How to Stop Your Mac from Automatically Creating ‘Untitled’ Folders on Desktop

The Accidental Folder Creation

If you use a Mac with a trackpad or a Magic Mouse, you might occasionally return to your desktop to find several empty folders scattered around, all creatively named “untitled folder,” “untitled folder 2,” and so on. Your Mac isn’t possessed; you are accidentally triggering a highly sensitive keyboard shortcut.

In macOS, pressing Shift + Command + N instantly creates a new folder. If you are a heavy user of keyboard shortcuts (perhaps doing complex tasks in Photoshop or Final Cut), and you accidentally press that combination while the Finder is the active application in the background, a new “untitled folder” is instantly spawned on your desktop. If you never create folders via keyboard shortcuts and want to stop this accidental clutter, you can disable the shortcut entirely.

How to Disable the New Folder Shortcut

You cannot easily delete core Finder shortcuts, but you can override them in System Settings.

1. Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner and select System Settings….
2. Scroll down the left sidebar and click on Keyboard.
3. Click the Keyboard Shortcuts… button on the right.
4. In the left sidebar of the popup, click on App Shortcuts.
5. Click the small + (plus) button below the right-hand box.
6. In the Application dropdown, select Finder (you may need to select “Other…” and find it in /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app, or simply apply it to “All Applications”).
7. In the “Menu Title” box, type exactly: New Folder
8. Click into the “Keyboard Shortcut” box and press a completely obscure, impossible-to-accidentally-hit combination (like Control + Option + Shift + Command + Z).
9. Click Done.

By remapping the “New Folder” command to a ridiculous combination, you have effectively neutralized the default Shift + Command + N shortcut. You can now type freely without worrying about accidentally littering your desktop with empty folders.