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In this article we will discuss about how to Refresh Finder Window. With the updates to Mac OS X, there were a lot of changes that left Mac users confused and a little bit frustrated with the way things were set up. One big change that Mac users didn’t like was that there was no longer a refresh button to update a directory or window when something had changed.
Most of the time, this is not something you need to worry about if you are using a built-in hard drive. However, if you are using an external drive or a network drive to share files, it can be very helpful to quickly refresh a folder or directory. Since you can’t just click a button to refresh a Finder window, you have to learn the tricks of the trade to do it manually. We mentioned below are the ways to Refresh Finder Window.
Ways to Refresh Finder Window
By Jumping Around
- The parent directory trick can’t be used if you’re in a folder at the root of a directory and have no parent to jump to. In these situations, the easiest way to refresh a root Finder window would be to change the keyboard shortcuts to jump to a consistent directory, like Applications, then back again:
Command+Shift+A followed by Command+[
- Any of the command shortcuts under the “Go” menu work, but Command+Shift+A for Applications is easy to remember, and Command+[always goes back a folder.
By Relaunching Finder in Mac OS X
You can force every Finder window to reload by manually launching the Finder. This is a bit extreme if you just want to update the contents of one window, but if the other methods don’t work or if you need every window to be updated, it may be the easiest way to do it.
- Hold down the OPTION key and right-click on the Finder icon in the Dock, choose “Relaunch”
By Jumping to Parent Directory & Back
- Most of the time, the fastest way to work with folders with a hierarchy is to go to the parent directory, do what you need to do, and then go back to the current folder. You can do this quickly with the following keyboard shortcut:
Command+Up Arrow followed by Command+Down Arrow
- Another option is to just click the Back button followed by the Forward button.
This also refreshes the contents of the Finder window, but instead of going to the parent directory, you’ll go back to the previous working directory and forward to go back to where you started.
FAQ
How do I refresh a window on a Mac?
The Mac doesn’t have a direct refresh button like Windows’s F5. On Mac platforms, you can do a standard refresh by pressing the keys Command + R on your keyboard. Try pressing Command + Shift + R or Command + Option + R to do a hard refresh on a Mac.
How do I reset Finder preferences on Mac?
- Open a window for Finder and go to Home > Library > Preferences.
- Put the com.apple.finder.plist file in the trash.
- If you have Mac OS X 10.3 or later, you should also throw away the com.apple.sidebarlists.plist file, which is the Finder Sidebar preferences file.
- Do one of these things:…Take out the trash.
Can I reinstall Finder on Mac?
If you hold down the option key and then click and hold the Finder icon with your mouse or track pad, you should see a list with the command “Relaunch” as the first option above the icon. You can restart Finder by letting go of the mouse on the Relaunch button, or you can just restart the machine.