How to pin files and folders to the Finder menu bar on macOS
Finder has a sidebar that is omnipresent and that users can pin frequently accessed folders to. A single click will take users to the folders that are pinned under the Favorites section.
The Favorites section is reserved for folders though so if you want a quick way to access files, you will probably use a menu bar app that helps launch frequently used apps and files. The app isn’t necessary though. Finder allows users to pin files and folders to the menu bar.
The menu bar, like the left bar in Finder, is omnipresent which means the file or folder can be accessed from anywhere you have a Finder window open.
Pin file or folder to Finder menu bar
To pin a file or folder to the Finder menu bar, follow these steps.
- Open two Finder windows.
- In the first Finder window, navigate to the file or folder that you want to pin.
- In the second Finder window, right-click the top bar.
- Select Customize toolbar from the menu.
- A panel will open.
- From the second Finder window, drag & drop a file or folder on to an empty area.
- Click Done and the file/folder will be pinned.
- Click the file/folder and it will open.
Remove pinned items from Finder menu bar
The pinned items can be changed at any time. If a file or folder is no longer needed you can remove it as easily as you added it.
- Open a Finder window.
- Right-click the menu bar and select Customize Toolbar.
- Once the customize panel opens, drag and drop the file/folder you want to remove on to it.
- Repeat for all items that you want to remove.
- Click Done to close the panel.
- The pinned files and folders will be removed.
Conclusion
The Finder menu bar can act a lot like a bookmarks bar that you’d find in a browser like Chrome. Unlike a browser’s bookmarks bar though, it is also home to other buttons that give users access to Finder’s tools/features.
The space should be used carefully. It may be tempting to pin lots of items to the Finder menu bar but you won’t be able to see them all even if the window is maximized and it may all eventually become clutter.
Try to pin folders to the Favorites section in the sidebar instead of adding them to the menu bar. If you do need to pin a lot of files for quick access, it may be worth getting a menu bar app to do the job instead. You can also create a custom folder that shows recent files and add it to the sidebar.
