The Mac Observer

Skip navigational links

You're viewing an article in TMO's historic archive vault. Here, we've preserved the comments and how the site looked along with the article. Use this link to view the article on our current site:
Finder: The Joy of Undo

TMO Quick Tip - Finder: The Joy of Undo

by , 7:30 AM EDT, March 12th, 2008

Anyone can make a mistake, and if that mistake happens to be in the Finder, there's a good chance you can undo it. That goes for moving files and folders, renaming items, and even moving items to the Trash.

Just hop on over to the Finder's Edit menu and select the Undo option or use the Command-Z keyboard short cut. This will revert the most recent Finder action you performed on an item back to its original state, which is really handy if you accidentally move a file or folder and don't know where it ended up.

For as great as the Finder's Undo option is, it does have a couple of limitations: It can undo only your last Finder action, and it can't undo emptying the Trash so you can recover accidentally deleted files.


Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

if you have tips or tricks to share, or Mac-related questions you want answered.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1960 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Subject: More Limitations

Here are two other things it can't do:

* Undo a change to the icons in the Dock.
* Restore a removed drive from the the Finder's side-bar.

I'd say that 90% of the time I see someone do one of these things, the first thing they say is "oops."

Something so easy to do by accident really should have an undo feature.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: undo

it's called Time machine!

Comment on this Article


You cannot edit your comments.   You cannot delete your comments.

Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.


Recent Headlines - Updated November 10th

Mon, 7:20 PM
Rumor - Apple May Update iPod touch in December
6:45 PM
Product News - MacUpdate Desktop Updated to 5.0.1 with New Features, Bug Fixes
5:16 PM
Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.2 - Guest Account Bug Fixed, Much More
4:12 PM
Games - New For iPhone: Star Rangers, Air Force Supremacy, Blood Beach, More
2:51 PM
Apple Stock Watch - Radio Shack Jumps 14% on iPhone Deal, Apple Up 3%
2:25 PM
Games - EA Scoops Up Social Games Publisher Playfish
1:51 PM
Deal Brothers - Western Digital 1TB SATA Intellipower Hard Drive:  $84.99
10:58 AM
News - StarHub Signs Singapore iPhone Deal
10:36 AM
Hot Forum Topic - Reader Speculation: What’s in Apple’s Tablet?
10:08 AM
News - Apple Kicks Off New Credit Program
9:26 AM
News - Apple Launches Reserve and Pick Up Program
8:49 AM
News - ikee Worm Rickrolls Jailbroken iPhones

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
  • RamJet Memory: Mac Pro 8-core 8GB Kit $199.99, 4GB Kits $109.99! Sale on MacBook and MacBook Pro 8GB kits $549.99! New MacBook DDR3 2GB for $49.99. iMac and Mac mini 4GB Kits for $79.99! 1TB SATA Hard Drives for $109.99! Click here
  • OWC: Mercury On-The-Go FW800+USB2 up to 1.0TB. Bus Powered, no external power supply needed. Macworld ‘Editor’s Choice’, CNET ‘Very Good’ Starting from $99.97, 500GB $159.99. Click here
  • Poker Mac If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out Full Tilt Poker for Mac. This Full Tilt Poker bonus code does the unthinkable, it actually rewards!
  • For the latest Apple products use Ciao, a price comparison website, to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate mobile phones like the Apple iPhone.

  • Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
  • __________
  • Buy Stuff, Support TMO!
  • Podcast: Mac Geek Gab
  • Podcast: Apple Weekly Report
  • TMO on Twitter!