Finder Window Views

Finder Windows give you flexibility in how they present items to you. For example, you can view items by Icon, List, or by Column.

The easiest way to alter or switch between views would be by clicking on the View buttons in the Finder Toolbar. You could also use the Finder Menu Bar or keyboard shortcuts to change the view of an active Finder window:

Click View in the Finder Menu Bar
Then choose either "as Icons", "as List", or "as Columns"

You could change the view from the keyboard by pressing the keys shown.

as Icons (Icon View)
All items are represented by a small icon with the name of the item beneath the icon. Double-click on an icon to either open the item or folder.

as List (List View)
All items are represented by a smaller icon with the name of the item to the right of the icon. Additional information is also provided as shown. Double-click on an icon to either open the item or folder. You can sort items in this view.

as Columns (Column View)
The presentation of the items is very similar to the List View but without the additional information. Note however when you click on an icon, you can see get further details about the Name, the kind of item, the amount of space it occupies on disk, the date it was created, the date and time it was last modifies, and the date and time it was last opened (used). You can also click on the "More info" button to the additional details, what Mac OS X calls "Info" about the item. The clicking behavior is different for the Column View, a single click will move you from one column to another.