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How to Relaunch Finder on a Mac

If Finder has frozen on your Mac, resulting in issues like the dock not magnifying or the Apple menu not dropping down, relaunching it will usually solve the issue. You can relaunch Finder by using keyboard shortcuts, the Apple menu, or...

Author: Lesley Montoya1 minutes read
Table of Contents
Method 1 of 3:

Keyboard Shortcuts

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    Press ⌘ Command+⌥ Option+Esc. This will open "Force Quit".
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    Navigate to and choose "Finder".
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    Click Relaunch. In a few seconds, the dock, icons, and Apple menu will disappear. It will then quickly reappear and reload everything.
Method 2 of 3:

Mouse

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    Go to the Apple Menu. That is the Apple image on the top left.
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    Go to "Force Quit".
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    Choose "Finder" and click Relaunch.
Method 3 of 3:

Right-Click

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    Locate the Finder icon on your dock.
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    Hold the ⌥ Option key while right-clicking on the icon.
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    Select Relaunch.

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