Make names of files and folders display fully in the Mac OS X Finder

Question

I am not normally a Mac person, however, my father has a Mac and finds it frustrating to need to click on items with long names in order to display the full name. Is there any way to get around this? (for example by making the text smaller)

Answer 1

It IS possible to make the text size smaller.

Click on the desktop. Hit Command "J" brings up folder options. Pick a smaller text size.

You can also do this to ALL folders. Open any folder and hit Command "J" again. If you have a newer version of OSX you can change the text size and "Use as default."

Not to proselytize, but it's always a good idea to make filenames as short and logical as possible. As long as you can tell a file's contents are, that's good enough. Cross-platform issues might truncate these names into an unrecognizable mess. Experience is a harsh mistress.

Answer 2

Yes, use List View or Column View and drag the column separators to set the columns wide.

Answer 3

After years of struggling with this, it's my belief that Apple's intended workaround for keyboard users with this problem is:

Switch to "List View" (⌘2) when you need to see longer filenames.

This habit requires an understanding of what folder will present itself. Otherwise, it's disorienting. Note the title bar or the item highlighted in blue.

Each view has its own strength:
"Icon" (⌘1) - files overview
"List" (⌘2) – file details
"Column" (⌘3) – navigating folders
"Cover Flow" (⌘4) - media browsing

For mouse-lovers in "Column" view, you can double-click the handle at the bottom of the column:

Answer 4

You can double click the line that separates the "Name" heading from whatever is next to it (I'm talking about the little line you would press to drag and expand the file names). Just double click it and it will show the full name until you press the "name" heading again.