Select All For Mac

Sep 16, 2013 How to Select Multiple Files on Mac: 4 Ways. We’ll cover four different ways to select multiple files at the same time in MacOS or Mac OS X, including using click modifiers, dragging, and keyboard shortcuts. These multi-file selection tricks work in all versions of Mac OS system software.

Mar 10, 2020 Today, I met a new problem — I couldn’t select all my photos on iCloud, so I can’t download all my iCloud photos to my Mac. Seriouslyis this the Apple style I knew? In iOS (the mobile operating system that runs on our iPhones and iPads), you can always see an option like “Select All” or “Delete All” so we save the time to.
Feb 23, 2012 Select text to beginning of all text – Shift+Command+Up Arrow Select text to end of all text – Shift+Command+Down Arrow Bonus tip: You can select non-contiguous text blocks in Mac OS X by hold down the command key, as demonstrated here.

To use a keyboard shortcut, press and hold one or more modifier keys and then press the last key of the shortcut. For example, to use Command-C (copy), press and hold the Command key, then the C key, then release both keys. Mac menus and keyboards often use symbols for certain keys, including modifier keys:

On keyboards made for Windows PCs, use the Alt key instead of Option, and the Windows logo key instead of Command.

Some keys on some Apple keyboards have special symbols and functions, such as for display brightness , keyboard brightness , Mission Control, and more. If these functions aren't available on your keyboard, you might be able to reproduce some of them by creating your own keyboard shortcuts. To use these keys as F1, F2, F3, or other standard function keys, combine them with the Fn key.

Cut, copy, paste, and other common shortcuts

Command-X: Cut the selected item and copy it to the Clipboard.
Command-C: Copy the selected item to the Clipboard. This also works for files in the Finder.
Command-V: Paste the contents of the Clipboard into the current document or app. This also works for files in the Finder.
Command-Z: Undo the previous command. You can then press Shift-Command-Z to Redo, reversing the undo command. In some apps, you can undo and redo multiple commands.
Command-A: Select All items.
Command-F: Find items in a document or open a Find window.
Command-G: Find Again: Find the next occurrence of the item previously found. To find the previous occurrence, press Shift-Command-G.
Command-H: Hide the windows of the front app. To view the front app but hide all other apps, press Option-Command-H.
Command-M: Minimize the front window to the Dock. To minimize all windows of the front app, press Option-Command-M.
Command-O: Open the selected item, or open a dialog to select a file to open.
Command-P: Print the current document.
Command-S: Save the current document.
Command-T: Open a new tab.
Command-W: Close the front window. To close all windows of the app, press Option-Command-W.
Option-Command-Esc: Force quit an app.
Command–Space bar: Show or hide the Spotlight search field. To perform a Spotlight search from a Finder window, press Command–Option–Space bar. (If you use multiple input sources to type in different languages, these shortcuts change input sources instead of showing Spotlight. Learn how to change a conflicting keyboard shortcut.)
Control–Command–Space bar: Show the Character Viewer, from which you can choose emoji and other symbols.
Control-Command-F: Use the app in full screen, if supported by the app.
Space bar: Use Quick Look to preview the selected item.
Command-Tab: Switch to the next most recently used app among your open apps.
Shift-Command-5: In macOS Mojave or later, take a screenshot or make a screen recording. Or use Shift-Command-3 or Shift-Command-4 for screenshots. Learn more about screenshots.
Shift-Command-N: Create a new folder in the Finder.
Command-Comma (,): Open preferences for the front app.

Sleep, log out, and shut down shortcuts

You might need to press and hold some of these shortcuts for slightly longer than other shortcuts. This helps you to avoid using them unintentionally.

Power button: Press to turn on your Mac or wake it from sleep. Press and hold for 1.5 seconds to put your Mac to sleep.* Continue holding to force your Mac to turn off.
Option–Command–Power button* or Option–Command–Media Eject : Put your Mac to sleep.
Control–Shift–Power button* or Control–Shift–Media Eject : Put your displays to sleep.
Control–Power button* or Control–Media Eject : Display a dialog asking whether you want to restart, sleep, or shut down.
Control–Command–Power button:* Force your Mac to restart, without prompting to save any open and unsaved documents.
Control–Command–Media Eject : Quit all apps, then restart your Mac. If any open documents have unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save them.
Control–Option–Command–Power button* or Control–Option–Command–Media Eject : Quit all apps, then shut down your Mac. If any open documents have unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save them.
Control-Command-Q: Immediately lock your screen.
Shift-Command-Q: Log out of your macOS user account. You will be asked to confirm. To log out immediately without confirming, press Option-Shift-Command-Q.

