Messy Files? It Could Be Time to Reorganize
Today’s multi-gigabyte hard drives can store vast quantities of documents and application programs. But can you find them? Too many casual Mac users don’t take advantage of the Mac’s disk-management features and thus waste time burrowing through folders in search of documents or programs.
If this describes you, read on. And if you’ve already mastered the Mac’s filing features, clip this column for the disorganized Mac user in your life. (Note that though some of these tips also apply to Mac OS X, most are intended for Mac OS 9 users.)
Use folders. When saving a new document, don’t just save it on the Mac’s desktop. Recent versions of the Mac’s operating system provide a folder named Documents. When saving a new file, navigate to this folder and save your document there. If your version of the Mac OS doesn’t provide a Documents folder, create one yourself using the Finder’s New Folder command.
Better still, create multiple folders within your Documents folder, each for a specific category or type of document. You might create one folder for correspondence, another for spreadsheets, another for pictures and so on. Or you might create folders for specific projects: House Remodel, Convention Speech, School Stuff.
To create a folder within the Documents folder, double-click your hard drive icon and locate the Documents folder. Open it and then choose New Folder from the Finder’s File menu. Finally, name the new, untitled folder. Repeat for as many folders as you need.
When you download a file from the Web, you might find that your browser plopped it on your desktop. Get in the habit of using folders to hold downloads you want to keep. Your desktop will stay uncluttered and you’ll be able to find things later.
Use aliases. A great way to quickly access a frequently used item is to put an alias of it on the desktop. An alias is a tiny file that acts as a shortcut to a different file: When you open the alias, the Mac opens the file that the alias points to.
If you frequently use Microsoft Word, for example, open the Microsoft Office folder on your hard drive and then select Word’s icon by clicking on it once. Now choose Make Alias from the Finder’s File menu. You’ll see a second icon appear adjacent to the Word icon. Drag this new icon out onto the desktop and rename it if you like. Now you can start Word by double-clicking on its alias.
Add to favorites. Is there a specific folder, program or document that you always use? Select its icon and choose Add to Favorites from the Finder’s File menu. Now you can open that item by choosing it from the Favorites submenu in the Apple menu instead of digging through multiple folders.
If you add your Documents folder to your Favorites list, you’ll be able to access its contents--including folders stored within it--directly from the Apple menu. It’s fast and efficient. The Add to Favorites command actually creates an alias of whatever you selected before choosing the command. If you open the Favorites folder within the System Folder, you can see and manage your favorites. Note that when you delete an alias, you aren’t deleting the item that it points to.
File your e-mail. Internet e-mail programs, including Microsoft’s Outlook Express and Entourage, provide filing features of their own. Using them can help prevent your in box from swelling with old mail.
In both Outlook Express and Entourage, you can create a new e-mail folder by choosing New Folder from the File menu’s New submenu. Give the folder a name--Personal Mail, Mail From Mom, whatever--and then drag messages from the in box into the folder.
You can set up both programs to file incoming mail for you. To have those e-mails from Mom automatically stashed in the Mail From Mom folder, choose Rules from the Tools menu, click the New button in the window that appears and then configure the pop-up menus to specify your filing criteria.
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Jim Heid is a contributing editor of Macworld magazine.
