• In
System 2.0, the New Folder and
Shut Down commands were introduced, alongside a MiniFinder application for quickly launching any chosen application. • In
System 2.1, the Finder was changed to support the
Hierarchical File System (HFS) as well as the
Macintosh File System. • In
System 5,
MultiFinder was introduced. It allows the user to have
multiple apps opened simultaneously. •
MultiFinder support was expanded upon in
System 6. • In
System 7, Finder's UI is revamped and is updated to allow for native
multitasking, taking most of its features from
MultiFinder. • Mac OS 7.6 made drastic performance improvements by increasing
memory allocation. •
Mac OS 8 redesigned the app to be based on the Platinum theme and rewrote it to be PowerPC-native, support
32-bit processors, and be multi-threaded. It also introduced pop-up windows, as well the Simple Finder, an option which reduces Finder menus to basic operations to avoid overwhelming new users. • Mac OS 8.1 changed the Finder's default file system to be
HFS Plus. •
Mac OS 9 introduced
128-bit file encryption to the app. • Mac OS 9.1 introduced
CD Burning and a new "Window" menu. •
Mac OS X 10.0 revamped the Finder from the ground up in the
Carbon API; its UI is also redesigned to use
Aqua with a web browser like layout, and removes
CD burning, DVD burning, and colored labels. •
Mac OS X 10.1 reintroduced
CD and DVD burning support from Mac OS 9.1, as well the ability to hide
file extensions on a per-file basis. It also made significant performance improvements. •
Mac OS X Jaguar added a search bar to the app, powered by
Sherlock 3. •
Mac OS X Panther revamped the app. It gained a brushed-metal interface, live search results, a customizable Sidebar, secure deletion,
colored labels reintroduced from
Mac OS 9, and
ZIP support built in. The icon was also changed. • In
Mac OS X Tiger, the Window menu in the Finder introduced a "Cycle Through Windows" option, while the Get Info window for items in the Finder also added a "More Info" section that includes Spotlight information tags such as Image Height & Width, when the file was last opened, and where the file originated. • In
Mac OS X Leopard, the app is redesigned with
skeuomorphic elements, alongside new features similar to those seen in
iTunes 7, including
Cover Flow and a Source List-like sidebar. • In
Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the app was rewritten from the ground up in
Cocoa, and gained support for
64-bit processors. However, it did not receive a major user interface overhaul. • In
Mac OS X Lion, the app received numerous improvements, such as the ability for Finder search to allow multiple search criteria to be specified without creating a smart folder as well as to offer suggestions, the ability for files to be grouped by various attributes, and the ability to merge files under two folders with the same name, though a prompt appears asking to replace or keep both files. The navigation sidebar lost the ability to show the specific icon of a map or volume (by default; there is a hack to still add the old ability), instead it shows a grey standard map icon. • In
OS X Mountain Lion, the Finder displays a progress bar in the "size" column when copying a file. • In
OS X Mavericks,
tabs, full-screen support, and document
tags are introduced, while pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-navigate-history gestures have been removed. • In
OS X Yosemite, the Finder is updated to include a refreshed user interface with updated typography and
translucency, along with a new icon. Functionally, it also adds official support for extensions, allowing synchronization and cloud storage applications such as
Dropbox to display sync status labels inside the Finder display. • In
OS X El Capitan, the app gains a new security feature called
System Integrity Protection (SIP), sometimes referred to as "rootless") that protects certain system
processes,
files and
folders from being modified or tampered with by other processes even when executed by the
root user or by a user with root privileges (
sudo). Apple says that the root user can be a significant
risk factor to the system's security, especially on systems with a single user account on which that user is also the administrator. System Integrity Protection is enabled by default, but can be disabled. • In
macOS Sierra, the app gains an option to show folders always at the top of the view hierarchy, for instance in list views. • In
macOS High Sierra, the app adds support for features of the
Apple File System (APFS), introducing fundamental changes to how the Finder handles file operations such as copying, duplicating, and calculating file sizes through copy-on-write technology, resulting in faster performance and improved reliability when managing files. • In
macOS Mojave, the app now has
metadata preview accessed via View > Show Preview. In addition, the
software updates are once again performed from the app, while a new Gallery View replaces Cover Flow, and lets users browse through files visually. • In
macOS Catalina, with the removal of
iTunes,
iOS device management is now done in the app. •
macOS Big Sur introduces a complete graphical redesign of the Finder, along with the rest of the user interface, sporting the removal of the brushed metal interface elements, a full-height sidebar and all new iconography. Big Sur also slightly modifies the Finder icon with
rounded corners. • In
macOS Monterey, the
toolbar was given a redesign and a few new features introduced. • In
macOS Ventura, alterations are made to prevent file spoofing. • In
macOS Sonoma, the feature allowing all apps to be hidden was changed, previously, it required holding down the option key when the icon was tapped, though now, in merely requires pressing the icon on the
dock. ==Reception==