no longer seeing downloads and desktop in mac finder window

You can change the raw query and even click on the minus icon and then click on the Save button, but changes will not persist.

In the dropdown list, click on Show Search criteria, and you will see something like this.Īs you can see, the Recents folder is a Raw query that returns all files you have touched recently. Then click on the Settings icon (looks like a cog). If you need proof, just open the folder in the Finder. The Recents folder works exactly the same way. In short, a smart folder is a saved search, a query, sometimes with parameters.įor instance, you can search for all PDF files on your disk created last year and save this search (or query) in the Finder, so the next time when you search for the same files, you can open a smart folder and get the list instantaneously. If you read my article “How to Find Any File on Mac (Guide with Pics),” I explained in great detail what a smart folder is. The truth is that it’s not an actual folder on a physical disk. There is a little bit of confusion about what the Recents folder is. While this does not clear recently accessed documents in the Mac Finder, excluding the startup disk from the Spotlight Search does. But if you are short on time and need to hide Recents quickly, let me give a quick tip.Ĭlick on the Apple logo, and then in a drop-down menu click on Recent Items -> Clear Menu item to clear recent documents and apps from the Apple menu. I encourage you to read the entire post because it contains a lot of information most Apple users don’t know. I personally tested every method I described below, so everything I suggest works in macOS Mojave, Catalina, and Big Sur. For instance, if you want to find out how to hide files from the Recents folder in the Mac Finder, Google will return hundreds of blog posts, which totally miss the point.Īnyone who follows their advice will either fail to achieve the goal or lose the documents in the worst case. It’s so strange how hard it is sometimes to find answers for some simple and often asked questions on the internet.

No longer seeing downloads and desktop in mac finder window