ZExplorer
User guide
Last updated: October 2, 2026
Copy, move, Favorites, search, compress, the terminal and every ZExplorer shortcut.
Copy
Copy to another drive
- Click brand-guide.pdf, then ⌘-click hero-banner.png and palette-v2.ase.
- Drag them to the right pane. Backup Drive is another drive, so this copies: the cursor shows a green +.
- Drop. palette-v2.ase is already there, so ZExplorer asks: Keep Both, Replace, Skip or Stop.
- Progress shows in the destination pane, by bytes. The new copy is named “palette-v2 2.ase”.
- Done. The copies arrive selected and the originals stay where they were. Tab switches panes.
Move
Move into a folder
- Click contract-draft.pdf, then ⇧-click invoice-0412.pdf to select the range.
- Drag onto the Approved folder in the right pane. Same drive, no modifier key: this is a move.
- Hold ⌥ and the drop becomes a copy (green +). Let go and it moves again. ⌘ always forces a move.
- Drop. On one drive a move is just a rename, so it finishes almost at once.
- Open Approved: both files are inside.
Keyboard: ⌘C in one pane, ⌥⌘V in the other to move; ⌘V to copy.
Favorites
Pin and reorder folders
- Drag the Field Recordings folder out of the pane.
- Drop it on Favorites: the list lights up and the folder goes in just above the favorite under the cursor.
- Try a file: nothing is added. Only folders become favorites.
- Drag a favorite to reorder. The others make room as you pass over them.
- Click a favorite to open it in the active pane.
Right-clicking a folder and choosing Add to Favorites works too. The built-in favorites (Home, Applications, Desktop…) cannot be removed.
Drag-and-drop rules
When is it a move, and when a copy?
ZExplorer follows Finder's rules.
| Keys | When you… | Note |
|---|---|---|
| — | Drag to a pane on the same drive | Move |
| — | Drag to a pane on another drive | Copy (the cursor shows a green +) |
| ⌥ | Hold ⌥ while dragging | Always copy |
| ⌘ | Hold ⌘ while dragging | Always move |
| — | Drop on a folder row | Into that folder |
| — | The name is taken at the destination | Ask: Keep Both, Replace (the old item goes to the Trash), Skip, Stop — with “Apply to all” |
| — | Drop a folder on Favorites | Added just above the favorite under the cursor, or at the end |
| — | Drop a file on Favorites | Ignored — only folders become favorites |
Dropping items into the folder they are already in, or a folder into itself, is refused. Copying an item onto its own place makes “name copy”.
Shortcuts
Every shortcut
These work while the file list has focus. The Go menu adds ⇧⌘H (Home), ⇧⌘D (Desktop), ⇧⌘O (Documents), ⌥⌘L (Downloads) and ⇧⌘A (Applications).
| Keys | Action | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘C/⌘V | Copy / paste | Pastes into the open folder; the copies arrive selected |
| ⌥⌘V | Move here | After ⌘C in the other pane |
| Tab | Switch pane | Menu commands and the terminal follow the active pane |
| Space | Quick Look | |
| Return | Rename in place | Return again to save |
| ⌘⌫ | Move to Trash | Can be undone |
| ⌘D | Duplicate | Makes “name copy” |
| ⇧⌘N | New folder | |
| ⌘Z/⇧⌘Z | Undo / redo | Rename, Trash, duplicate, new folder, copy, move, compress, extract |
| ⌘F | Find | Filters the open folder; switch the scope to Subfolders or This Mac |
| ⌘[/⌘]/⌘↑ | Back / forward / enclosing folder | Going up selects the folder you came from |
| ⇧⌘G/⌘L | Go to folder / open path | For example ~/Projects or /usr/local |
| ⌘\ | Second pane on or off | |
| ⌥⌘I | Show the Inspector | |
| ⇧⌘T | Terminal here | |
| ⌘K | Connect over SSH / SFTP | |
| ⇧⌘. | Show or hide hidden files | |
| ⌘N/⌘T | New window / new tab | Each window and tab keeps its own panes and history |
1. Two panes
Turn the second pane on or off with the Split button or ⌘\. Tab switches the active pane; menu commands and the terminal always follow it. Right-click items and choose Copy to Other Pane or Move to Other Pane. Drag the divider to resize; the sidebar, Inspector and terminal sizes are remembered too.
2. Sorting and hidden files
Click a column header (Name, Size, Kind, Date Modified) to sort; folders stay on top. Sort order and column widths are remembered. ⇧⌘. shows or hides hidden files.
3. Compress and extract
Compress makes name.zip for one item or Archive.zip for several. Extract Here opens zip, tar, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar.xz, 7z and rar, never overwrites existing files, and gathers several items into a folder named after the archive. Both run in the background, can be cancelled and are undone with ⌘Z.
4. Top bar apps
Pin the apps you use: click + and choose them, drop an app on the bar, or right-click an .app and choose Add to Top Bar. Click an icon to launch the app; drop files on it to open them with that app. Right-click to open the selection with it, move it left or right, or remove it.
5. Terminal and SSH
Show the terminal with the Terminal button or ⇧⌘T. New tab ⌥⌘T, close tab ⌃⌘W, next and previous tab ⌥⌘] / ⌥⌘[. cd Here moves the shell to the active pane's folder. Press ⌘K for SSH (a remote shell) or SFTP (file transfers); keys, passwords and ~/.ssh/config are handled by OpenSSH as usual.
The terminal runs commands with your account's privileges, just like Terminal.app.
6. iPhone, iPad and cameras
Connect the device by cable, then unlock the iPhone and tap Trust if it asks. It appears under Devices in the sidebar; click it to see its photos and videos in the active pane. Click photos to select them, or use Select All. Import Selected and Import All copy them into the other pane's folder; Change… picks another folder. Turn on Delete from device after import to free space on the device. Click the back arrow or any folder to return to your files.
Photos keep their original format (HEIC, JPEG, MOV…). Only the device's Camera Roll photos and videos can be read, not every file on the iPhone.
What ZExplorer does not do yet
This version has these limits:
- Browsing remote filesSSH and SFTP open in the terminal; there is no remote file pane yet.
- Tags and other viewsNo file tags, no icon, column or gallery view, and no spring-loaded folders yet.
- Network drives do not refresh themselvesLive updates rely on FSEvents, which network shares do not report. Press ⌘R to reload.
Ready?
Open two folders and start dragging
Download the installer, open ZExplorer from Applications and allow access to the folders you need.