How to quickly resize columns in Finder

by Ross McKillop on June 20, 2008

Without question, I find the column view of OS X’s Finder the easiest to work in. One of my few complaints with column view is that I spend a lot of time resizing columns so that I can view full file names etc. This quick tip will show you how to resize columns in a snap.

Double-click the small double-line icon (||) at the bottom of each separator.

the os x finder double-lines
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And Finder will automagically adjust the column to the perfect width for the longest file name.

finder adjusted for optimal size
click to enlarge

This also works in the Open/Save As dialogue boxes (double-click to resize) but you can also right-click (ctrl-click for single-mouse button folks) for a couple of extra options - including Right Size All Columns Individually. Unfortunately this option only appears to work “2 columns deep” - after that I find myself continuing to double-click the double-lines in order to resize columns.