How to Copy Files to a USB Flash Drive on a Mac


The Apple Mac Finder Big Sur icon on a blue background

If you’d like to copy documents to a USB flash drive on a Mac so you can transfer them to another equipment or back again them up, it is uncomplicated to do applying Finder in macOS. Here’s how.

Duplicate Information on a Mac Applying Finder

To start with, plug your USB flash push into an readily available USB port on your Mac. Give your Mac a minute to understand it and make it obtainable in Finder. (We’re going to think that the generate has now been properly formatted to function with a Mac.)

Similar: How to Erase and Format a USB Travel on Your Mac

Future, click on the Finder icon in your dock to bring Finder to the foreground. Finder is your Mac’s constructed-in application for dealing with documents, and it’s generally operating.

In a Finder window, seem in the sidebar on the remaining aspect of the window. (If you just can’t see the sidebar, pick out Watch > Display Sidebar from Finder’s menu bar at the best of the display.)

If your USB generate has been recognized, it will be detailed there in the “Location” section. In our illustration, the push is named “Mac Transfer,” but it could be named anything at all. You are going to know that it is a detachable push because it will have a small “eject” icon beside it.

Idea: You can also look at regardless of whether your computer has acknowledged your USB drive in Finder by deciding on Go > Computer system from the menu bar. If it’s related adequately, you’ll see an icon for the travel there.

Following, employing a Finder window, browse to the place of the files that you’d like to duplicate to the USB flash drive. When you find them, drag them to the USB flash drive name in your sidebar.

Right after dragging the merchandise or products to the travel in the sidebar, you will see a copy progress indicator window. This window provides you an estimate of how extensive it will just take to finish the duplicate procedure.

If you need to terminate the duplicate procedure prior to it completes, simply click the little “X” in a circle. In any other case, just allow the procedure complete.

After that, click on the title of the USB flash generate in your sidebar, and you’ll see the contents of the USB flash travel. If the copy course of action finished properly, the items that you just copied will be listed there.

With this window open, you can also open up a next Finder window (by clicking File > New Finder Window or urgent Command+N) and drag data files from it into your USB flash travel window. They will be copied just like with the method above.

Similar: How to Open Finder with a Keyboard Shortcut on Mac

Other Techniques to Copy Files on a Mac

There are quite a few distinct methods to duplicate data files to a USB push on your Mac—we just showed you one of the most straightforward. Here are a couple of other procedures that you could possibly want to try.

  • Copy and Paste: Pick out a file, folder, or team of data files, and then appropriate-click on. In the menu that pops up, pick out “Copy.” Then navigate to the USB travel in Finder, appropriate-click on in an open up area and pick “Paste Product.” The things will duplicate to the drive. You can also use the “Copy” and “Paste” instructions in Finder’s Edit menu to do this as an alternative of suitable-clicking.
  • Drag to Desktop Shortcut: It is disabled by default, but you can make your USB flash drive visible on your Desktop as an icon and drag data files on to it. To see the icon there, aim on Finder, then select File > Choices in the menu bar. In the General tab, position a examine mark beside “External disks” in the “Show these products on the desktop” place. Whatever you drag on to the generate icon will be copied there instantly.
  • Drag to Dock: If you’d like, you can also drag the icon of a USB flash generate from your desktop or a Finder window into the shortcuts space of your dock. If you want to copy information to it, you can drag them directly to the USB drive’s icon in your dock. When you eject the travel later, the shortcut will continue to be on your dock and will work the next time you plug in the drive.

As you examine your Mac a lot more, you may find even more strategies to duplicate information to a USB travel. At the time you get the hold of how it operates, you are going to be able to do it the natural way with out giving it considerably considered.

Don’t forget to Eject prior to Unplugging

When you’re all performed copying data to your USB travel, recall to eject the drive in just macOS right before physically unplugging the generate so that you don’t reduce any data. To do so, pick your USB flash generate in Finder and find File > Eject from the menu bar. Alternately, you can click on the tiny eject button beside the flash drive’s name in the Finder sidebar.

Have pleasurable copying!

Linked: 5 Strategies to Eject a Disk on a Mac

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