How to Create a Folder on Mac (5 Easy Ways)

🗓️ December 1, 2022 By ✍️ Jaysukh patel

Are you an organized person or not? However, everyone likes a tidy and clutter-free digital workplace. The best way to Organize your mac is by sorting related files into a single folder. Further, the Folder will help you save time and optimize your overall work.

The Folder will keep your mac organized and clutter-free, making it quick to access any file. Suppose you recently switched to the Apple ecosystem, then you must be wondering how to create a folder on mac. Here in the article, we have explained multiple ways to create a Folder on mac. So that you can choose the method you are comfortable with.

Five Different Ways to Create Folder on Mac

There are three different types of folders on mac that you can create as per your requirement.

Way 1→ Create Empty Folder: First, you must create an Empty folder and manually move items into the Folder.

Way 2→ Create New Folder with Selected Items: First, you must select multiple items and create a folder with all selected items. So you don’t need to move items into a folder manually. However, later on, you can manually add files to it.

Way 3→ Create Smart Folder: With predefined rules, you can create a smart folder to organize files automatically.

Let’s Move to create New Folder on Mac using various methods.

Method 1: Using Right Click Menu

Here are steps to create a new folder on mac (Desktop) using right-click.

1# Right Click (Right click not working on Mac, Enable Right click on Mac)or Press the Control key + Click on the Empty Space on the mac desktop or in the finder window. Or Two Finger Click on the trackpad.

2# Select New Folder from the dropdown menu.

3# It will create an untitled Folder (Default name) on the desktop, which you can rename.

You can create a new folder on the desktop using the above steps.

Method 2: Using Desktop or Finder Menu

With the help of the finder Menu, you can create all three types of Folders.

Create New Folder

1# If you have “Safari,” “Word,” or another menu at the top means you are in that particular program. So, you need to Click on Open Space on the desktop. Now you will see the “Finder” Menu at the Top.

2# Select the “File” menu beside “Finder.”

3# Next, Click on “New Folder” From the Dropdown menu. or Press Shift+Command+N

That’s it! Now you can see an untitled Folder on your desktop that you can rename.

Create Smart Folder

You can create a smart folder with a set of rules. For Instance

1# Go to the “Finder” Menu at the Top.

2# Select “File” from the Menu bar.

3# Now, Click on New Smart Folder from Drop down menu.

4# Set the first rules using the Search box at the Top; for that, Enter the Word, topic, date, or any other characteristics of the File you want in the new smart Folder.

Next, choose files from the suggested items that appear below the search. In addition, you can refine the search by clicking the pop-up menu in the search.

5# Click on Add button (+) below the Search Box to set the rule using pop menus of the search attribute.

6# Select the Save button. A new pop-up appears. In Save As Field, Enter the Name of your Folder. Then, choose the Location from the dropdown beside “Where” to save your smart Folder on mac.

7# If you don’t want Smart Folder to be seen in the sidebar, uncheck the “Add to Sidebar” Option.

8# Click on save to create a smart folder with the name and Location provided by you. See my New Smart Folder saved on Mac.

[Note: You can’t use punctuation such as colon (:) or certain characters in the folder names. If you see an error, try a different name]

Create a Folder with selected items

This Option will get enabled only when you select one or more items.

1# Select Files or folders on the desktop.

2# Click on File from Finder Menu.

3# If you select One item, click on “New Folder with “File Name.” Otherwise, Select “New Folder with Selection (#Number of Items).”

That’s it! New Folder with selected items will create on the desktop.

Method 3: In Finder Window

These are the instructions to create a new folder inside Finder Window.

1# Click on the “Finder” icon at Dock.

2# In Finder Window, Under Favorites at the left sidebar, Select Documents.

Suppose you can’t see Document. Select the Dropdown arrow next to Favorites from the left sidebar to expand Favorites Options. Then Select Documents. OR From the top menu Go > Documents. OR Press Shift+Command+O.

3# Right Click on the empty space in the finder window.

4# Select New Folder.

The above steps will help you create a new folder in the Finder window. You can Name your Folder as per your wish.

