Posted December 22, 2018 by Leomar Umpad in Apple Mac
RELATED: 10 Ways To Free Up Disk Space on Your Mac Hard Drive. To see how much space those local Time Machine backups are consuming, click the Apple icon on the menu bar, click About This Mac, and click the Storage heading. The “Backups” category here represents your local snapshots. A Mac with two disks will have the storage divided between them. The Mac drive with the OS on it is the startup disk while the other drive is just used for storage of files. It’s possible to have multiple startup disks, but most Macs will only have one. If you are running out of RAM your Mac’s drive can be used as virtual memory - so free up some storage space if you are running out of RAM. The recommendation is to keep 20% of your drive space.
Are you running out of storage space on your Mac? We know how frustrating it is not to be able to install apps nor save files on your device just because of your Mac’s limited storage capacity. We feel you – that’s why we made this article for you to learn how to free up storage space on Mac.
Your Mac has all the utilities to help you manage and maximize your storage space. A mac running on macOS Sierra and later can automatically store rarely-used files to the cloud so you’ll get more physical storage space on your device. Some of the storage-saving actions are automatically done in the background while others need your manual intervention. Benjamin fleischer software developer.
Free Up Storage Space on Mac
The next sections will help you free up disk space on your Mac and Macbook.
1. Click on the Apple Menu located on the upper-left part of your Mac or Macbook’s screen.
2. From the drop-down menu that shows up, click on About This Mac.
3. The screen shows details of your Mac device. Tap on Storage.
4. The screen shows details of your Mac Storage, click on the Manage button to view recommended storage optimization actions.
5. The screen shows the list of recommendations to help optimize and manage your storage. Click on the button for each recommendation to see its options. Take note that if an option is already turned ON, then it is no longer shown on your screen.
Store in iCloud
Store in iCloud allows you to store rarely-used files and photos in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only recently-used files and optimized photos on your device are kept. Store in iCloud has the following options:
• Desktop and Documents. Your Mac will automatically store the files in Desktop and the Documents folder into the iCloud when there is a need for more storage space on your device. However, the recently-used files will remain on your device. When files are saved in the iCloud, a download icon replaces the files saved. You can click on the icon to download the file.
• Photos. Except for those optimized (for storage) photos, all photos and videos are saved in the iCloud whenever your Mac runs out of storage. You can download the said images and videos by opening them.
Optimize Storage
You can save more space on your Mac by automatically removing watched movies and TV shows. Optimize Storage has the following options:
Empty Trash Automatically
You can free up storage space on Mac by automatically erasing your Trash items after 30 days. Empty Trash Automatically do not have additional options. You can only either Turn it ON or OFF. Since our purpose is to free up space, we recommend that we leave the option as ON.
Reduce Clutter
You can free up storage space on Mac by reviewing files stored on your Mac. Click on the Review Files button to the files that you can delete to free up space on your Mac. You can choose from these tabs – Large files, Downloads, and File Browser.
Why Should I Update My macOS?
You should always update your Mac to the latest operating system available. Aside from the things that you manually do, macOS Sierra and later operating systems automatically do these things in the background to save storage space on Mac:
• Automatically detects and deletes duplicate downloads in Safari
• Removes unused system files such as old fonts, languages, and dictionaries.
• Automatically clears data (caches, logs, etc) when there is a need for extra storage space.
• Automatically reminds you to delete used app installers.
• Removes unused system files such as old fonts, languages, and dictionaries.
• Automatically clears data (caches, logs, etc) when there is a need for extra storage space.
• Automatically reminds you to delete used app installers.
FAQS
Free Up Storage On Macbook Air
Q: When files are deleted from my Mac and stored to iCloud, will the files be removed on their location in my Mac?
A: Files that are “removed” from your Mac and stored to iCloud will remain on the last saved location. A download icon replaces the regular icon to indicate that the file is in iCloud. Opening the file will download it to your Mac.
A: Files that are “removed” from your Mac and stored to iCloud will remain on the last saved location. A download icon replaces the regular icon to indicate that the file is in iCloud. Opening the file will download it to your Mac.
Q: Will the storage used for all of these automated storage actions deduct to my storage allocation?
A: Files and documents saved in the iCloud through the tutorials in this article are part of the iCloud space allocaion. You can always buy additional storage space to increase your iCloud storage capacity.
A: Files and documents saved in the iCloud through the tutorials in this article are part of the iCloud space allocaion. You can always buy additional storage space to increase your iCloud storage capacity.
You just learned how to free up storage space on Mac. Do you have other tips in freeing up the storage space in Mac? We would love to heat them!
If you have questions about any of the steps above, let us know in the comments section.
If you think this article is helpful, you may want to check on these related articles:
How to Adjust Image Color in Mac Preview
Mac: How to Use Multiple Desktops
Change Siri’s Voice in macOS Sierra
Automatically Login into a Mac without Password
OS X: How to View Log Files
OS X: Edit a file using TextEdit as root or superuser
How to Back up Your Mac How to Backup Your Mac With Time Machine
How to Adjust Image Color in Mac Preview
Mac: How to Use Multiple Desktops
Change Siri’s Voice in macOS Sierra
Automatically Login into a Mac without Password
OS X: How to View Log Files
OS X: Edit a file using TextEdit as root or superuser
How to Back up Your Mac How to Backup Your Mac With Time Machine
About Leomar Umpad
A supply chain operations manager by profession. A technology-lover and a writer by heart. I have the passion to teach and inform.
