---
title: "How to sort photos into folders by date on a Mac - PaneStack"
description: "How to sort photos into year and month folders on a Mac, using the date each photo was taken, in one step you can undo, with PaneStack."
canonical: https://panestack.app/sort-photos-by-date-mac.html
---

# How to sort photos into folders by date on a Mac

A folder of hundreds of photos is easier to browse as 2025 › 03, 2025 › 04 and so on. Finder can't do that for you. PaneStack does it in one step: right-click the folder › **Reorganise › Sort into Year › Month Folders**, and every photo goes into a folder for the month it was taken.

## In Finder

Finder has no way to sort files into dated folders. You'd make each year and month folder yourself, sort by date, and drag the photos across by hand.

## In PaneStack

1. Right-click the folder of photos.
2. Choose **Reorganise › Sort into Year › Month Folders**. Prefer fewer folders? Choose **Year**. More? **Year › Month › Day**.
3. Every photo moves into the folder for its date. PaneStack uses the date the photo was taken, read from the photo itself, rather than the date the file was copied.
4. Not what you wanted? **⌘Z** puts every photo back where it was, in one step.

## Tidy the rest of the folder

- **Find look-alike photos.** Go › Find Look-alike Photos Here… groups bursts, edits and HEIC/JPEG pairs, and keeps the best of each.
- **Organize by kind.** Reorganise › Organize This Folder… shows which files go into which new folders before anything moves.
- **Rename by date.** Select photos, press Return, and name them by the date they were taken.
- **Keep it tidy automatically.** Folder Rules (⌥⇧⌘R) can file new photos as they arrive.

## Common questions

### How do I organise photos by date in folders on Mac?

In PaneStack, right-click the folder › Reorganise › Sort into Year › Month Folders. It uses the date each photo was taken.

### Can I undo sorting photos into folders?

Yes. The whole sort is one step in PaneStack's undo history, so ⌘Z puts every photo back.

## Try PaneStack

PaneStack is a Finder alternative for Mac with up to 16 panes and undo for everything. One purchase, from $4.99, with every future version included. [See pricing](https://panestack.app/#pricing) or read [more tips](https://panestack.app/tips.html).