Files App on Mac: The Included File Management Utility on macOS

Every operating system has its own file management utility, such as Windows configured with File Explorer, Linux designed with Nemo for Linux Mint, and Mac built with its proprietary file manager, too. Today, this post guides you through learning another file manager on Mac, the Files app.

This post explores this utility based on what the Files app on Mac is, how it works, and how to use it to arrange and manage the files on your machine. Let's get started then!

What is the Files app on Mac?

The file manager matters very much in arranging and managing files like documents, numbers, apps, extensions, videos, audio, presentations, keynotes, pages, notes, and other downloads stored on a machine. Without it, the files piled on a device can be a total mess.

The Files app is designed for iPad and iPhone ends, which allows users to browse local files stored within apps, as well as files stored in cloud storage services including iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and the connected external hard drives. It allows for the saving, opening, and organization of files, including placement into structured folders and sub-folders.

The Files app is not available on Mac yet Mac has its own file manager, that is, Mac Finder. It is the default file manager and graphical user interface shell used on macOS. It reflects how you interact with the file systems on your Mac and helps access all files on your Macintosh HD, external disks, or network volumes. Apart from this, macOS Finder also helps you launch applications.

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Alternative file managers on Mac

Although Mac Finder helps you find, access, view, and edit files on your Mac hard drives, it's not that perfect. So you may need some extra functions provided by the file manager alternatives of Mac Finder.

Here are some file managers working fine on Mac that you may be interested in:

Commander One

One of the best free Mac file managers is Commander One, which allows you to view files from two different directories in the same window. It also supports useful keyboard shortcuts, compressing files with passwords, showing hidden files, and searching using regular expressions.

Apart from managing your local files, this Mac task manager also helps organize files stored on cloud storage or remote servers such as FTP, WebDAV, SFTP, Amazon S3, etc.

Path Finder

Similar to Commander One, Path Finder also features a customizable dual-pane view that enables you to drag and drop files between two panels. This Macintosh file manager also has native Apple silicon support, access to hidden files, Dropbox integration, and convenient file navigation.

Find Any File

Find Any File is a program for Apple's macOS computers that lets you search for files on your disks. FAF can find files that Spotlight doesn't, e.g. on network (NAS) and other external volumes, hidden ones inside bundles and packages, and those in folders that are usually excluded from Spotlight search, such as the System and Library folders. 

It can even search in other users' folders if you use FAF's unique root search mode. FAF lets you search precisely for many file properties such as name, extension, date range, size, kind, etc.

How to protect the files on Mac?

On top of the way to password protect the files on Mac, there is another way you can count on to secure the files and folders accumulated on your Mac, that is, iBoysoft DiskGeeker's FileVault Encryption feature, which offers the one-click FileVault encryption feature for HFS+ and APFS volumes and external hard drives to protect the files against untrustworthy access. 

If you want to protect your personal info and data, give the FileVault Encryption of iBoysoft DiskGeeker a shot!

Final words

If you are interested in the Files app on Mac, you have come to the right place as it explains what the Files app is and mentions the real file manager on Mac – Mac Finder. Apart from this content, you can know some third-party file managers that offer functions Mac Finder doesn't have. 

Finally, data security is a major point. Always protect your files well against the unidentified access from virus, malware, spyware, etc!