Method 4: Using Keyboard Shortcuts

The Quick and best way to create a new folder is by using a keyboard shortcut. However, it would be best if you remember it. Though in the long run, you will remember eventually. Ensure that you see the “Finder” Menu at the top Menu bar and then use the following shortcuts.

Create New Folder (Shift+Command+N):

Go to the empty space on the desktop and press the key combination of “Shift+Command+N.” The New “untitled folder” gets created on the mac desktop.

Create New Folder with the Selected item (Control + Command + N):

First, you need to select one or more items from your desktop. To select an item, click and hover the mouse cursor over items. Alternatively, Press Command and click on items to select. After selecting files, Press the “Control + Command + N” keys to create a folder with selected items on mac.

Method 5: Using Terminal

Creating a folder using a terminal is as simple as it seems. Before writing the command in the Terminal, ensure that the Terminal on your mac has full disk access. Otherwise, you won’t be able to create a folder using the Terminal.

Steps to grant full disk access to Terminal on Ventura

Here are the steps for macOS Ventura

1# Goto Apple logo and Select System Settings.

2# Click on Privacy & Security from Left Side.

3# Next Select Full Disk Access from the right Side.

4# Turn on the toggle Next to the Terminal. (If the terminal is not in the list, then add it manually, Click on the + icon > Browser Terminal app under the application folder and add.)

The above steps will grant full disk access to the Terminal. So that you can make changes to the full disk using the Terminal command.

Steps to grant full disk access to Terminal on Monterey

Here are the steps for macOS Monterey

1# Goto Apple logo and Select System Preferences.

2# Now Click on Security & Privacy. You will see Security & Privacy Window.

3# Scroll down and Select Full Disk Access from the left Side.

4# Click on the Lock icon at the bottom to Enter System Password to make changes. Next, Select Unlock.

5# Check the box next to the Terminal from the right Side.

Using the above steps, you granted full disk access to the Terminal. Hence you can make changes to the full disk using the terminal command.

Steps to create a Folder using Terminal

With Terminal, you can create a Folder on the desired Location, like a desktop or documents, using the command line.

1# Open Spotlight Search by pressing Command + Space.

2# Type Terminal and Open Terminal.

3# Type cd downloads in the Terminal and hit the return key. if you wish to create folder on desktop then Type cd desktop (Show below picture)

The cd stands for change directory. So, for example, if you type cd documents, it will change to the Document’s directory. 

4# Next, Enter “mkdir New1” and hit return. It will make a new directory(mkdir) or Folder named “New1” under downloads.

5# To create multiple folders at once, Type mkdir and folder name separated by space. For example, mkdir New1 New2 New3 will create three folders simultaneously.

Next, go to the downloads folder and check whether New Folder has been created.

How to Organize Folders on Mac

Once the Folder is created, look at how efficiently you can organize the Folder.

How to Add/Move Files to Folder

Here are different scenarios to add items into the Folder on mac.

First, go to the Finder icon at the Dock and Open the Finder window.

1# Add Single File: To add a single file to the Folder, you must drag it and drop it into the Folder.

2# Add Multiple Files: Select multiple files and drag one of the files to the Folder.

3# Keep the File at the original location and put Copy in the Folder:

• Select File, then Press and hold the Option key; now drag the File to the Folder.
• Alternatively, Right click on the File and select Copy. Now go to the Folder, right-click on empty space, and select Paste item.

4# Keep the File at the original location and create an alias (Shortcut) of it in the Folder:

Select File and then Press, hold the “Option + Command” key, and then drag the File to the Folder to create its alias.

5# Make a Copy of the File within the same Folder: 

• Select File/item.
• Goto File Menu at the Top beside “Finder.”
• Select Duplicate from the dropdown menu.

Alternatively, Select File and press “Command + D.”

6# Make an alias(shortcut) of the File within the same Folder:

• Select File/item.
• Goto File Menu at the Top beside “Finder.”
• Select Make Alias from the dropdown menu.

Alternatively, Select File and press “Control + Command + A.”

7# Put the finder window’s content in a folder:

• Select the window item.
• Move the pointer to the left side until the Folder appears.
• Drop the items into the Folder.

