All about files

Keeping track of where you put your most important documents doesn’t have to be a chore

Finder is Apple’s option for giving you access to your files, folders, applications, and the other things you need to get your job done. You can develop your own system for managing how your files are set up and arranged, how you view them and where they reside. It’s also easy to let it get away from you, but preparation is key – set up and stick to a file and folder arrangement that makes sense, and make sure to use the tools included in OS X to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.

Where should I put my files?

The default location for your files is the Documents folder. But that doesn’t mean you should just pile them all in there. It’s a good idea to organise your files into some sort of logical hierarchical system. Some arrange by subject; others by content; others by date. Make it something you can easily remember and work with. Mavericks also makes it easier for you to find your files by introducing more sophisticated tagging. If you have a variety of files in different locations that are related to a single topic – a birthday, for example, tag them with ‘birthday’. You’re assigning metadata to that file to make it easier to locate in the future.

I can’t find my file! Where is it?

Apple makes it easy to locate files by name and by content thanks to Spotlight, a built-in feature of OS X. Spotlight – located in the upper-right corner of your Mac’s menu bar – enables you to enter a search term and it’ll find all the matches it can in files, folders, emails – even web pages you’ve cached – that match. Admittedly, that can be a bit overwhelming. That’s why OS X lets you customise what Spotlight will index. In System Preferences you can exclude specific types of files you want Spotlight to ignore – applications, for example, or PDF documents – and you can also customise the order in which the search results appear. What’s more, you can highlight specific folders you don’t want it searching to respect your privacy. Add them in the Privacy tab and Spotlight won’t look there.

I can’t find an application I need. Where did it go?

Most applications stay in the Applications folder, but not all of them end up there. If you’re having trouble finding an app, start Launchpad (it should be on the Dock, but if it’s not, you can find it in the Applications folder). Launchpad is like Spotlight specifically for apps – it’ll give a list of all the apps on your Mac, and a search field you can use to narrow the search results until you find the app you’re looking for. If you think you have an app installed that can read a document you’re trying to open, click the Choose Application… button when you get an error, or search the Mac App Store.

My Mac keeps opening the wrong application every time I double-click on a document!

If you have a file you’d like to make sure opens with a specific application every time, select it in the Finder, and then select the File > Get Info. Look for Open with: and select the app you’d like to open it with using the pop up menu. To make that a permanent change for that file and all others of that type, click the Change All button.

I need to protect my Mac’s hard drive from prying eyes…

Apple supports a robust encryption method called File-Vault, which you can access from the Security and Privacy system preference. It’s a whole-disk encryption system that will keep the contents of your Mac safe from anyone who doesn’t have your system password. For an added layer of security, you can install a firmware password by launching your Mac’s Recovery Disk and selecting ‘Firmware Password Utility’ from the Utilities menu. The Firmware Password will keep the Mac from being booted from an external drive, accessed using Safe Mode and more. In either case, make a careful note of the password and encryption key you’re given or you’ll lose access to your data permanently.