In the very last OS update, Apple decided that Mac storage is not enough for Mac users and introduced a new space-clearing feature, Optimized Storage. In this article, we'll take a look at what it is, how it works, how it could be better, and how you can fill in the gaps left in space-clearing. Let us begin.
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- Humanly Optimized Mac Os X
- Humanly Optimized Mac Os Catalina
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- Customize Dock: get what you need faster. Dock was great when it came out, in 2001.
- The following optimizations are recommended for use with Serato DJ Pro on your Mac running macOS/OS X. Make sure you are using the latest point release of supported operating system version. It's also important to ensure that your computer's power adapter is connected at all times when using Serato DJ Pro, especially during performance.
This is the first part of the series where I show you how to make Mac OS X in VMware completely Mac-like. There are 3 parts in the series:P1: Spoof real Mac. Best Mac Optimizer: CleanMyMac X. Most newer Mac machines (especially MacBooks) are now.
What is Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra?
In short, macOS Sierra's Optimized Storage feature is a set of rules in the system that move certain files into the cloud. They don't get deleted, but instead of the file, you get a link to the file, the whole weight of which is now up in iCloud. The result of the optimization is more free space on your hard drive and many-many gigabytes of cloud storage taken up. So whether to use it or not is really up to you.
How Optimized Storage works
It's not that straightforward and there are quite a few components to it. First, you can take a general look at the main menu of the storage.
To access Optimized Storage:
- Click on the Apple icon in the top left corner of any window
- Choose About this Mac.
- Choose Storage.
- Find the Manage button above the storage bar.
- Now you should see a menu like below.
On the left, there is a menu of possible cleanups and optimizers. You can also click on every button to turn on all the possible settings for automatic cloud storage.
How do you optimize Mac with Optimized Storage?
All of these options are ways to optimize Mac storage, each effective in its own fashion. Here's what they do:
Humanly Optimized Mac Os Download
Store in iCloud
As you can see, what it does is notice when you're running low on disk space and moves files and photos you haven't opened recently to iCloud.
What it means is that you can't access them if you don't have an internet connection or you logged out of your iCloud account. What it also means is that you still have all those files, they are not deleted and yet they don't waste your disk space.
Optimize Storage
This command refers mainly to iTunes and Mail attachments. The movies you've already watched and old Mail attachments get off your Mac. You can re-download all of it whenever you need it because the movies are bought for good and attachments are always there in your Mail client.
Empty Trash Automatically does what it says, mainly.
Reduce Clutter
Reduce Clutter is a way to look through your docs to see the largest files on your Mac and possibly remove them. You can also sort these large files by date to see the oldest first. And quickly go through the Downloads folder to pick out useless space-wasters over there.
Downsides of Optimized Storage
Generally, getting more free space on Mac is a common pain for Mac users and should've been addressed long ago. Apple have offered an elegant solution with cloud storage, yet it's not perfect. Here's why Optimized storage is not all that good:
- You have to pay monthly to keep it active. In iCloud, you have 5GB of free storage and the rest comes at a price. It's small, it depends on your country, and it's generally affordable. But — it's yet another monthly payment.
- System junk and cache files keep storing on the drive and taking up space. There are still no tools to get rid of them. C'mon, Apple.
- Moving to the iCloud doesn't mean sorting stuff out. You're just adding to the space trash, sweeping the dust under the rug instead of throwing it away. Do you really need all those files that will be moved into iCloud? Are you sure you will open them again, ever?
Your Mac is clean and organized, while your iCloud drive becomes a mess. By the way, here are some tips on how to keep your iCloud in order.
Fixing Optimized Storage
Humanly Optimized Mac Os X
How to deal with overstoring in the iCloud
Make sure you delete old useless files instead of moving them.
Humanly Optimized Mac Os Catalina
How to deal with system junk on hard drive
Get a Mac cleaner. There are plenty of handy apps out there, such as CleanMyMac X. It removes all system caches, app caches, runs regular maintenance, and generally keeps your Mac in shape.
Here's how to clean up system junk with CleanMyMac X:
- Download CleanMyMac for free.
