Manage storage in macOS Sierra
Alan Stonebridge discovers how the latest version of OS X macOS helps to ensure you have enough space.
One of the conveniences Apple has added in macOS Sierra is Optimized Storage, which helps you to keep plenty of space free for whatever task you take on next. The feature is tucked away in the About This Mac dialog’s Storage tab, where there’s a new button labelled ‘Manage’ next to the breakdown of how your startup disk is being used. Clicking this button opens a new storage management window (which is actually part of the System Information app, located in the Utilities folder; in it, choose ‘Window > Storage Management’).
Many of the things you can accomplish in this window can be done elsewhere in Sierra and its bundled apps, as long as you know where to look and are comfortable making alterations. However, this window consolidates prime methods for saving space in one place, and provides advice on things you might have overlooked (or be unaware of) and how much space you might be able to reclaim. Even if you consider yourself to be fairly in control of your Mac, we urge you to at least open the app and check its recommendations, some of which may relate to older preferences you’ve already discounted, and some that are new in Sierra.
SHARED BENEFITS
Changes you make in the window (except for apps you trash) apply only to the current user account, but your choices will affect others who share your Mac. You might save even more space by asking them to follow suit.
Beyond the 10 minutes this process will take you, you’ll need to allow some extra time for your Mac to do its part — to process photos, say, which depends on other factors such as library size, whether you’ve already enabled iCloud Photo Library, and your upload speed.
If you turn on iCloud Drive’s ability to keep only recently used files on your Mac as space gets low, files appear in Finder where you left them, but with a cloud and arrow icon you can click to redownload them ahead of time and guarantee their availability when you are offline — or you can double-click one to get and open it immediately.