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In this post, we’ll show you how to find recently opened files on Mac. If you are still getting used to the macOS system, you might find yourself in a similar situation. Even though macOS is pretty easy to use, it can sometimes take a long time to find a file or a folder.
Like Windows or Linux, Mac has different ways to look for files and look through its local storage system. This is easy to check on any Mac, but most people don’t know that it keeps track of what files, apps, documents, pictures, and even servers have been opened recently on the computer.
This gives you an immediate idea of what, if anything, was opened while you were away. We mentioned below are the ways to find recently opened files. You can also go to the official Mac support site To know more information.
Ways to find recently opened files on mac
Check the Recents Lists in Apps
Document viewers, music players, office apps, note-taking apps, and other similar apps often have their own list of recently used items. So, if you want to find a recently used file of a certain type, it might be easier to use the app that goes with it.
- To find a PDF, for example, open the Preview app and go to File > Open Recent. (Many apps put the list of recently used items in this submenu.)
- By hitting Space in Safari’s address bar, you can see a list of your most recent searches. At the end of the list, there is also a button that says “Clear Recent Searches.”
Group Items by Specific Attributes
- Sometimes, none of the ways to look at something helps. When that happens, you can use Finder groups to sort things more quickly.
- Since our main goal is to find content we’ve used recently, we’ll only group by the Recents view. But you can sort data in other Finder places using the same method.
- To sort data into groups, first go to the Recents section. Next, Control-click anywhere in the main pane of the Finder and choose the Use Groups option from the pop-up menu that appears. The Sort By menu item will then change into Group By.
- Select Size from this new menu item. The Finder’s content then changes so that data is shown in groups of 100 bytes to 1KB, 100KB to 1MB, and so on. (There will be a line between each group.) If you know about how big the file you’re looking for is, this grouping will help you find it.
- You can also group things by other things that help you remember them, like the date they were made or the date they were last opened.
Create Smart “Recents” Folders
Do you often have to look for certain types of files that you’ve recently opened or changed? You should use a smart folder to speed up your search.
A smart folder is a special view that collects information based on rules you set. Smart groupings don’t just work in Finder; they also work in other native macOS apps like Photos and Mail.
To make a smart folder for a certain set or type of recently used Finder items, click File > New Smart Folder. Next, click the small plus sign to the right of the search box. This is where you start to choose the attributes by which you want to filter recent files.
For example, the first attribute could be the file type, which could be JPEG. Next, you can tell it to start with a certain keyword, such as “screenshot.” Add a condition that you’ve opened the file within the last week. Lastly, click the Save button to save the search as a smart folder with a name and location of your choice.
Check the Recent Items List and Recents Folder
- On the list of Recent Items: This is under the Apple menu, which is to the left of the Apple logo in the menu bar. The list shows ten items that fall into three categories: applications, documents, and servers.
- In the list of Recent Folders: Go to Go > Recent Folders to find the last folders you used. Also on this menu, you can only choose 10 items.
- Can’t find Recent Items on the menu? Or does the Recent Folders menu item look like it’s been turned off? You may have turned them both off before.
- To turn them back on, go to System Preferences > General and from the Recent items drop-down menu, choose any option except “None.” Here is where you can set up the Recent Items list to show more or less than 10 items, as you can see from the menu options.
- Open a few files and folders after making this change, and then go to the Recent Items and Recent Folders lists. You’ll see that both are back up and running with people.
Scan the Recents View
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the above places, try Finder’s Recents feature. It’s the default collection that shows up when you open a new Finder window. Items in this collection are arranged in the Icon view.
- With the thumbnail view, it’s easy to find photos, files, and folders with unique cover pages or icons in this view.
- The Icon view might not be the best for other kinds of data. You can instead choose one of these views:
- List view: To scan details like data type, size, and date modified.
- Gallery view: To scrub through a zoomed-in version of each item and view its metadata.
FAQ
How do I find recently opened files?
You can see recently opened items in Quick Access by opening File Explorer from the taskbar and choosing Quick Access from the left sidebar. After that, a list of recently opened files will appear in the right pane. So, just scroll down to find the file or folder you were looking for most recently.
How do I recover recently closed files?
Hold down Ctrl+Shift+T on Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, or Microsoft Edge. (If you use this function again and again, it will keep opening closed tabs in the order in which they were closed.)