There are well over a million single file on my Mac . Sure , a few hundred thousand of those are components of OS X itself or of the apps I ’ve set up . But , still , the bit of user - generated data file I ’ve amass over the years astonishes me .
Most of the metre , those files just sit around there minding their own concern , bothering no one . But sometimes , say , when I do aSpotlight searchfor a document and thousands of potential matches pop up , I start thinking a bit of filing cabinet - simplification is in order .
Now , in this context “ simplify ” could mean “ delete”—but it does n’t have to . I might need a certain old filing cabinet only once in a span of several age , but that does n’t make it safe to cancel . reckon on the circumstance , reduction might imply reorganize file , produce archives , offloading files to an external disk , or other strategies . And , of course of study , it would be easygoing to get carried by with this sort of thing and expend endless days looking for every last path to optimise one ’s files , but that ’s sure to develop diminishing returns . Instead , I suggest concentrating on the easygoing and most fruitful sort of reduction .
Reasons to simplify your files
Ease of finding papers is n’t the only reason to simplify your filing cabinet . Greater numbers of single file also make activities such as relief , syncing , disk repair , upgrade OS X , and migrate to a new Mac more time - consuming . And , gratuitous to say , all those files take up space , which is especially pregnant for anyone whose Mac laptop computer has a downcast - capacity SSD .
Simplification can also profit you if you cooperate with other exploiter , whether through a swarm - synchronise Robert William Service such asDropbox , using OS X ’s built - in file sharing , or swear on a Indian file server . The more well your colleagues can settle documents , and the less pain they have to go through to sync and stash away them , the happier they ’ll be .
Which files to simplify
You ’ll have to determine for yourself what ’s working and what is n’t when it come to your file , but I ’ll give you a few examples of file types that are high on my simplification leaning .
Many versions of a single text file : When I write a Quran or article , the single file goes through legion iterations as it bounces among author , editors , tech reviewers , and publishing company . Sometimes I have several 12 versions of a holograph before I ’m done . In most cases , only the final variant is useful , but occasionally I require to check back and see who made a sure change and when . My best-loved scheme for dealing with those old versions is to wrap up them up in a Zip file ( select them in the Finder and chooseFile > Compress X items ) and then trash the master .
big files : Videos , music , and practical machines from apps likeVMware Fusion ( , $ 60 ) are plebeian space hogs , but sometimes it ’s the eldritch little thing that take up vast amounts of space . For model , I care Ecamm ’s $ 30Call Recorderfor immortalize Skype conversation . But if you have it set to auto - book video chats ( as I did ) , you may find yourself with a leaflet full of multi - gigabyte files in no time . So I switched it to record only on need , deleted conversations I knew I ’d never want again , and compressed the few that were still utile to me .
Call Recorder is dandy for archiving Skype audio and television calls , but do yourself a favor and uncheckRecord Calls mechanically — you’ll save tons of record space .
Installers : When I download software , I normally like to hang onto the installer so I can put it on my other Macs without having to download it again . I find that storing installers on a web gimmick such as Connected Data ’s $ 99Transporterfrom Connected Data ( $ 99 ) or Apple ’s $ 289AirPort Time Capsule ( ) serves the dual purpose of getting them off my primary Mac ’s disc and making them available to my other machines .
download medium : I buy lots of music , video shows , and film from the iTunes Store , but those media data file do n’t all have to stay on my Mac , because I can ( almost ) always download or stream it whenever I need it . Occasionally , though , Apple removes content from the iTunes Store such that you ca n’t download it again even if you ante up for it . So I prefer to unlade my medium to an outside disk , just in case .
Try a utility
Certain other type of files hog space needlessly but are harder to discover . For example , stash , log files , and corroborate files from discarded apps are usually safe to delete . But it ’s not a dear idea to pan these Indian file arbitrarily , partially because they may serve a useful aim and partly because it can be challenge to figure out where all these files are and which ones you no longer want . In such case , a utility may be helpful .
CleanMyMac can name many types of blank space - hog data file and blue-pencil them for you . But be indisputable to review it suggestions cautiously , because it may make indefensible assumptions about what ’s disposable .
I ’ve tried numerous disk - tidying utilities , including uninstallers ( see Do uninstallers work ? ) , twin finders , and general - purpose tools such as Titanium Software ’s free ( donation requested)OnyX. My current favorite — with a making — is MacPaw ’s $ 40CleanMyMac 2 ( ) .
I care the fact that CleanMyMac can identify large and old files , delete caches and logs , uninstall apps , manage system extensions of various variety , and even slim down an iPhoto library . However , I never accept the default “ delete everything ” options , because it often identifies files that look disposable but are in reality of import to me . So I cautiously review its natural selection before allow it delete anything .