What is the F2 key supposed to do in Finder?

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Level 1

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What is the F2 key supposed to do in Finder?

I have "Use F1 etc. as standard function keys" in System Preferences->Keyboard.

What is F2 supposed to do in Finder? I have looked at numerous keyboard shortcut lists on the 'net (including Apple's own) but can find no references to it.

In Column mode if a file is highlighted, hitting F2 causes the file/folder at the bottom of the list to be highlighted instead. If a folder is highlighted, then the focus jumps to the column to the right and the file/folder at the bottom of that list is highlighted.

I'm curious because I keep hitting F2 to rename files and folders (as it does in Windows).

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion, 2.6GHz/16GB/512GB

Posted on Nov 9, 2013 12:23 PM

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Answer 1

mende1

Level 10

93,618 points

Nov 9, 2013 12:50 PM in response to parish_chap

Apple doesn't design their applications to use those keys, as most Mac users have set them to change brightness, volume and play and pause music. It's like the use of the Command key instead of the Control key, although both of them are used

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Answer 2

mende1

Level 10

93,618 points

Nov 9, 2013 12:41 PM in response to parish_chap

What Carolyn said applies if you have unticked "Use F1, F2, etc. as standard function keys" in System Preferences > Keyboard, but not if you have ticked it.

In your case, I have tried to tick that option in System Preferences > Keyboard and open a Finder window. After pressing the F2 key, the last file of the folder was highlighted, but nothing else. It looks like this is the use of this key, but the same happens if I press the F3 key. Follow Tuttle's steps to rename files and folders

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Answer 3

parish_chap Author

Level 1

17 points

Nov 9, 2013 12:49 PM in response to mende1

Carolyn - but as I have the "Use F1...etc" set in Prefs I need to use the Fn key as well to do this.

Tuttle - I know the correct way to rename files in OS X, F2 is just a habit from using Windows for years (I still use it day-in/day out at work) but its action in OS X is annoying as it changes the selected file/folder so I was just wondering what use the action it performs is supposed to be for.

Seems, from what mende1 says, that it (and F3) aren't supposed to have any action and that the action it does have seems to be random rather than Apple having mapped the key to a null operation.

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Answer 4

parish_chap Author

Level 1

17 points

Nov 9, 2013 1:12 PM in response to mende1

mende1 wrote:

Apple doesn't design their applications to use those keys, as most Mac users have set them to change brightness, volume and play and pause music. It's like the use of the Command key instead of the Control key, although both of them are used

OK, thanks, but if they aren't supposed to be used then they should do nothing rather than some random and, in this case, undesirable action. I'll submit feedback to Apple suggesting this.

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Answer 5

Nov 9, 2013 12:30 PM in response to parish_chap

F2 increases the brightness of the display.

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Answer 6

Tuttle

Level 7

29,565 points

Nov 9, 2013 12:36 PM in response to parish_chap

To rename files and folders, click once on the file or folder to select it, press return, change the name of the file or folder, then press return again.

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Answer 7

mende1

Level 10

93,618 points

Nov 9, 2013 1:13 PM in response to parish_chap

You are welcome

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Answer 8

Tuttle

Level 7

29,565 points

Nov 9, 2013 9:01 PM in response to parish_chap

You can set them up as hot keys for many third-party applications, or as keyboard shortcuts for a good number of system actions, so they're not entirely useless.

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