Nothing, in Finder. macOS does not bind F2 to rename. Select the file and press Return instead, or click once on the name of an already-selected file.

How do I rename a file on a Mac?

Select it and press Return. The name becomes editable with the extension left out of the selection. Type the new name and press Return again to confirm, or Escape to cancel.

Why does Enter rename instead of opening the file?

It is a straight swap from Windows. On macOS, Return renames and Command+O opens — or Command+Down Arrow, which is the more common habit. This catches every switcher at least once.

How do I rename several files at once on a Mac?

Select them all, right-click, and choose Rename N Items. You get find-and-replace across the names, adding text before or after, or a numbered format. It is built into Finder and needs no extra software.

How do I change a file extension on a Mac?

Rename it as usual and include the new extension. Finder asks you to confirm, since changing an extension changes which app opens the file. To see extensions on everything, turn on Finder Settings, Advanced, Show all filename extensions.

30 September 2026 · 4 minute read

F2 on a Mac: how to rename a file, and why Enter does it instead

You select a file, press F2, and nothing happens. You press it again harder. Still nothing. On a MacBook you may even get the screen brightness going down, because the top row is media keys unless you hold Fn.

macOS does not use F2 for renaming. It uses Return — the same key that opens a file on Windows. That swap is the source of most of the confusion here.

The swap, in one table

You want to	Windows	macOS
Rename	`F2`	`Return`
Open	`Enter`	`⌘`+`O` or `⌘`+`↓`
Delete	`Delete`	`⌘`+`Delete`
Properties	`Alt`+`Enter`	`⌘`+`I`
Go up a folder	`Alt`+`↑`	`⌘`+`↑`

The top two rows are worth committing to memory together, because getting them the wrong way round is how people accidentally rename a file they only meant to open.

Renaming one file

Click the file once to select it. Do not double-click — that opens it.
Press Return. The name turns into an editable field.
Type the new name and press Return again.

Finder selects the name but leaves the extension out of the selection, so typing replaces report and keeps .pdf. Escape cancels and restores the original name.

The slow-double-click also works — click a selected file's name, pause, click again — but it is fiddly and easy to trigger by accident when you meant to open something.

Renaming a whole batch, which Finder does better than Explorer

This one genuinely beats the Windows equivalent and almost nobody finds it:

Select several files.
Right-click (two-finger click or Control+click).
Choose Rename N Items…

You get three modes: Replace Text (find and replace across every filename), Add Text (before or after the existing name), and Format (a name plus an index or counter, e.g. Holiday 1, Holiday 2). No extra software, and it undoes with ⌘+Z.

Changing a file extension

Rename the file and include the extension you want. Finder will ask you to confirm, because changing an extension changes which app opens it.

If you cannot see extensions at all, Finder hides them by default: Finder ▸ Settings ▸ Advanced, and tick Show all filename extensions. Most switchers turn this on within the first week.

A name you cannot change? Press ⌘+I and check the Locked box at the top of Get Info, or the permissions at the bottom. Files copied from a read-only disk or another user's folder often arrive locked.

If you would rather not memorise any of this

Switchover Cheat Sheet shows the shortcuts for whatever app is in front of you, each one beside its Windows equivalent, while you hold a hotkey. Instead of recalling that rename moved to Return, you glance at the list and carry on.

It is free, and it is part of a small family of apps that put the Windows habits back one at a time — including cut and paste for files, which Finder genuinely does not have.

Moving files in Finder with Cmd+X and Cmd+V (jumps to 0:52). Watch on YouTube

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Copyright © 2026 Thanujan Sathiyamoorthy. All rights reserved. Switchover is an independent product and is not affiliated with Apple Inc. or Microsoft Corporation. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation; Mac, macOS and Finder are trademarks of Apple Inc.