- Launch the app.
- Hit 'Scan.'
- Wait for it to find junk on your Mac.
- Hit 'Run.'
- Viola, all done.
How to Disable Optimized Storage
Of course, you can just pass on Optimized Storage and keep managing your files the way you've always had. When you turn off storage optimization, macOS Sierra will stop moving files to iCloud and deleting your old (possibly favorite) iTunes movies. Here's how to disable Optimized Storage on your Mac:
- Click on the Apple icon in the top left corner.
- Choose System Preferences from the menu.
- Click on iCloud.
- Click on the Options right next to iCloud Drive.
- Uncheck the Optimize Mac Storage checkbox at the bottom.
- Hit Done.
That's it, storage optimization is switched off now. If you change your mind, you can always enable it again by repeating steps 1 to 4 and then checking that Optimize Mac Storage checkbox.
Now you know most of what there is to know about the new Optimized Storage feature on your macOS Sierra. Space on your Mac can be cleaned out easily with it, yet it's not quite enough to keep your whole Mac running smoothly.
Unfortunately, Optimized Storage doesn't filter what it moves to iCloud, nor does it help deal with system junk left by apps and the OS itself. Clean up the junk, don't waste your cloud space on files you'll never use, and have a nice day. Cheers.
Optimized Storage helps you save storage space space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand:
- When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically.
- Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it.
- Files that you've used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.
If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.
Find out how much storage is available on your Mac
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.
Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below.
Manage storage on your Mac
The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.
Store in iCloud
Humanly Optimized Mac Os Downloads
Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:
- Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
- Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
- Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.
Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.
Optimize Storage
Click the Optimize button to save space by automatically removing watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from Apple and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again. Skyfarm mac os.
Your Mac will also save space by keeping only recent email attachments on this Mac when storage space is needed. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.
Empty Trash Automatically
Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.
Reduce Clutter
Reduce Clutter helps you identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.
- Click on the Apple icon in the top left corner of any window
- Choose About this Mac.
- Choose Storage.
- Find the Manage button above the storage bar.
- Now you should see a menu like below.
On the left, there is a menu of possible cleanups and optimizers. You can also click on every button to turn on all the possible settings for automatic cloud storage.
How do you optimize Mac with Optimized Storage?
All of these options are ways to optimize Mac storage, each effective in its own fashion. Here's what they do:
Humanly Optimized Mac Os Download
Store in iCloud
As you can see, what it does is notice when you're running low on disk space and moves files and photos you haven't opened recently to iCloud.
What it means is that you can't access them if you don't have an internet connection or you logged out of your iCloud account. What it also means is that you still have all those files, they are not deleted and yet they don't waste your disk space.
Optimize Storage
This command refers mainly to iTunes and Mail attachments. The movies you've already watched and old Mail attachments get off your Mac. You can re-download all of it whenever you need it because the movies are bought for good and attachments are always there in your Mail client.
Empty Trash Automatically does what it says, mainly.
Reduce Clutter
Reduce Clutter is a way to look through your docs to see the largest files on your Mac and possibly remove them. You can also sort these large files by date to see the oldest first. And quickly go through the Downloads folder to pick out useless space-wasters over there.
Downsides of Optimized Storage
Generally, getting more free space on Mac is a common pain for Mac users and should've been addressed long ago. Apple have offered an elegant solution with cloud storage, yet it's not perfect. Here's why Optimized storage is not all that good:
- You have to pay monthly to keep it active. In iCloud, you have 5GB of free storage and the rest comes at a price. It's small, it depends on your country, and it's generally affordable. But — it's yet another monthly payment.
- System junk and cache files keep storing on the drive and taking up space. There are still no tools to get rid of them. C'mon, Apple.
- Moving to the iCloud doesn't mean sorting stuff out. You're just adding to the space trash, sweeping the dust under the rug instead of throwing it away. Do you really need all those files that will be moved into iCloud? Are you sure you will open them again, ever?
Your Mac is clean and organized, while your iCloud drive becomes a mess. By the way, here are some tips on how to keep your iCloud in order.