8# Copy the item to a different disk: drag and drop the files to the disk on the left.

9# Move the items to a distinct disk: For that, Press and hold the command key, then drag and drop the item to the disk.

How to Delete Files from a folder

• Drag the File and drop it into the trash bin icon at the Dock to delete or remove files from the Folder.
• Alternatively, Right click on the Folder and select “Move to Bin” or “Move to Trash.”

Group Multiple Files into the New Folder

You can quickly create a folder with items on the desktop or in the finder window. Here are the steps to create a folder with selected items.

1# Select Files or folders on the desktop that you want to group.

2# Click on File from Finder Menu. Or Control-click any one selected item.

3# If you have selected One item, click on “New Folder with “File Name.” Otherwise, Select “New Folder with Selection (#Number of Items).”

That’s it! New Folder with selected items will create on the desktop. Likewise, you can create a folder with a selection in finder windows.

Merge Two folders with the same name

You can merge two folders with an identical names at two locations into a single folder. Here are the instructions to do so.

1# Press and hold the Option key, drag one Folder and drop it to the location (e.g., Documents, Downloads) with an identical name folder.

2# A dialog with the message “A folder named “Name of your folder” already exists in this location. Do you want to merge or replace it with the one you’re copying? Click Merge.

The merge will combine the two folders, preserving all the items. Further, you will have a merge option only if you have different items in the two identical name folders. Therefore, if folders contain the same name files, you will get only two options Stop or Replace.

How to Customize Folder On mac

You can customize the folder name, icon, or color according to your wish.

How to Rename Folder on Mac

Initially, when the Folder is created, it is named an “untitled folder.” Hence you need to rename it as per your wish. You can rename Folder on mac in three ways.

Method 1: Using the Return key

1# Select Folder and hit return.

2# Edit Folder Name.

3# Hit return to save folder name.

Method 2: Using Right click

1# Select the Folder and Right Click or Control Click on it.

2# Choose Option Rename.

3# Edit Folder Name.

4# Hit return to save folder name.

Method 3: Using Slow Double Click

1# Slow double-click on the folder name.

2# Edit folder name.

3# hit return.

Using any of the above three methods, you can rename your Folder.

How to Change Folder or Image Icon Size

Do you want to change the folder image icon size on mac? Head to How to change folder Icon size on mac for detailed instructions.

How to Change Folder Color

Organizing a folder according to its color will make you quickly access files. Here is a detailed tutorial on How to change folder color on mac.

How to zip a folder on a mac

Compressing a folder takes less space than being uncompressed. Hence, Compressed folders are helpful for backups and transporting data over the internet.

• You cannot directly create a zip folder. However, you can compress it once a folder is created. 
• To Compress the already created Folder, Control-Click or Right-Click, or two-finger tap on the trackpad.
•   Select Compress “Folder Name” or Compress.
•  . Zip Extension: When you compress a single folder, it gets saved with the “. Zip” extension.
•   Archive. Zip: When you compress more than one Folder, it gets saved as an Archive. Zip.

How to Unzip Zipped Folder?

You already learn how to compress or Zip a folder. But how can you unzip the compressed Folder? To unzip a folder, double-click the “. Zip” folder.

Can’t Open Zip Folder

Suppose you won’t be able to open the “. Zip” folder, then ensure that you have enough space on your mac. Further, if you have received a Zip folder and have a problem opening it, so, In that case, there may be a problem with the Folder, so ask to resend it.

What is a mac folder with a question mark?

When you Turn on your mac, you see a folder with a flashing question mark instead of the apple logo. Additionally, you see a folder with a question mark if your hard disk is faulty or missing or doesn’t have to work macOS. Therefore, you need to fix Flashing Folder with the Question Mark on the Mac issue.

How do I create a new folder on my hard drive?

You can easily create a folder on your hard drive. Here are the steps to do so.

1. Click on the Finder Icon at the Dock to Open the finder window.
2.   Now, Go to the desired location on your hard drive.
3.   Select File at the top menu beside Finder.
4.   Now select New Folder.

That it! A new folder gets created on your hard drive.