Path Finder User Interface Overview

Path Finder is built around a familiar macOS window layout with a few powerful extras. This article explains the main parts of the interface so you can quickly understand what you’re looking at.

Menu Bar

The menu bar at the top of the screen is your main command center.

From here you can:

• Access all Path Finder features and commands

• Open Settings

• Show or hide modules

• Run advanced tools such as FolderSync, checksums, and more

If you’re not sure where a feature is, check the menu bar first.

Toolbar

The toolbar is located just below the title bar of the window.

It typically includes:

• Navigation buttons (Back, Forward, Up)

• View mode buttons (Icon, List, Column, Cover Flow)

• Controls for tabs and dual-pane view

• Optional buttons for modules like Drop Stack or Trash

You can customize it by right-clicking the toolbar and choosing Customize Toolbar…, then dragging items in or out of the toolbar.

Sidebar

The sidebar on the left gives you quick access to locations and items you use most.

It can show:

• Favorites – Your preferred folders

• Devices – Internal disks, external drives, and volumes

• Network – Network locations

• Recent Documents – Recently opened files and folders

• Tags – Color tags you use to organize files

You can:

• Drag folders into the sidebar to add them

• Drag items out to remove them

• Drag items up or down to reorder

• Click the three dots (⋮) at the top and choose Reset Sidebar to restore defaults

Browser Window (File Area)

The browser window is the main area where your files and folders are displayed.

Here you can:

• Open and navigate folders

• Copy, move, delete, and rename files

• Switch between view types:

  • Icon View – Large icons, good for visual browsing

  • List View – Detailed info in columns

  • Column View – Quickly step through nested folders

  • Cover Flow View – Flip through items visually (where available)

You can adjust what is shown (columns, sorting, grouping) using the toolbar and the View menu.

Tabs and Dual-Pane

At the top of the browser area you can work with:

• Tabs – Keep multiple locations open in the same window

• Dual-Pane View – Show two folders side by side in one Path Finder window

Tabs help you separate workspaces (for example, work vs personal).

Dual-pane view is ideal for copying and comparing files between folders without opening multiple windows.