How do I restore missing Finder sidebar?

Hi Michael,

I had the same problem and solved it a very easy way. Infact I felt pretty silly. Haha hopefully this solves your problem too.

Close all finder windows so when you click the finder icon it opens a new finder window, one with no sidebar. Then go View>Show Toolbar

Then once the toolbar is enabled, the view/hide sidebar toggle becomes activated in that same menu.

Good Luck! Let me know if that fixed it.

Command + Option + S = problem solved for me. Looks like I was working in FCP7 and tried to save a project but instead hid my sidebar in the viewer.

Hey! I had the same problem! Does it show only "FAVORITES" on the sidebar? Move your mouse a little to the right of it, until it says "Show" and press it. Does this solve the problem?

Within the Finder window, I clicked "Go" and selected the 3rd item from the top entitled, "Enclosing Folder" and this restored my sidebar. I hope this helps those of you who are struggling to find a solution. 🙂

Thanks for the tip.

It does work!

I am having a similar problem. In the last couple of days, when I click Finder, the toolbar (what some of you are calling the "sidebar") is gone. I go to View - Show Toolbar and it re-appears, BUT.....only for that session of Finder. The next Finder window I open seems to revert back to the non-sidebar view. What happened? How do I restore the settings so whenever I open a Finder window it automatically shows the toolbar? I tried to go to View, Customize Toolbar, etc. and I don't see anything......

Thanks!!!

G

Go to the top bar and go to the finders system preferences.

Randomly had my sidebar disappear today and THIS fixed it. Thanks!

I found a solution to missing "finder" in my favorites. Go to "finder". Go to "preferences". Go to sidebar tab. There you will find "show items in sidebar". Just click the items you want to show in your sidebar.

Hi All,

If the sidebar is open and items are just missing, then moving the mouse just slightly to the right of the text will reveal a "Show" link.

However, if the sidebar is missing completely from the finder window, simply key option/command/s at the same time to reveal the sidebar. You can also simply hover over View > Show/Hide Sidebar.

Worked great for me. I had no idea about the association between the toolbar and the sidebar. Annoying!

my side bar, how can I restore on my Imac?

It is possible somehow the Sidebar became hidden by pulling the center bar that separates the Sidebar from the right side viewing pane to the LEFT.

Make sure your Finder/View has Show Sidebar; then try placing your mouse to the far left and see if you get an "i" bar so you can drag it to the right which will make the Sidebar viewable again.

I have a Full Finder not launching. The culprit is Finder as Apple's crash report.

Because of that I have no access to Finder Preference and all other Finder setup windows. On the worst side scenario I can't access my folder or apps in my HD.