more ways to set this up, and to reopen the same pair later.

2. Switch between panes

⌃⇥ (Next Pane) moves to the next pane and ⌃⇧⇥ (Previous Pane) back to the previous one. With more panes, ⌃⌥ and an arrow key go to the pane on that side (View › Go to Pane). The active pane has a colored outline.

3. Select what you need

Type the beginning of a name to jump to it (in the list, tree and column views), extend the selection with ⇧↑ or ⇧↓, or take everything with ⌘A. Edit › Select by Pattern… (⌥⌘A) selects by wildcard (*.jpg, IMG_2026*) or regular expression, and its Add to Selection button adds those files to what you already had.

4. F5 copies, F6 moves

File › Copy to Other Pane (F5) copies the selection into the folder shown in the other pane, and Move to Other Pane (F6) moves it there. What was copied or moved comes out selected in that pane, so you see at once what arrived.

If an item with the same name is already there, Folia Files asks, for that file or for all the remaining conflicts at once: Keep Both is the default button, next to Skip and Replace, plus If Newer for a file or Merge for a folder. A replaced item goes to the Trash once the new one is fully copied.

On most Mac keyboards, the top row controls brightness, sound and other Mac features. Hold fn (🌐) while you press F5, F6 or F2, or turn on Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys in System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Function Keys.

5. Rename with ↩, ⇧↩ or F2

↩ renames, as in the Finder, and so do ⇧↩ and F2; the extension is left out of the selected text. With several items selected, the same keys open the batch rename tool with them (the File menu then reads Batch Rename 3 Items… for three files).

Prefer ↩ to open files? In Folia Files › Settings › Files and Network, set ↩ key on an item to Opens it (like Windows). Renaming then stays on ⇧↩ and F2, and ⌘↓ still opens.

6. Duplicate, create, delete

• ⌘D duplicates and selects the copies.
• ⇧⌘N creates a folder with its name ready to type.
• ⌘⌫ moves to the Trash. ⌥⌘⌫ (File › Delete Immediately…) asks first, and ↩ in that dialog means Cancel: only a click on Delete goes ahead.

These keys act on files only when a pane has the focus. A shortcut typed in a text field, such as a name being edited or a search, never changes a file: there, ⌘⌫ deletes text as usual.

7. Undo and the full list

⌘Z and ⇧⌘Z go through the Operations history, so an F5, an F6, a rename or a trip to the Trash can be taken back. Help › Shortcuts and Gestures… (⌘/) lists every key of your version.

Quick reference

• Copy: ⌘C then ⌘V in both; F5 to the other pane in Folia Files.
• Move: ⌘C then ⌥⌘V in both; ⌘X then ⌘V, or F6, in Folia Files.
• Rename: ↩ in both; also F2 and ⇧↩ in Folia Files, for several items at once too.
• Duplicate: ⌘D in both.
• New folder: ⇧⌘N in both.
• Trash, delete now: ⌘⌫, ⌥⌘⌫ in both.
• Go to a path: ⇧⌘G in both.
• Switch panes: ⌃⇥ in Folia Files.
• Undo: ⌘Z in both.

Everything in this article works in both editions of Folia Files, the one from the website and the one from the Mac App Store. Coming from Total Commander? The Total Commander for Mac page maps your other habits.