How to Rename a File or Folder on a Mac

What you need: A Mac and the file or folder you want to rename. Rename one item at a time.

1. Click Finder (the blue smiling face) in the Dock, the row of app icons along the edge of the screen.
2. In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Go, then the folder containing the item, such as Documents or Downloads. If the folder is not in the list, click Home instead and open the folder from there. To open a folder inside it, click that folder twice quickly. Continue until you see the item.
3. Click the item once so that its name is highlighted. Check that only this one item is highlighted.
4. Click File at the top of the screen, then Rename. The item's name becomes a box you can type in.
5. For a file, the part before the ending, such as .rtf, is highlighted. Type the new name to replace the highlighted part. Do not type a full stop followed by letters. A name cannot contain a colon (:) or begin with a full stop.
6. Press the Return key. If a message asks about the extension (the ending of a name), click Don't Add or the button that begins with Keep, such as Keep .rtf. Then check the item's name; if it is not the name you wanted, start again from step 3 with a name that has no full stop.

Expected result: The item shows its new name in the same folder.