The Finder is the heart of your Mac. It lets you access files and folders, displays windows, and generally controls how you interact with your Mac. Open a Finder window by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock or by selecting New Finder Window from the File menu at the top of your screen when you're on the desktop.

If you’re moving from Windows to Mac, you’ll find that the Finder is a way to browse the file system, similar to Windows Explorer. But the Mac Finder is more than just a file browser. It’s a roadmap to your Mac’s file system. Taking a few minutes to learn how to use and customize the Finder is time well spent.

The Finder sidebar, the pane on the left side of every Finder window, provides quick access to frequently used locations, but it can do much more.

The sidebar provides shortcuts to the areas of your Mac that you’re likely to use the most. It’s a handy tool that can help you quickly navigate to important folders without opening a bunch of unnecessary windows.