* Does not apply to the Touch ID sensor.

Finder and system shortcuts

Command-D: Duplicate the selected files.
Command-E: Eject the selected disk or volume.
Command-F: Start a Spotlight search in the Finder window.
Command-I: Show the Get Info window for a selected file.
Command-R: (1) When an alias is selected in the Finder: show the original file for the selected alias. (2) In some apps, such as Calendar or Safari, refresh or reload the page. (3) In Software Update preferences, check for software updates again.
Shift-Command-C: Open the Computer window.
Shift-Command-D: Open the desktop folder.
Shift-Command-F: Open the Recents window, showing all of the files you viewed or changed recently.
Shift-Command-G: Open a Go to Folder window.
Shift-Command-H: Open the Home folder of the current macOS user account.
Shift-Command-I: Open iCloud Drive.
Shift-Command-K: Open the Network window.
Option-Command-L: Open the Downloads folder.
Shift-Command-N: Create a new folder.
Shift-Command-O: Open the Documents folder.
Shift-Command-P: Show or hide the Preview pane in Finder windows.
Shift-Command-R: Open the AirDrop window.
Shift-Command-T: Show or hide the tab bar in Finder windows.
Control-Shift-Command-T: Add selected Finder item to the Dock (OS X Mavericks or later)
Shift-Command-U: Open the Utilities folder.
Option-Command-D: Show or hide the Dock.
Control-Command-T: Add the selected item to the sidebar (OS X Mavericks or later).
Option-Command-P: Hide or show the path bar in Finder windows.
Option-Command-S: Hide or show the Sidebar in Finder windows.
Command–Slash (/): Hide or show the status bar in Finder windows.
Command-J: Show View Options.
Command-K: Open the Connect to Server window.
Control-Command-A: Make an alias of the selected item.
Command-N: Open a new Finder window.
Option-Command-N: Create a new Smart Folder.
Command-T: Show or hide the tab bar when a single tab is open in the current Finder window.
Option-Command-T: Show or hide the toolbar when a single tab is open in the current Finder window.
Option-Command-V: Move the files in the Clipboard from their original location to the current location.
Command-Y: Use Quick Look to preview the selected files.
Option-Command-Y: View a Quick Look slideshow of the selected files.
Command-1: View the items in the Finder window as icons.
Command-2: View the items in a Finder window as a list.
Command-3: View the items in a Finder window in columns.
Command-4: View the items in a Finder window in a gallery.
Command–Left Bracket ([): Go to the previous folder.
Command–Right Bracket (]): Go to the next folder.
Command–Up Arrow: Open the folder that contains the current folder.
Command–Control–Up Arrow: Open the folder that contains the current folder in a new window.
Command–Down Arrow: Open the selected item.
Right Arrow: Open the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
Left Arrow: Close the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
Command-Delete: Move the selected item to the Trash.
Shift-Command-Delete: Empty the Trash.
Option-Shift-Command-Delete: Empty the Trash without confirmation dialog.
Command–Brightness Down: Turn video mirroring on or off when your Mac is connected to more than one display.
Option–Brightness Up: Open Displays preferences. This works with either Brightness key.
Control–Brightness Up or Control–Brightness Down: Change the brightness of your external display, if supported by your display.
Option–Shift–Brightness Up or Option–Shift–Brightness Down: Adjust the display brightness in smaller steps. Add the Control key to this shortcut to make the adjustment on your external display, if supported by your display.
Option–Mission Control: Open Mission Control preferences.
Command–Mission Control: Show the desktop.
Control–Down Arrow: Show all windows of the front app.
Option–Volume Up: Open Sound preferences. This works with any of the volume keys.
Option–Shift–Volume Up or Option–Shift–Volume Down: Adjust the sound volume in smaller steps.
Option–Keyboard Brightness Up: Open Keyboard preferences. This works with either Keyboard Brightness key.
Option–Shift–Keyboard Brightness Up or Option–Shift–Keyboard Brightness Down: Adjust the keyboard brightness in smaller steps.
Option key while double-clicking: Open the item in a separate window, then close the original window.
Command key while double-clicking: Open a folder in a separate tab or window.
Command key while dragging to another volume: Move the dragged item to the other volume, instead of copying it.
Option key while dragging: Copy the dragged item. The pointer changes while you drag the item.
Option-Command while dragging: Make an alias of the dragged item. The pointer changes while you drag the item.
Option-click a disclosure triangle: Open all folders within the selected folder. This works only when in list view.
Command-click a window title: See the folders that contain the current folder.
Learn how to use Command or Shift to select multiple items in the Finder.
Click the Go menu in the Finder menu bar to see shortcuts for opening many commonly used folders, such as Applications, Documents, Downloads, Utilities, and iCloud Drive.

