How Do I Reset The Finder View?

Resetting the Finder view can be done on a per-folder basis, for a view type across all folders, or globally by resetting the Finder's settings file.

Since Finder saves custom settings for every folder you've visited, multiple steps may be required for a complete reset.

Reset an individual folder's view settings

1. Open the folder in Finder that you want to reset.
2. Go to View > Show View Options in the menu bar, or use the keyboard shortcut Command (⌘) + J.
3. In the View Options panel, press and hold the Option (⌥) key.
4. The "Use as Defaults" button at the bottom of the panel will change to "Restore to Defaults." Click it.
5. Close the View Options panel.

Apply a default view to all folders of one type

This method allows you to set a specific view (e.g., Icon, List, Gallery) as the default for all folders that don't have a customized view already applied.

1. Open a Finder window and switch to the view you want to use as the new default (Icon, List, Column, or Gallery).
2. Go to View > Show View Options or press Command (⌘) + J.
3. Customize the settings as you like, such as icon size, sorting, or grouping.
4. Click the "Use as Defaults" button at the bottom of the View Options panel.
   • Note: The "Use as Defaults" button is not available for Column View, as its settings apply automatically to all folders in that view.

Reset all Finder view settings globally

For a more comprehensive reset, you can delete the Finder's main preferences file. This will revert all of Finder's settings—including view options, sidebar items, and toolbar layout—back to their factory defaults.

1. Click on the Desktop or an open Finder window to bring Finder into focus.
2. In the menu bar, click Go > Go to Folder..., or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command (⌘) + G.
3. In the dialog box, type ~/Library/Preferences/ and press Enter.
4. Find and delete the file named com.apple.finder.plist.
5. After deleting the file, you must force Finder to relaunch. Press and hold the Option (⌥) key, then right-click on the Finder icon in your Dock and select Relaunch.

Advanced reset via Terminal

For a definitive and complete view reset, you can use Terminal commands. This approach is powerful and should be used with care, as it removes all folder-specific view settings.

1. Open the Terminal application from Applications > Utilities.

2. To delete all .DS_Store files (which store folder-specific view settings) on your Mac, enter the following command and press Enter:bash

   sudo find / -name ".DS_Store" -exec rm {} \;
   

   Use code with caution.

3. To confirm, enter your administrator password when prompted.

4. After the command is finished, enter the following command to relaunch Finder:bash

   killall Finder
   

   Use code with caution.

5. Finder will close and reopen, applying the system defaults to all folders.

What to do if view options are greyed out

If you find that your "Show View Options" menu item is greyed out, you can troubleshoot with these steps:

• Make sure a Finder window is active. This option is only available when a Finder window is selected. If you only have the Desktop in focus, the options will not appear.
• Relaunch Finder. As with a global reset, holding Option (⌥) and right-clicking the Finder icon in the Dock and choosing Relaunch can resolve a temporary glitch.
• Check for a corrupt preferences file. If the issue persists, your com.apple.finder.plist file may be corrupt. Delete it and relaunch Finder, as described in the global reset steps.