Fixing Optimized Storage
Humanly Optimized Mac Os X
How to deal with overstoring in the iCloud
Make sure you delete old useless files instead of moving them.
Humanly Optimized Mac Os Catalina
How to deal with system junk on hard drive
Get a Mac cleaner. There are plenty of handy apps out there, such as CleanMyMac X. It removes all system caches, app caches, runs regular maintenance, and generally keeps your Mac in shape.
Here's how to clean up system junk with CleanMyMac X:
- Download CleanMyMac for free.
- Launch the app.
- Hit 'Scan.'
- Wait for it to find junk on your Mac.
- Hit 'Run.'
- Viola, all done.
How to Disable Optimized Storage
Of course, you can just pass on Optimized Storage and keep managing your files the way you've always had. When you turn off storage optimization, macOS Sierra will stop moving files to iCloud and deleting your old (possibly favorite) iTunes movies. Here's how to disable Optimized Storage on your Mac:
- Click on the Apple icon in the top left corner.
- Choose System Preferences from the menu.
- Click on iCloud.
- Click on the Options right next to iCloud Drive.
- Uncheck the Optimize Mac Storage checkbox at the bottom.
- Hit Done.
That's it, storage optimization is switched off now. If you change your mind, you can always enable it again by repeating steps 1 to 4 and then checking that Optimize Mac Storage checkbox.
Now you know most of what there is to know about the new Optimized Storage feature on your macOS Sierra. Space on your Mac can be cleaned out easily with it, yet it's not quite enough to keep your whole Mac running smoothly.
Unfortunately, Optimized Storage doesn't filter what it moves to iCloud, nor does it help deal with system junk left by apps and the OS itself. Clean up the junk, don't waste your cloud space on files you'll never use, and have a nice day. Cheers.
Optimized Storage helps you save storage space space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand:
- When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically.
- Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it.
- Files that you've used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.
If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.
Find out how much storage is available on your Mac
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.
Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below.
Manage storage on your Mac
The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.
Store in iCloud
Humanly Optimized Mac Os Downloads
Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:
- Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
- Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
- Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.
Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.
Optimize Storage
Click the Optimize button to save space by automatically removing watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from Apple and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again. Skyfarm mac os.
Your Mac will also save space by keeping only recent email attachments on this Mac when storage space is needed. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.
Empty Trash Automatically
Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.
Reduce Clutter
Reduce Clutter helps you identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.
You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.
Learn how to redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books.
Where to find the settings for each feature
The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.
- If you're using macOS Catalina or later, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimize Mac Storage setting on the right. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
- If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings.
- In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage.
- In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.
- If you're using macOS Catalina or later, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimize Storage selects 'Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.'
- In you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimize Storage selects 'Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.'
- In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimize Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.
Empty Trash Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Trash Automatically selects 'Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.'
Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space
With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac automatically takes these additional steps to save storage space:
- Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
- Reminds you to delete used app installers
- Removes old fonts, languages, and dictionaries that aren't being used
- Clears caches, logs, and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed
How to free up storage space manually
Even without using the Optimized Storage features described in this article, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:
- Music, movies, and other media can use a lot of storage space. Learn how to delete music, movies, and TV shows from your device.
- Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Trash, then emptying the Trash. The Downloads folder is good place to look for files that you might no longer need.
- Move files to an external storage device.
- Compress files.
- Delete unneeded email: In the Mail app, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail. If you no longer need the email in your Trash mailbox, choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.
Learn more
- The Storage pane of About This Mac is the best way to determine the amount of storage space available on your Mac. Disk Utility and other apps might show storage categories such as Not Mounted, VM, Recovery, Other Volumes, Free, or Purgeable. Don't rely on these categories to understand how to free up storage space or how much storage space is available for your data.
- When you duplicate a file on an APFS-formatted volume, that file doesn't use additional storage space on the volume. Deleting a duplicate file frees up only the space required by any data you might have added to the duplicate. If you no longer need any copies of the file, you can recover all of the storage space by deleting both the duplicate and the original file.
- If you're using a pro app and Optimize Mac Storage, learn how to make sure that your projects are always on your Mac and able to access their files.
