ComfortFiles Keyboard Shortcuts

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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 ⌘[ .

Q: 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.

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 for several
`Space`	Quick Look preview
`⌘A`	Select all
`⌘Z` / `⌘⇧Z`	Undo / redo

View and windows

Shortcut	Action
`⌘⇧.`	Show or hide hidden files
`⌘+` / `⌘−`	Bigger or smaller icons — also ⌘ + scroll, or a trackpad pinch
`⌘0`	Back to the default icon size
`⌘J`	Show item info — 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
`⌃⌘F`	Full screen
`⌘T`	New tab
`⌘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 — 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

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.

Want ComfortFiles itself on a global hotkey, from any app? Summon ComfortFiles from anywhere.
New to the Mac from Windows? 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.