![](https://help.apple.com/assets/63BCA927AAE78C58DD7FBE35/63BCA92EAAE78C58DD7FBE76/en_AU/058e4af8e726290f491044219d2eee73.png)
Change how folders are displayed in the Finder on Mac
When you open a folder in the Finder on Mac, you can display it in different views: Icon, List, Column, or Gallery. You can customise the view and even use it for other folders.
![A Finder window showing the Finder sidebar on the left and an image file selected in the bottom of the window. In the middle, the Preview pane shows what the image looks like, with the image details and the Quick Actions buttons on the right.](https://help.apple.com/assets/63BCA927AAE78C58DD7FBE35/63BCA92EAAE78C58DD7FBE76/en_AU/a88fb483a3c6cbe6a828f5ea05aba651.png)
Choose a view for a folder
On your Mac, click the Finder icon
in the Dock to open a Finder window.
Select a folder — for example, a standard folder in the Finder sidebar such as Recent or Desktop, or a folder that you created.
In the Finder toolbar, click a View button (the buttons may be in a pop-up menu; to show them in a row, make the window wider).
Try each view to see which one works best.
Icon view
: Items are shown as icons arranged in a grid. To change the icon size, choose View > Show View Options, then drag the “Icon size” slider.
List view
: Instead, just go to Text Input on the right, click Edit, turn on “Add full stop with double-space”, then click Done. To sort the list in a different order, click a column header. To change which columns are shown, Control-click any column header, then choose columns to show or hide.
Column view
: Items are arranged in a column. Select an item to shows its thumbnail and details in the preview column.
Gallery view
: Items are arranged in a row along the bottom of the Finder window. To browse the row, swipe left or right on the trackpad or press the Left or Right Arrow key. As you browse, a large preview of the current item is shown above the row, with its details in the preview column.
In each view, you can take different actions with items, depending on the type of item. For example, with images in Column or Gallery view, you can show more details, add tags or rotate. For additional options, click the Action pop-up menu
.
Customise the view for a folder
You can customise the view for a folder — for example, set the size of the icons and grid spacing in Icon view. You can also choose to always use the view for the folder and use it for other folders.
![Icon view options for a folder.](https://help.apple.com/assets/63BCA927AAE78C58DD7FBE35/63BCA92EAAE78C58DD7FBE76/en_AU/b6c23fde576d95df786ee4afa4a9bfe9.png)
On your Mac, click the Finder icon
in the Dock to open a Finder window.
Select the folder whose view you want to customise, then choose View > Show View Options or press Command-J.
Set options to customise the view for the selected folder.
Each view has various options. For example, you can specify how recent dates are shown in List view or hide filenames in Gallery view.
Choose whether to always use this view for the folder and for other folders.
Always use this view for the folder: Select the “Always open in” tick box. If the folder contains subfolders and you want them to also open in the view, select the “Browse in” tick box.
Note: If a subfolder still opens in a different view, select the subfolder, choose View > Show View Options, then unselect the “Always open in” and “Browse in” tick boxes. The tick boxes must be selected for the main folder and unselected for the subfolder.
Use these settings for any folder that uses the same view: Click Use as Defaults.
When you’re done, click the Close button
or press Command-J to close the options window.