I’ve been thinking about how much easier it would be to manage large project folders in Finder if there were a simple “Pin Items” feature — something similar to pinning notes in Apple Notes.
The idea is straightforward: you could pin specific files or folders so they always stay visible at the top of a Finder window, regardless of sorting or view mode. These pins would be contextual, meaning they appear only in that specific folder, not globally across all Finder windows. We already have the Toolbar and Sidebar for global access — this would be for accessing and organizing within the context of a single folder.
This would be particularly useful in Icon View and Column View. For example, in a folder containing hundreds of files, I might pin three key folders named PHASE1, PHASE2, and PHASE3. Those folders would remain visible in a “Pinned Items” section at the top while I scroll through the rest of the contents below — making it much faster to drag and drop files where they belong.
I put together a quick mock-up (with ChatGPT’s help and a bit of Photoshop) to illustrate what this could look like. You’d have a “Pinned Items” area at the top, a “Show/Hide Pinned Items” toggle in the toolbar, and a View > Show/Hide Pinned Items option in the menu. Finder could even maintain continuity when resorting by keeping the topmost visible item anchored, so you don’t lose your place while files are reordering. It’s simple, non-intrusive, and completely in keeping with macOS design principles.
It seems like a small thing, but for anyone who manages large numbers of files, or needs to access a particular file/folder a lot, it could really streamline workflow and reduce friction.
This would also look awesome in Liquid Glass.
I submitted Apple Feedback about it.
What do you all think?
