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The Mac Services menu and right-click, explained
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
Select a file or some text, open the app menu next to the Apple menu and choose Services. The list only shows services relevant to your selection. To change what appears, open System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Services. Many services can also get their own keyboard shortcut there.
What the Services menu is
Services let one app hand your selection to another. Select text and send it to a notes app, select a file and send it to an app that can work on it, without copy and paste in between. The system builds the list from whatever apps you have installed, so it is different on every Mac.
How to use a service
Apple's guide gives three steps: select an item, such as a file on the desktop or text in a document, open the app menu, just to the right of the Apple menu, and choose Services. Then pick the service. Items appear only if they are relevant to the app or task, which is why the menu looks empty or short when your selection does not match anything.
- Select a file in Finder or text in a document.
- Open the menu named after the current app, just right of the Apple menu.
- Choose Services, then the service you want.
- If nothing useful is listed, check which services are enabled, as below.
Turn services on or off, and give them shortcuts
Open System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar, then Keyboard Shortcuts, then Services in the sidebar of that window. Select items to add them to the Services menu or deselect them to remove them. Apple says you can also create keyboard shortcuts for services, which makes a frequent one a single keystroke.
A crowded menu is a common complaint. Turning off services you never use makes the useful ones easier to find.
- Open System Settings and click Keyboard.
- Click Keyboard Shortcuts, then Services.
- Tick the services you want; untick the rest.
- Select a service and add a shortcut, then test it in a real app.
Right-click, Quick Actions and Services
People often say the Services menu is the right-click menu, but Apple's guide only documents the app menu route. The context menu you get when you Control-click a file in Finder has its own Quick Actions entry, which Apple documents separately, and Automator workflows saved as Quick Actions can be reached from Finder, the Touch Bar or the Services menu. In practice, a service you installed may show in either place depending on the file type and your settings. If you cannot find one in the context menu, check the app menu and the settings above.
For the Control-click route in detail, see the Quick Actions guide.
When a service does not work
Apple's guide lists three fixes. If you lack permission to open the app that provides the service, sign in as an administrator. If the app is missing or will not open, search for it on your Mac and open it, then try again. If the app is in the Trash, select it and choose File › Put Back.
If you want more than the system provides, a dial-style tool can sit beside it. FileDial opens from a Finder selection with the right Option key, or from right-click › Open in FileDial, and runs one tool on one or many files. It does not replace Services, which is useful for text and cross-app hand-offs, but it covers file tasks that no installed service handles.
Practical uses and a cleaner menu
The Services menu is most useful for text and for hand-offs between apps you already use. Select a paragraph and send it to a note, select a file and open it with a tool that registers a service for that type. Because services are provided by installed apps, the menu grows as you install software and can become long and confusing.
A good routine is to open System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Services once after setting up a Mac and untick everything you will not use. Leave the few you actually need, and assign shortcuts only to those you reach for weekly. Shortcuts that clash with an app's own keys cause confusing behavior, so test a new shortcut in the apps where you use it.
If you built Automator Quick Actions, remember they can appear in the Services menu as well as in Finder, so a workflow made for one place may show up in another and may not make sense on every selection. Name workflows clearly, such as Convert selection to PDF, so the menu reads like a list of verbs.
Common problems are a missing entry because the selection does not match, a service that did nothing because its app lost permission or was moved to the Trash, and a service listed twice because two apps provide similar functions. Apple's troubleshooting steps cover permission, missing apps and apps in the Trash.
Services are not a file-conversion toolbox. They pass a selection onward and rely on the receiving app to do the work. For jobs like compressing a PDF to a size or removing location from photos, you need a tool that does the job itself, whether that is an app you open or a dial such as FileDial's.
Questions
Why is the Services menu empty?
Services appear only when they are relevant to the app and your selection. Select a file or some text first, then open the app menu next to the Apple menu. If it is still empty, check System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Services to see which services are enabled.
How do I add a keyboard shortcut to a service?
Open System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Services, select the service and click to add a shortcut. Apple's guide says you can create keyboard shortcuts for services. Choose a combination that does not conflict with an app's own shortcut, and test it in the apps where you will use it.
Is the Services menu the same as Quick Actions?
No, but they overlap. Quick Actions appear when you Control-click a file in Finder and as buttons in the Preview pane. Automator workflows saved as Quick Actions can also appear in the Services menu. Both run tasks on a selection, but they are documented and configured in different places.
Can I remove services I never use?
Yes. In the Services settings, deselect the ones you do not use and they disappear from the menu. You can turn them back on at any time. Nothing is uninstalled, you only hide the entry, so trimming the list is a safe way to make the useful ones easier to spot.