I very much like the Finder shortcut CmdShiftG to navigate my files. However, it is a hassle having to open the Finder every time I use it. I would therefore greatly benefit from being able to use this function from any app that is currently open, launching the nice dialog in which I can enter my folder path. Is there any way to accomplish this? The shortcut does not have to be CmdShiftG.
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1But Finder is always "open".– Solar MikeCommented Jan 31, 2023 at 11:47
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Yes but if you focus any other application, then you can't just press cmd + shift + g to open the dialog because in the menu bar, the menu items of the active application are shown and so the keyboard shortcut won't work.– IridiumCommented Jan 31, 2023 at 11:56
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So define a unique shortcut in the system preferences: keyboard.– Solar MikeCommented Jan 31, 2023 at 11:59
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1Then you'd have to set up an Automator Service to switch to Finder then trigger Go To… as mentioned. The very act of opening a folder can only be done by Finder.– TetsujinCommented Jan 31, 2023 at 15:54
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1With Raycast you can do following - invoke Raycast from any application using shortcut (two keystrokes), enter folder search (two keystrokes), enter part of the folder name (n characters) and you are presented with paths to folder containing entered characters, continue entering or select from filtered list of paths, press enter to open in Finder. I use Raycast instead of Spotlight so for me personally it's about two seconds to open any folder from any application in Finder without raising my hands from keyboard.– Aivar PaalbergCommented Jan 31, 2023 at 16:45
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1 Answer
I very much like the Finder shortcut CmdShiftG to navigate my files. However, it is a hassle having to open the Finder every time I use it.
It's important to understand that Finder is the desktop environment for your Mac. It's unlike Windows File Explorer which is a completely separate application (utility) from the desktop environment. You don't have to "open" Finder every time you want to use it - you just have to select your Desktop.
Get to know the Finder on your Mac
The Finder is the first thing that you see when your Mac finishes starting up. It opens automatically and stays open as you use other apps. It includes the Finder menu bar at the top of the screen and the desktop below that. It uses windows and icons to show you the contents of your Mac, iCloud Drive, and other storage devices. It's called the Finder because it helps you to find and organize your files.
What's also important to note is that applications are not required to adhere to system shortcuts. Per the macOS Human Interface Guidelines it says that standard keyboard should be respected.
Respect standard keyboard shortcuts. People expect the standard keyboard shortcuts to work, regardless of the app they’re using.
However, this is not a hard-and-fast rule. An application may or may not respond to said shortcut - it's entirely up to the developer. For example, using Microsoft Word, the ⇧ Shift⌘ CommandG shortcut works, but in VirtualBox, it doesn't.
I would therefore greatly benefit from being able to use this function from any app that is currently open
I'm certain you would. However, that's not the way the developer approaches it. While it could be argued that would be nice to have that feature in VirtualBox for instance, the developers saw no need to implement it even within their "import machine" dialog box. The bottom line is you can't force the app to do something it wasn't enabled to do.