If you'd like to copy files to a USB flash drive on a Mac so you lot can transfer them to another machine or back them up, information technology's easy to exercise using Finder in macOS. Here'south how.

Copy Files on a Mac Using Finder

First, plug your USB flash drive into an bachelor USB port on your Mac. Requite your Mac a moment to recognize it and brand it available in Finder. (Nosotros're going to assume that the drive has already been properly formatted to work with a Mac.)

RELATED: How to Erase and Format a USB Bulldoze on Your Mac

Next, click the Finder icon in your dock to bring Finder to the foreground. Finder is your Mac'southward congenital-in application for treatment files, and it'southward always running.

In a Finder window, look in the sidebar on the left side of the window. (If you can't meet the sidebar, select View > Bear witness Sidebar from Finder's menu bar at the elevation of the screen.)

If your USB bulldoze has been recognized, information technology volition be listed in that location in the "Location" section. In our example, the drive is named "Mac Transfer," just it could exist named anything. Yous'll know that it's a removable bulldoze because it will have a tiny "squirt" icon beside it.

Locating the USB Flash drive in your Finder sidebar.

Tip: You tin also check whether your computer has recognized your USB bulldoze in Finder by choosing Become > Reckoner from the carte du jour bar. If it's connected properly, yous'll meet an icon for the drive at that place.

Next, using a Finder window, browse to the location of the files that you'd similar to copy to the USB flash bulldoze. When you locate them, drag them to the USB flash drive name in your sidebar.

Drag files onto the USB flash drive's name in your Finder sidebar.

Subsequently dragging the particular or items to the bulldoze in the sidebar, yous'll see a copy progress indicator window. This window gives you an estimate of how long it will take to finish the re-create process.

If y'all need to cancel the copy operation before it completes, click the tiny "10" in a circle. Otherwise, just let the process end.

The macOS copy progress indicator.

Later that, click the proper noun of the USB flash bulldoze in your sidebar, and you'll see the contents of the USB flash bulldoze. If the copy process finished properly, the items that you but copied will be listed in that location.

Click the USB flash drive in the sidebar and you'll see the files you copied.

With this window open up, you can also open a 2d Finder window (by clicking File > New Finder Window or pressing Control+N) and drag files from it into your USB flash bulldoze window. They will be copied but similar with the method above.

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

Other Ways to Copy Files on a Mac

There are many different ways to re-create files to a USB drive on your Mac—we just showed you one of the easiest. Here are a few other methods that you might want to try.

  • Copy and Paste: Select a file, folder, or group of files, and so right-click. In the menu that pops up, select "Copy." Then navigate to the USB bulldoze in Finder, correct-click in an open area and select "Paste Item." The items will re-create to the bulldoze. Yous tin also utilise the "Copy" and "Paste" commands in Finder's Edit menu to do this instead of right-clicking.
  • Elevate to Desktop Shortcut: It'south disabled by default, but you can brand your USB flash bulldoze visible on your Desktop as an icon and drag files onto it. To see the icon there, focus on Finder, and so select File > Preferences in the menu bar. In the General tab, identify a check marker abreast "External disks" in the "Show these items on the desktop" area. Any you drag onto the drive icon will be copied there automatically.
  • Drag to Dock: If you lot'd like, you tin besides drag the icon of a USB wink drive from your desktop or a Finder window into the shortcuts area of your dock. If yous want to copy files to information technology, you can drag them directly to the USB bulldoze's icon in your dock. When you eject the bulldoze later, the shortcut will stay on your dock and will piece of work the next time y'all plug in the drive.

Right-click a file and select "Copy."

As you explore your Mac more, you may discover even more means to copy files to a USB drive. Once you get the hang of how it works, you'll exist able to do it naturally without giving it much thought.

Remember to Eject before Unplugging

When you're all washed copying information to your USB bulldoze, remember to eject the drive within macOS before physically unplugging the drive and then that you don't lose any data. To practice then, select your USB flash drive in Finder and select File > Squirt from the menu bar. Alternately, you can click the tiny squirt button beside the flash drive's proper noun in the Finder sidebar.

Open the "File" menu and select "Eject."

Accept fun copying!

RELATED: v Ways to Eject a Disk on a Mac

The in a higher place article may incorporate affiliate links, which help back up How-To Geek.