Using USB stick on Mac

A USB stick is a handy, small device. It’s kind of like a small hard drive. Here you can store all kinds of files, such as photos and documents. Due to its size, you can easily take a USB stick with you and it is ideal for storing computer files. This tip shows you how to use a USB flash drive on a Mac running macOS 10.14 Mojave or later.

There are a number of USB ports on the back of the Mac. Insert the USB stick into such an opening to connect it to the computer. You can then immediately start using the device. You can view the information on the USB stick via the Finder. Once the USB stick is in the Mac, the device will be listed in the left section of the Finder under “Locations.” Click on the name of the USB stick to view its contents.
Handy tool: with a USB extension cable you don’t have to go to the back of the Mac to connect a USB stick.

You can use the USB stick in two ways. First, you can open or save files directly to the USB stick. It’s the same as using any other folder on the Mac. The second option is to move files to the USB stick. For example, do you want to take photos to someone? Then put the photos on the USB stick as follows:

• On the Dock, click the Finder (the smiling face icon).
• Under ‘Locations’, click the name of the USB stick.
• Click in the menu bar at the top Archive.
• click on New tab.
• In the Finder, a tab opens with the “Recents” folder.
• In the right tab, select the document you want to move and hold down the mouse button.
• Drag the file to the first tab.
• The tab lights up and opens. Release the mouse button and the file will be where you want it.

Because you move the file to another device, the Mac makes a copy. You can tell by the green plus sign. So you now have the file on both your Mac and the USB stick.

After using the USB stick, you must shut down the device properly. This prevents information from being lost. So don’t just remove your USB stick from the Mac. To remove a USB stick from a Mac:

• On the Dock, click the Finder (smiling face icon).
• You can find the USB stick under ‘Locations’ in the left part of the window. Click the Eject Button after the device name.
• Now pull the USB stick out of the Mac.