Files in Finder column view do not highlight when clicked on M1 Mac mini

The behaviour you describe sounds frustrating, particularly as clicking files in Finder's Column view does not  highlight them, while pressing the right-arrow key restores the expected selection.

The fact that shortcuts in Favourites work normally is an interesting clue.

I would  start by testing a few different folders and switching to List view (View >> as List) to see whether the problem is specific to Column view.

Then relaunch Finder by holding Option and right-clicking its Dock icon and choosing Relaunch.

If the problem persists, try using a different mouse or trackpad, and test Finder in a temporary macOS user account.

If it works there, something in your usual account may be responsible 

if not, a system-wide issue becomes more likely.

To Drill Down further and to avoid a game of 20 questions  

Download the Application Etrecheck  ( External Link ) directly from the Developer.

The Application is Not a " Silver Bullet "  and is  only a tool to examine the Hardware / Software used on this computer 

This is a Diagnostic Tool that makes no changes to the computer Hardware / Software used on this computer 

The application is free or paid from added features. 

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - Share Report >> Copy , then  paste  >>>> using the Additional Text Icon  <<<<

Check your exact macOS version under Apple menu >> About This Mac, and see whether an update is available under System Settings >> General >> Software Update. Apple's guide is here: Update macOS on Mac.

If the problem persists across folders and user accounts, I might report it to Apple. Include the steps needed to reproduce it and, if possible, a short screen recording showing the missing highlight and the right-arrow workaround.

You can find Apple's guidance here:Feedback Assistant.

Given that keyboard navigation works but mouse selection appears not to, I think it is ’worth investigating further rather than assuming you are  doing anything wrong.

I don't see anything in the Etrecheck report that might cause this.

And since none of us can reproduce it, it is unlikely to be a general bug.

The one thing that I can think of is a possible corruption in Finder preferences.

You could delete Finder preferences and see if that helps:

1) In Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

2) Drag that file out of the folder (put it in the trash, or temporarily on the Desktop)

3) Press command-option-Escape, select Finder from the list, and click Relaunch

Test.

A quick update.

I have just updated to MacOS 27.2 and so far the problem seems to be fixed.

Thank you everyone for your help.

There are known issues with Column View that started in macOS 26 Tahoe and persists in macOS 27 Golden Gate (at least through 27.0.1). When entering a folder or a dialog box with Column View active, the folder hierarchy starts with the top level at the left, meaning that if a folder is nested deeply enough, then the user needs to scroll to the right to view the contents, even if that folder is the one most recently accessed. 

There are a couple of workarounds for this issue:

Set folders/dialog boxes to List view

• In a dialog box, list view will show the contents of the most recently accessed folder.
• In an Open/Save dialog box, click the view selection button in the Toolbar
• Select List view
• In Finder, use the analogous button or select View menu > List view.

More info from Apple: Change how folders are displayed in the Finder on Mac - Apple Support

Use Arrow Key shortcuts

If you are in Column View, when a dialog box opens with the hierarchy starting at the top, you can press the Up or Down arrow keys to shift focus to the 'active' folder, which will be the one on the right of the column view, the deeper folder that was last accessed.

The specific issues that you mention, where pressing Command-A with a folder selected fails to select the files in the folder and you cannot click on a file in a subfolder to select it are not ones that I can replicate on macOS 27.0.1. When I open a folder in column view and select a subfolder then click Command-A, all of the files in that subfolder are selected.

Likewise, I can select a single file in the selected subfolder with a mouse/trackpad click.

Have you rebooted your Mac? If not, that's the first step. If that does not help, then see if the problem is present when you boot in safe mode. That process performs some system cleanup and clears caches, and also disables 3rd party extensions that may cause problems.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

If that does not correct the issue, test in a new user account. A newly-created user account will have all settings at default, and if the issue does not occur in that new account then it provides guidance on what may need to be changed to correct the issue.

Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support

Once the testing is complete, the new account can easily be deleted.

Delete a user or group on Mac – Apple Support

Those steps will help to isolate the problem.

If the issue persists in safe mode and in a new user account, then it's likely a bug specific to a certain settings configuration. Bugs can be reported to Apple here:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

There appears to be some inconsistent behavior, AFAICT.

Consider this situation, which I believe corresponds to what you are describing:

Folder A is clearly selected, as indicated both by the blue selection, and by the title of the Finder window, "A".

Now as I am experiencing it on my Mac, the result of pressing Command-A from this situation vary... sometimes it selects A, B and C, while at other times it selected A11, A12 and A13.

In my case, it appears that clicking on A then causes its contents to be selected; whereas moving to A using the keyboard left- or right-arrow causes A, B, C to be selected.

Hi Luis,

I moved the file. The system had replaced it before I even re-launched finder. It made no difference.

I have made a short video of the problem but no way to upload. I attached a photo which shows the file after clicking on it. It is highlighted grey instead of blue but the folder name is the active selection.

I think I've sent people off at a tangent here. Pressing 'Command + A' was just an example. I also get unexpected / intermittent behaviour by clicking on a photo and then pressing the space bar for a large preview. Because the photo is not properly selected - it does not turn blue - when I press the down arrow key to see the next photo it instead moves to the next folder in the previous column. So my issue is not 'Command + A' but the fact that clicking on a file in a list does not immediately select it which was not happening in previous versions.

Following people's advice I have tried list view and the files do then turn blue when clicked so I guess it is something to do with column view.

As for rebooting my machine I am one of those people who turns their computer off at night so it gets regular reboots.

Yes folders always turn blue when I click on them it is when I click on files that they do not turn blue and this causes the abnormal behaviour. Pressing 'Command + A' was just an example of the problem.

I have been experimenting and it appears to only happen in column view.

Hi Owl-53,

I have tried the things you listed.

Different folders exhibit the same behaviour except for the mentioned favourites.

List view works correctly.

Relaunch does not fix anything. I turn my computer off at night so it gets regular re-boots.

Changed from trackpad to mouse - made no difference.

Created new standard account - same issues.

Etrecheck file attached. Note all the unsigned apps are test apps I have used to learn XCode. The only running unsigned app 'NevsClock' was written by me and is definitely safe. I thought these were signed locally to enable them to run.

Exact OS version is 27.0.1.

Thank you for reporting back.

The plist file being replaced immediately is normal. The system creates a new one with default settings automatically. I was hoping that the original plist might have become corrupted, which happens at times. Alas, this was not the cause of the present problem.

Nev_In_MK wrote:

A quick update.

I have just updated to MacOS 27.2 and so far the problem seems to be fixed.

Thank you everyone for your help.

Great! Thank you for letting us know.