Document shortcuts

The behavior of these shortcuts may vary with the app you're using.

Command-B: Boldface the selected text, or turn boldfacing on or off.
Command-I: Italicize the selected text, or turn italics on or off.
Command-K: Add a web link.
Command-U: Underline the selected text, or turn underlining on or off.
Command-T: Show or hide the Fonts window.
Command-D: Select the Desktop folder from within an Open dialog or Save dialog.
Control-Command-D: Show or hide the definition of the selected word.
Shift-Command-Colon (:): Display the Spelling and Grammar window.
Command-Semicolon (;): Find misspelled words in the document.
Option-Delete: Delete the word to the left of the insertion point.
Control-H: Delete the character to the left of the insertion point. Or use Delete.
Control-D: Delete the character to the right of the insertion point. Or use Fn-Delete.
Fn-Delete: Forward delete on keyboards that don't have a Forward Delete key. Or use Control-D.
Control-K: Delete the text between the insertion point and the end of the line or paragraph.
Fn–Up Arrow: Page Up: Scroll up one page.
Fn–Down Arrow: Page Down: Scroll down one page.
Fn–Left Arrow: Home: Scroll to the beginning of a document.
Fn–Right Arrow: End: Scroll to the end of a document.
Command–Up Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the document.
Command–Down Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the document.
Command–Left Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the current line.
Command–Right Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the current line.
Option–Left Arrow: Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.
Option–Right Arrow: Move the insertion point to the end of the next word.
Shift–Command–Up Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the document.
Shift–Command–Down Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the end of the document.
Shift–Command–Left Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the current line.
Shift–Command–Right Arrow: Select the text between the insertion point and the end of the current line.
Shift–Up Arrow: Extend text selection to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line above.
Shift–Down Arrow: Extend text selection to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line below.
Shift–Left Arrow: Extend text selection one character to the left.
Shift–Right Arrow: Extend text selection one character to the right.
Option–Shift–Up Arrow: Extend text selection to the beginning of the current paragraph, then to the beginning of the following paragraph if pressed again.
Option–Shift–Down Arrow: Extend text selection to the end of the current paragraph, then to the end of the following paragraph if pressed again.
Option–Shift–Left Arrow: Extend text selection to the beginning of the current word, then to the beginning of the following word if pressed again.
Option–Shift–Right Arrow: Extend text selection to the end of the current word, then to the end of the following word if pressed again.
Control-A: Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
Control-E: Move to the end of a line or paragraph.
Control-F: Move one character forward.
Control-B: Move one character backward.
Control-L: Center the cursor or selection in the visible area.
Control-P: Move up one line.
Control-N: Move down one line.
Control-O: Insert a new line after the insertion point.
Control-T: Swap the character behind the insertion point with the character in front of the insertion point.
Command–Left Curly Bracket ({): Left align.
Command–Right Curly Bracket (}): Right align.
Shift–Command–Vertical bar (|): Center align.
Option-Command-F: Go to the search field.
Option-Command-T: Show or hide a toolbar in the app.
Option-Command-C: Copy Style: Copy the formatting settings of the selected item to the Clipboard.
Option-Command-V: Paste Style: Apply the copied style to the selected item.
Option-Shift-Command-V: Paste and Match Style: Apply the style of the surrounding content to the item pasted within that content.
Option-Command-I: Show or hide the inspector window.
Shift-Command-P: Page setup: Display a window for selecting document settings.
Shift-Command-S: Display the Save As dialog, or duplicate the current document.
Shift–Command–Minus sign (-): Decrease the size of the selected item.
Shift–Command–Plus sign (+): Increase the size of the selected item. Command–Equal sign (=) performs the same function.
Shift–Command–Question mark (?): Open the Help menu.

Other shortcuts

For more shortcuts, check the shortcut abbreviations shown in the menus of your apps. Every app can have its own shortcuts, and shortcuts that work in one app might not work in another.

Apple Music shortcuts: Choose Help > Keyboard shortcuts from the menu bar in the Music app.
Other shortcuts: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Shortcuts.

