How to Use Finder Quick Actions in Mac OS Mojave

Posted on 19th June 2023

How to Use Finder Quick Actions in Mac OS Mojave

Finder Quick Actions are one of the most useful productivity features in Mac OS Mojave. They let you automate common tasks, such as renaming files or compressing images, with just a few clicks.

In this article, we’ll show you how to use Finder Quick Actions to save time and boost your productivity.

What are Finder Quick Actions?

Finder Quick Actions are context-sensitive actions that you can perform on files and folders in the Finder. For example, if you select a JPEG image, you’ll see Quick Actions for rotating or resizing the image.

You can also create your own Quick Actions using Automator, Apple’s workflow automation tool. This lets you automate just about any task, such as creating PDFs from images or converting audio files to a different format.

How to Use Finder Quick Actions

Using Finder Quick Actions is simple. Just select a file or folder, then click the Quick Action button in the Finder toolbar.

If you don’t see the Quick Action button, you can enable it in the View menu. Just select View > Show Quick Actions Button.

You can also access Quick Actions from the Finder’s Preview pane. Just select a file, then click the Quick Actions button at the top of the pane.

Some Quick Actions will let you perform the action without opening the file. For example, if you select a JPEG image, you can rotate or resize it without opening the image in an app.

Other Quick Actions will open the file in an app so you can perform the action. For example, if you select a text file, you can open it in your default text editor and edit the file.

You can also perform Quick Actions on multiple files at once. Just select the files, then click the Quick Action button.

If you don’t see the Quick Action you want, you can create your own using Automator. We’ll show you how to do that later in this article.

Which Quick Actions are Available?

The Quick Actions that are available depend on the file type. For example, if you select a JPEG image, you’ll see Quick Actions for rotating or resizing the image.

Here’s a complete list of the Quick Actions that are available in Mac OS Mojave:

Rotate Image: Rotates the selected image clockwise or counterclockwise.

Resize Image: Resizes the selected image to a smaller or larger size.

Markup Image: Opens the selected image in the Markup app so you can annotate it.

Create PDF: Creates a PDF of the selected file.

Create Archive: Creates a ZIP archive of the selected file or folder.

Extract Archive: Extracts the contents of the selected ZIP archive.

Add to iBooks: Adds the selected PDF to your iBooks library.

Quick Look: Opens a Quick Look preview of the selected file.

Show in Finder: Shows the selected file in the Finder.

Duplicate: Creates a duplicate of the selected file.

Compress: Compresses the selected file or folder.

New Folder with Selection: Creates a new folder with the selected file or folder.

Rename: Renames the selected file or folder.

How to Create Your Own Quick Actions

You can use Automator to create your own Quick Actions. This lets you automate just about any task, such as creating PDFs from images or converting audio files to a different format.

To create a Quick Action, open Automator and select File > New. Then, select Quick Action from the list of templates.

Next, you’ll need to choose what type of files your Quick Action will work with. For example, if you want to create a Quick Action that works with images, you would select the Image files option.

You can also choose to make your Quick Action available in the Finder, Preview, or both.

Once you’ve selected the options for your Quick Action, click Choose.

You’ll now see a list of actions that you can add to your Quick Action. These are the same actions that are available in Automator’s Library.

For example, if you want to create a Quick Action that converts images to PDFs, you would add the Convert Images to PDF action.

To add an action to your Quick Action, just drag it from the Library to the workflow area.

Once you’ve added all the actions you want, you can test your Quick Action by clicking the Run button in the top-right corner of the Automator window.

When you’re satisfied with your Quick Action, click File > Save. You’ll need to give your Quick Action a name and choose where to save it.

You can now use your Quick Action in the Finder, Preview, or both.

Conclusion

Finder Quick Actions are a great way to automate common tasks in Mac OS Mojave. They let you perform actions on files and folders without opening them in an app.

You can also create your own Quick Actions using Automator. This lets you automate just about any task, such as creating PDFs from images or converting audio files to a different format.

In the Finder, quick actions appear in the Preview pane and in the contextual menu that appears when you Control-click or right-click an item.

To use a quick action, select one or more items in the Finder, then click the Quick Actions button in the Preview pane (or Control-click or right-click an item and choose Quick Actions from the pop-up menu).

In the Quick Actions section of the Preview pane, click the quick action you want to use. If you don’t see the quick action you want, scroll to the end of the list and click More.

In the dialog that appears, select the checkbox next to the quick action you want to use, then click Done.

You can also add quick actions to the Finder toolbar and to the Services menu.

To add a quick action to the Finder toolbar, Control-click or right-click the toolbar, then choose Customize Toolbar from the pop-up menu. In the dialog that appears, drag the quick action you want to use to the toolbar, then click Done.

To add a quick action to the Services menu, choose Finder > Services, then scroll to the bottom of the list and select the checkbox next to the quick action you want to use.