How to switch between Finder windows on a Mac
Finder is the app that most easily ends up with a pile of open windows, and the Dock gives it exactly one icon. Here are the built-in ways to move between them, and where each one falls short.
Command + ` cycles through Finder windows
With Finder active, press Command + ` (the key below Esc) to move through its windows one at a time; add Shift to go backwards.
The catch: you are cycling blind. You cannot tell which window is next, so with several open you press it repeatedly.
Right-click the Finder icon in the Dock
The top of the menu lists the open Finder windows by folder name. Click one to switch to it.
The catch: open, find, pick — three steps, every time. And the order changes, so you cannot learn a position.
The Window menu
Finder's Window menu lists the same windows at the bottom, with a checkmark beside the current one. Same list, different entrance.
App Exposé (three-finger swipe down)
With Finder active, swipe down with three fingers or press Control + ↓. Finder's windows tile out with the folder name under each thumbnail.
The catch: it is a temporary view. It disappears when you leave it, and you repeat the whole thing on the next switch.
A different angle: merge the windows into tabs
Finder supports tabs. Choose Window → Merge All Windows and every Finder window becomes a tab in a single window; Control + Tab then moves between tabs. Command + T opens a new tab, Command + N a new window.
This genuinely cuts the window count, but everything is now inside one window — you lose the ability to put two folders side by side.
Why Finder gets messy in particular
Because the Dock is organized by app: however many Finder windows are open, there is still one icon. The more windows there are, the more "which one is which" becomes something you have to go and ask for, one temporary view at a time.
ABOUT TUNGSTEN EDGE
Giving every Finder window its own slot
Tungsten Edge splits each window into its own card along the bottom of the screen, labeled with the folder name. One click goes straight to that window — no right-click first, no switching to Finder first. Four Finder windows are four cards, and you can see at a glance which is which.
When Finder uses native tabs, switching tabs keeps the card stable rather than splitting it into several. That part is harder than it sounds.
Try it
Tungsten Edge is free to download right now. It needs macOS 12 or later, runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel, and is signed and notarized by Apple. It requires the macOS Accessibility permission to read and manage windows — every window-management tool on macOS needs that.
Download Tungsten Edge