Learn more

Create your own shortcuts and resolve conflicts between shortcuts
Change the behavior of the function keys or modifier keys

Aug 28, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

'As shocking as this might sound, I'm relatively new to computers and my little experience has just been on Windows. Now I own a Mac, and I have no idea how to copy specific files from my boss's external hard drive. Can anyone help?'

Computers are marvelous pieces of equipment that make our everyday lives a lot easier. From watching videos and typing to graphic design and solving complex math equations. Whatever your need, computers are invaluable to modern-day life.

The user-interface is an integral part of any computer. It is responsible for making tasks easy to approach and complete, but navigating it isn't always so simple. With a variety of commands available, it can be a bit hard to figure out how to do things without prior knowledge. This guide will help you learn how to select multiple files on Mac with ease.

Part 1. How Do I Select Multiple Files on Mac?

Just like most things in life, there's more than one way to select multiple files on Mac. It bears many similarities with how it’s done on Windows, but they are still different enough to confuse any user new to the Mac user interface (UI).

First boot up the Mac, and you'll be presented with the Finder. This is the computer's file manager and UI. Users can select multiple files from within the Finder by using one of the following methods:

Click & drag

This is a simple method used to select multiple files in a row, column, or both. With the simple click and drag motion of your mouse, all your files will be selected, but make sure they’re all grouped together first.

Step 1: Open the folder containing the files you wish to select.

Step 2: Make sure all the files follow one another horizontally, vertically, or both.

Step 3: Click on the first file you wish to select and hold down the mouse button.

Step 4: Now drag your mouse over the remaining files, and they will all be selected.

Step 5: Release the mouse button once they're all selected.

Select all using the Command key

This method is used to select all files situated in a Finder window. This method will select all the files located in the destination, omitting none of them, so make sure you actually do need them all.

Step 1: Make sure all the files in the folder are files you wish to select.

Step 2: Click the Finder window to make it active.

Step 3: Press the Command and A keys simultaneously, and it will select all the files for you.

Select all using Finder Edit menu

Select All is a handy command that has multiple ways for you to use it. This next method will select all files using an option in the Finder menu.

Step 1: Make sure only the files you wish to select are in the Finder window.

Step 2: Select the Edit tab in the Finder's menu.

Step 3: Choose 'Select all' in the drop-down menu, and that's that.

Select non-adjacent files

We won’t always have the time or convenience to arrange all our files by type in separate folders, meaning that we won’t always be able to make use of the “Select All” command. By using this new method it won’t matter if your desired files are mixed in with others you don’t need.

Step 1: Press and hold the Command key.

Step 2: Select all the files you need, one after the other, no matter where they are located in the Finder window.

Step 3: Release the Command key once they've all been selected.

Note:

Selecting the same file twice will deselect it, so be careful. You can also scroll through the Finder window while making your selection, which will help you find the files you're looking for.

Select a continuous group of files using the Shift key

So if your files are all grouped together in the folder but have other files around them and not between them, you can try this method out. It will let you select just the group you’re interested in and leave out the others.

Step 1: Make sure all the files you are interested in all follow one another. If they aren't, you can sort and group them until they are. You can do this by:

Step 1.1: Go back to the View tab or right click an empty space in the Finder window.

Step 1.2: Select “Arrange By.”

Step 1.3: From the new menu, select “Type.” This will sort all the files according to their type, one after the other.

Step 2: Click on the very first file from the group you wish to select.

Step 3: Press and hold the Shift key.

Step 4: Select the last file in the set you are interested in. All the files in-between, including your selections, will now be highlighted.

Part 2. How Do I Select All Photos on Mac?

So we've shown you how to select all files on Mac, but maybe your needs are more specific than that? Maybe, you want to select all of one file type instead? Up next, we will show you how to select all photos on Mac. It's pretty easy and virtually the same as when selecting any other files.

Using the Command key

Once more we make use of the handy Command key in this keyboard shortcut. Make sure only the images you are interested in are present in the Finder window.

Step 1: Navigate to where the photos are located.

Step 2: Hold the Command key.

Step 3: Press the A key.

Step 4: All photos will now be highlighted, which means you can let go of the keys.

Using Finder Edit menu

This is another easy means of selecting all photos that makes use of the Finder's Edit menu. You just locate the “Select All” option in the drop-down menu and you’re set.

Step 1: Make sure the photos are all present in the Finder window.

Step 2: Select the Edit tab in the Finder's menu.

Step 3: Choose 'Select all' in the drop-down menu. All the photos will immediately be selected.

