You probably know how to cut down clutter when you search the Web: instead of opening every new Web page in a separate window, you keep them organized in tabs. With tabs, multiple windows are gathered into one, with only the top page revealed. The titles of the rest stick up at the top; click one to switch to that page.
Ten years after Safari adopted tabbed browsing, Apple applied the same idea to the Finder’s windows. It’s not easy to stumble across this feature, though, so you may have missed it in Mavericks and Yosemite. If you’re tired of digging through disorderly Finder windows—especially on a small laptop screen—don’t make the same mistake in El Capitan. If you see a folder in a Finder window, don’t open it by double-clicking it; instead, press Command while double-clicking it to open it in a new tab ①.
① Save space and cut clutter by keeping Finder windows (in this case, Dropbox, Birds, and the Desktop) organized in tabs much like you organize Web pages in tabs in your Web browser.
When more than one tab is open, the Tab Bar appears across the top of the Finder window. (Toggle it on even if only one tab is open by choosing View > Show Tab Bar.)
Open a Tab
Blank: To open an empty new tab, press Command-T or click the plus button at the right of the Tab Bar ②. (Command-T is the same shortcut that opens a new Tab in most Web browsers.)
② When you have multiple tabs open, add another by clicking the plus button (circled).
Folder: Command-double-click any folder inside a Finder window to open it in a tab. Or, Control-click (right-click) a folder in the Finder and choose Open in New Tab from the contextual menu.
Multiple folders: Shift-click or Command-click to select a bunch of folders and then Command-double-click the selection. They open in the same window as multiple tabs.
Move Files between Tabs
Just as you can move a file to a different folder by dragging and dropping it between Finder windows, you can drag and drop a file between Finder tabs. You can also move a folder by dragging and dropping it between tabs.
When you drag an item, hover over the target tab and notice that the tab darkens ③. Either drop the item on the tab or wait a moment until the tab’s content displays. Then you can easily drop the item in a nested folder.
③ When you drag a file (such as eastern_kingbird in this image) from one folder to the tab for another folder (such as iCloud Drive), the folder’s tab darkens.
Drag a Tab off the Bar
When you want a tab to become a Finder window again, click and hold, then drag it away from the Tab Bar. It separates to become its own window.
Merge a Mess of Windows
If you find yourself overwhelmed by Finder windows, bring them together in one window as tabs by choosing Window > Merge All Windows.
Close Your Tabs
Hover your pointer over a tab you no longer need, and click the X that appears by its name.
To close all tabs except for one, Option-click the X for the tab you want and all the other tabs in that window will close.
