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Follow the lesson notes below.
This lesson is built as a practical setup checklist. Work through the steps on your Mac, then move to the next lesson when the setup feels repeatable.
Goal
Make Finder show location, file type, and the folders you actually use.
Turn These On
- Open Finder.
- In the menu bar, choose View, then Show Path Bar.
- Choose View, then Show Status Bar.
- Open Finder Settings, then Advanced, and show all filename extensions.
- In Sidebar settings, keep only the locations you recognize: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Applications, and your cloud drive.
Simple Folder System
Start with five places:
- Desktop: temporary work only.
- Downloads: inbox, not storage.
- Documents: personal files.
- Screenshots: images you create.
- Projects: anything with multiple related files.
Success Check
Click any file and confirm you can see where it lives, what type it is, and where it should be moved when you are done with it.