Click & drag

This method doesn’t require you touching the keyboard whatsoever. All you need is your mouse and active fingers.

Step 1: Open the location containing the photos you wish to select.

Step 2: Click and hold the left mouse button on the first photo.

Step 3: While still holding the button down, drag the mouse over all the other photos.

Step 4: If done correctly, you will see all the photos highlighted.

Using the Shift key

The Shift key is just as important as the Command key, but in it’s case, it lets you select and deselect files one at a time. It’s very useful when you don’t need all the files in a folder or accidentally included files you don’t need in your selection.

Step 1: Navigate to the folder containing your photos.

Step 2: Select the View tab in the Finder.

Step 3: Select “as List” from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: Go back to the View tab.

Step 5: This time select “Arrange By.”

Step 6: From the new contextual menu, select “Type”. This will group all the different types of files in the folder, making it easy to select all images at once.

Step 2: Click on the first photo in the folder

Step 3: Press and hold down the Shift key.

Step 4: Click on the last photo in the folder. All the photos will now be selected.

Take note that if the photos are mixed in with other types of files, the method required to select them all will be restricted to using click and drag or using the Shift key. That's because they will allow you to select only the files you want, while the other two methods (as the names suggest) will select every file in the folder.

Part 3. How Do You Select Multiple Emails on a Mac?

Emails aren't like regular files, so ideally you would expect fundamental differences in how you select them. Included in the operating system is macOS Mail, which eliminates the need to download another email client. macOS Mail also supports smart folders, robust filters, and VIP user notifications. Additionally, it provides users with annotation tools to markup photos and PDF attachments.

To do any of these things, though, you’ll first need to figure out how to select the emails you wish to work with. So for good measure, here are the different ways to select multiple emails on Mac.

Select multiple emails that are in order

If you're interested in selecting a series of emails that are already grouped together, use this simple method.

Step 1: Select the first email from the range you wish to pick.

Step 2: Press and hold down the Shift key.

Step 3: While still holding Shift, select the last email in the group you wish to select.

Step 4: You can now let go of the Shift key.

To add emails to your selection

Just in case you forgot to add some emails to your selection or if they aren’t grouped with the others, this is what you do.

Step 1: Press and hold down the Command key.

Step 2: Select the additional email while still holding the Command key.

Step 3: continue selecting each email one after the other until you have selected them all.

Step 4: Release the Command key.

Add another range of emails to the current selection

So say you’ve already selected a couple of emails but remember some that are missing. You can add them real quickly without losing your initial selection by doing the following;

Step 1: Press and hold the Command key.

Step 2: Click on the first email in the range you wish to select.

Step 3: Release the Command key.

Step 4: Press and hold the Shift key.

Select All For Mac

Step 5: Select the last email in the range.

Step 6: Release the Shift key.

Accidentally selected the wrong emails?

Sometimes we make mistakes that could leave us with one or more emails than we want or need. In such a situation, follow these step, we use the Command key to deselect them from the group we have while keeping the files we do want highlighted.

Step 1: Press and hold the Command key.

Step 2: Pick the email to deselect it.

Step 3: Continue picking emails you wish to deselect.

Step 4: Release the Command key.

Select multiple emails using Command-A

If you have a lot of emails to pick through, using the above methods could take a lot of time. To make short work of a big job, use our trusty Command-A keyboard shortcut. Just make sure all the emails in the window are the ones you want to select by making use of MacOS Mail’s search function.

Step 1: Use MacOS Mail’s search function to find the emails you are interested in and only them. Simply type in a keyword they all share in common and watch them line up.

Step 2: Press Command - A to select all emails present and you’re done.

Select multiple emails using click & drag

This list wouldn’t be complete without the mouse only method of “click & drag.” It’s really the go to method for those that just can’t be bothered to use the keyboard. Once more, remember that it won’t be able to skip any emails in-between the ones you’re interested in.

Select All Mac Mail

Step 1: Select the first or last email in the range and hold the mouse button.

Step 2: Drag the mouse cursor from this email over all the others to select them.

How To Select All

Step 3: Release the mouse button and will the emails will now be highlighted as your selection.

Closing Words

Getting familiar with new devices is always a slow process that can even be frustrating if you've never had any experience with anything similar before. Hopefully, our guide has filled in that knowledge gap for you, or it's reminded you of how exactly to select multiple files on Mac.

What's Wrong with Mac

Recover Your Mac
Fix Your Mac
Delete Your Mac
Learn Mac Hacks