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When you check the storage on your Mac, you might see a significant percentage of space occupied by something called ‘Other.’ macOS does not go into much detail. You may wonder what is Other storage on Mac, why it eats up so much space, and how can I delete it? Let me help by telling you more about this to free space on your Mac.
How to Check Storage on Mac
How To Free Up Storage On Macbook Air
- Click on the Apple logo from the top-left and choose About This Mac.
- Click on Storage. Wait for a few seconds.
- Take the mouse pointer to colored sections. You will see how much space is occupied by different categories like Apps, Photos, System, Trash, Other, etc.
What is Other on Mac Storage?
Just like the ‘Other’ on iPhone and iPad, it is home to several files, cached data, and more. This section houses a mix of junk and important files.
In the simplest of terms, the “Other” category is a combination of files that are not recognized as one of the other file types. Here are some examples:-
- Common documents and file types, including PDF, doc, PSD, etc.
- Any type of archives and disk images, including zips, dmg, iso, tar, etc.
- Files in the system folders of macOS, including temporary files, swap, voices, etc.
- Application Support files, iCloud files, Screensavers, etc.
- Cache items, including browser cache and locally stored message media files.
- Fonts, app accessories, application plugins, and app extensions.
- Various file and file types not recognized by Spotlight, for example, a virtual machine hard drive, Windows Boot Camp partitions, etc.
How to Delete Other on Mac Storage
Delete Cache Files on Mac
In typical situations, you do not need to worry much about cache. macOS handles them smartly. But if you are too low on storage or believe in having the cache of unused/uninstalled apps, here is how to delete them.
Note: Caches are there to make your Mac experience better and faster. Make sure you remove only the unnecessary ones.
- From Finder, click on Go.
- Press the option key. You will see a new option for the Library. Click on it.
- Click on Caches.
- Right-click on unnecessary app/service folders and choose Move to Trash.
- Right-click on the Trash icon and choose Empty Trash.
Note + Tip: With regular use, macOS will recreate these caches. If you do not understand what to delete, go back and copy the entire Caches folder to desktop (for backup). Next, open the Caches folder, press Command + A, right-click, and then Move to Trash. Finally, empty the Trash. See if everything works properly or not. In case not, copy the contents of the backup Caches folder from desktop inside the actual Caches folder.
Clearing browser cache and website files for Safari also reduce the Other storage.
Clear Temporary Files Located in Other Storage on Mac
- From Finder, click on Go.
- Press the option key.
- Click on Library.
- Click on Application Support.
- Delete files from here that you do not need. For example, old app folders that you do not need or have.
Remove Safari Extensions on Mac
Can you right click on a macbook pro. At times, we install a browser extension for a purpose, and then do not reuse them or simply forget that it exists. The extension continues to occupy space (shown differently than the application itself. It is thus categorized under Other)
To remove an extension: Digital keyboard software, free download.
- Safari: Open Safari → Click on Safari from top left → Preferences → Extensions → Click on an extension → Choose Uninstall.
- Chrome: Open Chrome → Extensions icon (puzzle icon next to account picture) → Manage Extensions → Remove those you do not use.
Remove Old Downloads
Downloads are usually saved in the Downloads folder (unless you changed them). We often download .dmg files, large packages, videos, zip files, and leave them there. For example, many people do not delete the .dmg file even after app installation. Same for zip files.
- Open Finder and click on Downloads from the left sidebar.
- Click on the word ‘Size’ to arrange the items by size. This will help you locate the large files quickly.
- To delete, right-click on the file and choose Move to Trash. You may also select the files(s) and press Command + Delete.
Tip: Use Spotlight Search to search for big file types like – .dmg, .zip, .mp4, .mkv, .avi, etc. Then click on Show all in Finder… from the lower-left of the Spotlight Search screen. Next, you can delete them easily.
Delete Unnecessary iPhone and iPad Backups
iOS and iPadOS device backups might run into various gigabytes. If you have several archived backups or unnecessary backups of old devices, make sure to delete them.
- Click on the Apple logo and choose About This Mac.
- Click on Storage → Manage.
- Select iOS Files from the sidebar.
- Click on the files and choose Delete.
Note: If you accidentally delete a backup, go ahead and easily create a new one now.
Delete Unused Applications
Applications, when combined with their data, folders, etc. might be vast and occupy significant space. If you have several apps that are sitting idle, go ahead and delete them. Additionally, remove macOS install files, if any.
- Click on the Apple logo from the top-left and choose About This Mac.
- Click on Storage. Next, click on Manage.
- Select Applications from the sidebar.
- Click on an unnecessary one and then click on Delete.
Note: You may also use apps like App Cleaner for perfect uninstallation.
Use Third-Party Software to Free Storage on Your Mac
Apart from the inbuilt solutions, several third-party apps do almost the same thing but in an easier way. You launch them, and in a minute or so, they will help you free significant space. The interface for most is visually pleasing. If you have difficulty following the above methods, you may try one of the apps listed below.
- DaisyDisk ($9.99)
- Onyx (free)
- CleanMyMac (free download with paid version $39.95)
Signing Off…
These are some of the effective ways to delete Other storage on Mac. As stated earlier, it has lots of useful files, too (that are different from listed categories). Thus it is tough to remove Otherdata entirely. But the above ways, help you declutter it. Next, it would be an excellent idea to know how to use optimized storage on Mac.
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I have been an Apple user for over seven years now. At iGeeksBlog, I love creating how-tos and troubleshooting guides that help people do more with their iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch. In my free time, I like to watch stand up comedy videos, tech documentaries, news debates, and political speeches.
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