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Macintosh ... The Finder Menu


The Finder, which is the icon located in the top right corner of the screen, is one of the most-used functions of the Macintosh, in addition to being the user's access to the Macintosh system itself. The Finder menu (sometimes called the Application Menu offers the functions of Hide [or Show] Finder, Hide Others, Show All, and a list of all of the applications (programs) at that are running at any given moment. There will be a checkmark next to the application that is active, or in the forefront, at that particular moment.

In the menu as pictured above, the current applications running are Finder (which is the one with the checkmark, hence the active application); GIFConverter 2.3.7, Netscape Navigator 2.02, and SimpleText. One can click on any of the active apps in that list to move between them.

Example: one can be working on a text document in SimpleText, then pop over to Netscape to see some information there - simply by clicking on the Finder icon, and selecting Netscape from the list under the Finder. Perhaps one might highlight and select some text or address in a Netscape window, copy that text, then pop back to SimpleText and paste that information in the document in progress.

The Finder - which is the Macintosh system - allows you to move very easily between open applications, copying from here, pasting there, etc. You can have all the running applications open at the same time, one on top of the other, but the topmost one will be the "active" one. Or you can select Hide Others from the Finder, and have only the Finder itself showing. The applications are still running, they just don't show up anywhere on the screen but in the Finder menu. Hide Finder would hide any open folders that are shown when in the Finder level.

Note that as you move between the current applications, the finder icon will change to reflect that particular application. More on that in the Macintosh Tips section.


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Copyright Notice
This document was produced by University Computing Services staff, Ball State University. Any reprints of this material, in whole or in part, must be by permission of the department, and must state the source of the material. Contact Pam Stant, Computing Services, (pstant@bsu.edu) for further information. Copyright © 2000, Ball State University, Computing Services, Muncie, IN.
All Rights Reserved.

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Author | Last Modification: August 2000 | Technical comments to the BSU Webmaster


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