Mac OS X Tutorial: Finding Lost Files on Your Apple Mac (iMac, MacBook or MacBook Pro)

Learn hot to find lost files on your Mac with this quick and easy tutorial.

Lost a file? This search tip will help you to locate files by type and the date it was created. Whether you are looking for videos, images or documents we all have that "where did I put it" moment and this tutorial will run you through one extremely useful method of digging out your lost files.

Apple Mac Expert | Kelowna BC
I offer software support and training for Apple Macs including iMovie, Final Cut Pro X, Microsoft Office, Apple Motion, Pages, Numbers, Mail and the Adobe Creative Suite.

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[lauraprichard]

THANK YOU THANK YOU OH my goodness I was having issues with apple id and icloud and thought I LOST EVERYTHING. Thanks to your video I found it all. You saved my life. :)!!

[veronicatierney]

Thank YOU so much! You answered my prayer this file,

[aveburyridge]

Wow - this is SO helpful - I had screen grabs not properly named and saved and after a reboot they never reappeared on my desktop - I assumed they had gone, but followed your advice, did a search as you suggested and there they were! Thank you!

[BoadiceaHime]

I'm a novelist, and you saved me from an EXTENSIVE panic attack! Thank you so, so much, and I'm a subscriber!

[rivaaggias]

It seems like such a simple method but I would have never thought of that, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I was searching for this file for hours, thought I would never see it again

[MyNameIsMrRaccoon]

This helped so much. I thought I had lost important notes/data for a school subject, but with this help/information I found it and it saved a lot of time. Thank you so much and God bless you!! :)

[ginabarlizo]

OMG THANK YOU!!! I thought I lost my excel file that I kept since 2016.Weird that the file all of sudden just disappeared from my usual folder. Earlier in the day, I was panicky because all I could find was a file that was updated 5mos ago... ARGH. I update this file EVERYDAY and SAVE IT every 10mins [force of habit]. But now, I found it. ALL IS WELL. So again, THANK YOU.

[theedollj]

Does this also help with deleted files

[chrisppan]

Thank you so much! If you own a mac and accidentally press command z after importing photos onto an externall HDD and they get deleted, This can find those lost files!!!

[farrukh]

Notes data suddenly disappeared from my Macbook Air. I don't use Icloud or Time Machine so there is no back up. I had low space on my disk for 2 days for the first time and then this happened. I read online that low free space does cause notes to disappear. Can you please help me retrieve notes data?

[ManoharaDasa]

Thanks a lot. You saved me a lots of trouble.

[spacebella]

Wow, thank you. Never would have known how to do this. Mac's should not make finding files so difficult and counter intuitive. Thank you Ben!!

[jacquelineasciak]

Thank you so much!!! Found a lost assignment! Very grateful!!! Keep up the great work! :)

[NigelBN]

Your video is very clear thanks. However, when I look for old wav files the results say I have only 2 that fit the criteria whilst I can go to known folders and find dozens! Not your fault - me being dense!

[siddeshpai]

This saved me hours of hard work. Thank you so much!!

[ractacsquad]

This is perfect for me. Thank you very much

[bluevanmanfc]

So, the file I’m looking for is saved under ‘home’ but in finder it makes me search via ‘this Mac’ any help?

[YINGYINGP]

Yes, I can share a screen capture of what I saw .

[YINGYINGP]

Hello again,
I mean, On my computer, / My time column/ not move/ I can't change the date/ How to change the date, and search. Thank you very much . yingying

[sizex]

Brilliant lovely quick way 2 search 4 my misplaced files ✌🏾