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When selecting multiple items in the Finder and hitting the ⌘+I shortcut, OS X produces one window per file, which is painful when attempting to view a summary of, for example, the total size of a number of files at once.

How can I view info for multiple files in a single window?

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There are two modifier keys that allow you to view grouped info for multiple files (note that the names are derived from what the Finder's File > Get Info menu item changes into when the relevant modifier key is pressed):

  • ⌥+⌘+I (alt/option + cmd + I): This opens the Inspector, an independent window that tracks info for whatever the selected files in the focused Finder window are. The Inspector updates as you change selection (or change which Finder window is focused), and remains until it is closed.
  • ^+⌘+I (control + cmd + I): This opens a Summary Info window, which aggregates info on multiple selected items. Unlike the Inspector, however, it is static and always displays info on whatever items were selected when it was opened, regardless of changes to which items are selected in the Finder, or which Finder window has focus.
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    You can also Get Summary Info by right clicking on the items and holding down the control key (you'll notice "Get Info" turns into "Get Summary Info" when you toggle the control key). – Nathan Beach Feb 6 '14 at 17:07
  • Is there a similar functionality of "Get Info" (Cmd+I) from the Mac OS X Terminal.app? I mean something like finderGetInfo /path/to/a/file.ext which will output the infos for the file but in the terminal console? – user3019105 Dec 30 '14 at 19:54
  • @user3019105 I'm not sure - that's probably worth its own question! – Dan J Jan 6 '15 at 0:35
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    Thank you for this answer, the the follow-up comment. This is super easy in windows. Don't know why MAC is obsessed with excessive Key commands. Residual effect of the 1-button mouse days? – VISQL Sep 14 '15 at 18:36

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