I recently made the switch from a Windows PC to a MacBook, and I’m finding the right-click menu a bit challenging to use. When I click on any empty space in a folder or on my Mac’s desktop, I can’t seem to find the option to create a new file. Additionally, when I right-click on a file, there’s no direct option to move it to a different location from the right-click menu. A friend of mine suggested using additional apps like iRightMouse or iBoysoft MagicMenu to simplify these tasks.
I’m curious to know how most people feel about this issue.
I am quite accustomed to the right-click menu.
I use an additional app to improve the functionality.
I’m ok with the right click menu as is.
I would love it if would ad a keyboard button or short cut for opening the right click menu for a chosen text or buttons. I find it unbelievable that Apple does not fix that. I get that it is a problem with how macOS was build, but there has to be a way to add that.
I came to macOS via Linux leaving any Windows usage well over 25 years ago. And back then I never knew there was some magical “create a new file” option from right clicking on the desktop or a folder
Don’t think it has ever been an option in macOS. If there were the question that would need asking is what kind of file would be created. With the Apple office products Pages, Numbers and Keynote plus Notes and Mail, and LibreOffice, Scrivener, Lyx, MacVim, Obsidian, Xcod, BibDeck, Gimp, Blender, Scribus, GPX Tracker and several more file-oriented sitting on the Dock and yet more on Launchpad it would be tedious to have to deal with some incorrect default file format. Better to create files from within the appropriate program.
My desktop is rarely visible under multiple windows from Firefox (13 of those though until recently there were seven more as I worked on a project), Finder, Calendar, Books, Preview, Photos, Notes, Terminal (at least 13 of those), Messages, Numbers, and Scrivener. The only visible part of my Desktop is the bottom right corner to allow for the rare action of creating a quick Note. I would have no use or opportunity to have a right-click menu with a create file option.
I think it’s been like that in macOS since forever. While the finder is document-centric, specific document creation is up to the application itself. The rationale, I believe, is that you should open the application, create the document, and then save it on its corresponding location.
Turns out this is not as convenient these days as the Apple founding fathers thought, specially when navigating deep folder structures. I have some automations with BettertouchTool that allow me to create an empty markdown file anywhere with the Finder. Open to other suggestions!
I’m mostly interested in the “right click to create file” thing. I’ve never done this.
However: I can totally see the use in visually navigating to where you want to go to create a file. I don’t create files this way, but what I do find very useful is the following workflow:
Open the app I want to create the file in, and create a new file. If it’s just a plain text file, and it’s not going in my Obsidian library, I’ll open BBEdit and create a new file (but TextEdit works just as well).
Save the file literally anywhere.
Open the folder I want to save the file in with Alfred. (I just type “find folder_name” and hit Enter. Alfred will automatically open the folder for me in a Finder window.)
Click and drag the file’s proxy icon in BBEdit (which is sadly disabled by default; enable it by following these instructions) to the open folder in the Finder window I want the app to be in.
This is obviously more complicated than “right click and create file,” but I find I want to do the work first and organize it later. This keeps it simple for me.
Instead of Cut/Paste on a Mac you do a Copy/MoveHere. Using the right-button (“Context”) menu hold down the Option key to see “Move Item Here”. Using keyboard shortcuts it’s ⌘⌥V.
The lack of a create new file doesn’t bother me, for the same reasons others have said. I especially don’t mind this because back when I was using Windows the new file feature got cluttered fast if you had to add many file types, making it fairly worthless. You might want to consider looking at the “Stationery pad” feature. See https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/mac-file-templates-finder-stationery-pad/
command-space, start typing the first letters of the application, return to launch the application
command-n to open a new file in that application
command-s to save - the dialog lets you choose where it gets saved to.
In my case, command-space has been configured to launch Launchbar, or lots of people use Alfred; by default it should open a Spotlight search.
I also use a utility, Default Folder X, which lets me set up a number of “favourites” for places that I regularly save files to and which aren’t included in the “Favourites” pane on the right hand side of the Finder window.
Instead of right click>move I tend to drag to Yoink and then move from there.
I also quite like Default Folder X’s ability to mouse over a finder window and set the current save/open dialog pane to that location in the folder structure.
MS Windows without Yoink is painful to me now.
I just suck it up as far as creating new files and make them from the relevant app.
This is how I do it 98% of the time, so we’re in sync. But once in a while. I just need to make five things, throw them on the desktop, start making directories, and then put it in the right place in Finder later.
It’s a useful app. Despite using MacOS for years I still miss that ability to create one (or several) files in an already open folder easily, without going into each app and negotiating to the required folder.
In practice I use EagleFiler to manage my files. It supports the idea of file templates (like New File Menu)… So for example I have templates for MS Word agendas and meeting notes, blank and prepopulated markdown files, my standard PowerPoint layout and so on. A couple of clicks and I can create a new one in a given folder.
Thanks.