Default Finder to list view for sortable columns

The reason to live in list view is the row of column headers: click Date Modified to float the newest file to the top, Size to find the space hog, Name for A–Z. Switch to it with Cmd+2, and once you have the columns you want, click Use as Defaults so every folder gives you the same sortable layout.

Turn on list view and sort

1. Open a folder and press Cmd+2 (or View → as List). A header row appears: Name, Date Modified, Size, Kind.
2. Click a header to sort by it. Click the same header again to flip between ascending and descending — a small arrow shows the direction.
3. Drag a header left or right to reorder the columns, or drag its edge to resize.

This is the one view where sorting is a single click on a visible target. Icon and gallery view can sort too, but you have to reach into a menu each time. List view keeps the controls on screen. It works the same on macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia.

Choose which columns appear

You are not stuck with the default four. Open View → Show View Options (Cmd+J) and tick the columns you want as sortable:

• Date Created, Date Added, and Date Last Opened — different questions than Date Modified answers.
• Size — pair it with the option to calculate folder sizes if you want folders measured too.
• Kind, Tags, and Comments for filing and search workflows.

You can also right-click any header directly to toggle columns without opening the panel.

Make it the default everywhere

With the columns and sort set the way you like, click Use as Defaults at the bottom of the View Options panel. Every folder without its own saved view now opens as a sortable list with those columns. To set the new-window default from the Terminal as well:

# default new windows to sortable list view
defaults write com.apple.finder FXPreferredViewStyle -string "Nlsv"
killall Finder

# undo — back to icon view
defaults write com.apple.finder FXPreferredViewStyle -string "icnv"
killall Finder

Keep folders grouped at the top

When you sort a list by name or date, files and folders can interleave. To keep folders together above the files, see how to keep folders on top when sorting in Finder.