# ComfortFiles Keyboard Shortcuts
ComfortFiles is a Windows Explorer-style file manager for macOS.
ComfortFiles is built for people who drive a file manager from the keyboard. If you came from Windows Explorer or Total Commander, most of what you already know transfers — the modifier changes from Ctrl to ⌘, and the rest lands where you expect.
## Focus and panes
The three that matter most, and the ones Finder has never had:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘L | Put the caret in the address bar, ready to type a path |
| ⌘F | Put the caret in the search field |
| Tab / ⇧Tab | Move focus between the sidebar tree and the file list |
Tab is the one worth building a habit around: it means you can go from picking a folder in the tree to selecting files in it without touching the mouse.
## Navigating
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘[ | Back |
| ⌘] | Forward |
| ⌘↑ | Enclosing folder (go up one level) |
| ⌥← / ⌥→ / ⌥↑ | Back / forward / up — Explorer's Alt keys, kept alongside the Mac ones |
| Backspace | Up one folder — the Explorer habit |
| ↑↓ | Move the selection |
| Return | Open — folders navigate into, files open in their default app |
## Working with files
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘C | Copy |
| ⌘X | Cut |
| ⌘V | Paste |
| ⌘⌫ | Move to Trash |
| ⌦ | Move to Trash — the Delete key on a PC keyboard (fn+⌫ on a Mac one) |
| ⇧⌘N | New folder — also ⌃⇧N, Explorer's spelling |
| F2 | Rename — inline for one file, [batch rename](/how-to/batch-rename/) for several |
| Space | [Quick Look](/how-to/quick-look/) preview |
| ⌘A | Select all |
| ⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z | [Undo](/how-to/undo/) / redo |
## View and windows
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘⇧. | [Show or hide hidden files](/how-to/show-hidden-files/) |
| ⌘+ / ⌘− | [Bigger or smaller icons](/how-to/view-modes/) — also ⌘ + scroll, or a trackpad pinch |
| ⌘0 | [Back to the default icon size](/how-to/view-modes/) |
| ⌘J | [Show item info](/how-to/view-modes/#seeing-whats-inside-without-opening-it) — how many items are in each folder, in icon view |
| F5 | Refresh the folder — re-reads it from disk |
| ⌃⌘S | Show or hide the sidebar — the file list takes the whole window |
| ⇧⌘P | Show or hide the [preview panel](/how-to/preview-panel/) |
| ⌃⌘F | Full screen |
| ⌘T | New [tab](/how-to/tabs/) |
| ⌘N | New window |
| ⌘W | Close |
| ⌘, | Settings |
| ⌘M | Minimize |
| ⌘Q | Quit |
## Coming from Windows Explorer
Most keys carry over once Ctrl becomes ⌘:
| Explorer | ComfortFiles | |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+L | ⌘L | [Address bar](/guides/mac-finder-address-bar/) — the one Finder has no equivalent for |
| Ctrl+F | ⌘F | Search |
| F6 | Tab | Switch panes |
| Alt+← | ⌥← or ⌘[ | Back |
| Alt+→ | ⌥→ or ⌘] | Forward |
| Alt+↑ | ⌥↑ or ⌘↑ | Up one folder |
| F5 | F5 | Refresh |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | ⌃⇧N or ⇧⌘N | New folder |
| Backspace | Backspace | Up one folder |
| F2 | F2 | Rename |
| Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V | ⌘C / ⌘X / ⌘V | Copy, cut, paste |
| Ctrl+Z | ⌘Z | Undo |
| Delete | ⌦ or ⌘⌫ | Move to Trash |
| Ctrl + scroll | ⌘ + scroll | [Bigger or smaller icons](/how-to/view-modes/) |
**The one to watch is Delete, because your keyboard decides which key that is.**
On a PC keyboard, Delete sends ⌦ — and that moves the selection to the Trash, as it does in Explorer. On a Mac keyboard the key marked *delete* is ⌫, which does **not** delete: it goes **up one folder**, the way Backspace does in Explorer. (Its forward-delete twin is fn+⌫.)
That split is deliberate. A Mac user's ⌫ keeps the platform convention — nothing is deleted by a bare keystroke that deletes nothing anywhere else on their Mac — while a switcher's Delete does what their hands expect. Either way the file goes to the **Trash**, and ⌘Z brings it straight back.
## Related
- Want ComfortFiles itself on a global hotkey, from any app? [Summon ComfortFiles from anywhere](/how-to/summon-shortcut/).
- New to the Mac from Windows? [Windows to Mac file management](/guides/windows-to-mac-file-management/).
## Frequently asked questions
### Why does the Delete key not delete anything?
That is the macOS convention, and ComfortFiles follows it: ⌘⌫ (Command-Delete) moves the selection to the Trash. A bare ⌫ never deletes — it goes up one folder, which is what Backspace does in Windows Explorer. Explorer uses a bare Delete to delete, so this is one of the few keys that genuinely differs. Deleted items go to the macOS Trash and can be restored from there.
### Is there an equivalent of Explorer's F6 to switch panes?
Yes — Tab moves focus between the sidebar tree and the file list, and ⇧Tab moves back. macOS reserves F6 for its own focus cycling, so Tab is the key ComfortFiles uses.
### Does F2 rename more than one file at a time?
Yes. With a single file selected, F2 starts an inline rename. With several selected, the same key opens the batch rename dialog, so one keystroke covers both cases.
### Does Backspace go back or go up?
Up, one folder — the same as current Windows Explorer, where Back is Alt+← and Backspace is Up. Windows XP mapped Backspace to Back, which is why the two get mixed up. For Back, use ⌘[.
### How do I get the icons back to their normal size?
⌘0, or View ▸ Actual Size — the same convention browsers use with ⌘+ / ⌘− / ⌘0. It only applies in icon view; the list has a fixed row height and nothing to scale.
### Can I change the shortcuts?
Not inside ComfortFiles yet. macOS itself can override any menu shortcut system-wide through System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts, by entering the menu item's exact title.
### Do the shortcuts work when the sidebar has focus?
Yes. The menu shortcuts (⌘L, ⌘F, ⌘[, ⌘]) work wherever you are. Arrow keys, Return and Space act on whichever pane currently has focus, which is what Tab switches.