100 More Things Every Mac User Should Know (Part 2)

The difference between ‘Arrange By’ and ‘Sort By’

12.  One way to sort files in Finder windows is to select View ð Arrange By, followed by a find criterion (‘Name’, ‘Kind’, ‘Date Added’, or whatever). Your system will use that criterion to sort files and folders in the parent folder you’re viewing. Later, when you add new files to the folder, they’ll appear properly in the file hierarchy.

For less long-lasting results, hold down the key while opening the View menu, and Arrange By will become Sort By. Select that, and it will sort all files that are currently in the folder in the specified order. But this method won’t continue to apply the sort criterion to new files; instead, such files will be placed haphazardly, regardless of name, kind, and so on. To bring later additions into order, you must use Sort By again.

To set the order in which files appear, select View ð Arrange By

2 methods for creating Aliases and Symlinks

If you’ve been using a Mac for a while, you know that an alias is a tiny file that points to – and acts as another. For example, an alias on your desktop might provide quick access to a file buried in your user folder.

As a Unix-based operating system, OS X also supports symbolic links (also variously known as Symlinks and soft links), which are essentially Unix’s version of aliases. You should understand how they differ and how to create both.

Oversimplifying a bit, an alias acts as an enduring reference to an item such as a file, a folder, or a volume. If you move the target item, the alias will still point to it. If you rename the target item, the alias will still point to it. OS X “remembers” the original file.

As a Unix-based operating system, OS X also supports symbolic links, which are essentially Unix’s version of aliases

In contrast, a Unix symlink acts as a reference to a particular location. (A symlink is a text file containing the path to that particular location.) When the OS opens a symlink, it reads the file path named in the text file and opens the file at that path. If you move the target item, the symlink will no longer work. If you replace the target item with another one with the same name, the symlink will point to that new item.

Most OS X apps are built to work with aliases. But if an app isn’t a native Mac app, it may see an alias as nothing more than a useless little file. On the other hand, any app can work with symbolic links: As far as the app is concerned, a symlink is its target file. And if you want to replace the original file with a different version, a symlink will still work, whereas an alias won’t.

One app that treats aliases and symbolic links differently is Dropbox. If you put an alias to your personal Library folder (yourusername/Library) in your Dropbox folder, the service will treat it as a document and sync just the alias file. If instead you put a symlink to that Library folder in your Dropbox folder, the service will treat that symlink as your actual Library and thus sync the entire folder across your computers. Now let’s look at how to create aliases and symbolic links.

13. Create an alias Select the file in the Finder, and choose File ð Make Alias (or press z-L, or right-click or -click the file and select Make Alias from the contextual menu).
14. Create a symbolic link Open Terminal, and type ln -s /path/to/original/file/filename /path/to/link/linkname. Let’s say that you have a file named ‘testfile txt’ located in your Documents folder, and you want to put a symlink to that file on your desktop. To do so, type ln -s ~/Desktop/testfile.txt ~/Documents/testsymlink.txt. (If you don’t specify a destination path, the symlink will by default appear in the original file’s directory.). If you anticipate that you’ll often be creating symlink, you can use SymbolicLinker, an OS X service that automatically adds a Make Symbolic Link command to the Finder’s Services menu.

6 ways to reclaim disk space

Running out of disk space? It’s easy to do, especially on a laptop Mac that has limited flash storage available. When you need more space for your apps and data, try taking these steps.

15. Empty the Trash Simply dragging files to the Trash doesn’t free up the disk space that they occupy. To clear the space completely, you must also choose Finder ð Empty Trash. (Remember to go back and empty the Trash again after performing the other tips in this list!)

Simply dragging files to the Trash doesn’t free up the disk space that they occupy

16.  Restart Restarting can free up a bit of space by clearing virtual memory swap files, certain caches, and a few other items.
17. Clean out your Downloads folder Your Downloads folder (at the top level of your home folder, by default) can easily become clogged with clutter. Drag anything you find there that you no longer need to the Trash.
18. Delete duplicates Don’t waste your Mac’s precious disk space storing multiple copies of the same file. To find duplicates that you may not even know existed, try a utility like Chipmunk ($17, go.macworld.com/chipmunk) or Hyperbolic Software’s Tidy Up ($30, go.macworld.com/tidyup).
19. Clear caches Caches generally help your Mac run faster, so deleting them can slow it down and they’ll quickly rebuild themselves anyway. Still, in a crunch, clearing caches might give you some breathing room. The easiest way to find and safely delete caches I to employ a utility such as Titanium’s Software’s OnlyX (donation requested; go.macworld.com/onyx). Otherwise, you can navigate to your username/Library/Caches folder and have at it. (If your Library folder isn’t showing, see macworld.com/a/1161156 for a few options.)
20. Try an uninstaller Because many apps are not self-contained, a well-designed uninstaller can help you find and delete all of the scattered pieces of unwanted apps that came aboard your system.

‘Arrange By’ keyboard shortcuts     

   21. In any Finder window, you can press the following keyboard combinations to sort files by different criteria.