The "Get Info" function in Finder is a very handy tool in Mac OS X. It gives you very extensive information of the files in your computer.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7078/1333/400/Info%20window.gif)
Opening the Info Window in Finder
First of all, you need to select a file or a few files. Then you will need to open the "Info Window" of the selected files. There are four ways to open the Info Window of the selected file(s) in Finder.
- From the menu bar, choose "File"->"Get Info"
- Click the Action button on the top left corner of the Finder window, and choose "Get Info" from the drop-down menu.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7078/1333/400/Get%20info%20action%20button.gif)
- Right-click or ctrl+click on the selected file(s) and choose "Get Info" from the drop-down menu.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7078/1333/400/Get%20Info%20right%20click.gif)
- Type the shortcut key "command+i", my personal favorite.
More than just seeing information
The Info Window allows you to modify the metadata and many other attributes of a file. Depending on the file types, there may be different options for you to see and change. Typically, you can change the default program in which a file is launch, the ownership and access right of a file, the icon etc. If you are using Tiger (
Mac OS X 10.4![](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=macnify-20&l=ur2&o=1)
), you can assign descriptive keywords as "Spotlight Comments" which helps
Spotlight pinpoint a specific file or a number of files by those keywords.
Seeing collective information of multiple files
You may have noticed that using the "Get Info" command on a number of files will open just the same number of Info Windows altogether, one for each file. Such a behavior is awfully ugly, especially when you just want to see collective information like the total file size.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7078/1333/400/Get%20Info%20multiple.gif)
To see the collective information of the multiple-selected files in one Info Window, just hold the ctrl key when you execute the "Get Info" command. E.g., hold the ctrl key when you mouse-click the "Get Info" or when you type the "command+i" shortcut key.
Yet another Mac tip is on the web!