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Organizing Files in OSX

B

BugsBunny

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 16, 2007
42
0
Hey everyone,

I just got my first Mac in late June (the updated MBP), and so far I've loved it! It's fast, easy, and pretty!

Thus far, all I've used it for is regular, day to day living, as in the web, using iTunes, IMing, and...well that's pretty much it (makes you realize what summer is for). So, thus far I know how to just do the drag and drop into the Applications folder (to install Adium, Limewire, etc.).

However, when I go back to college next month, I'm going to be dealing with loads of files...so my question is how to use the folders and filing in OSX effectively. Is there a way to stick a shortcut to a "School" folder in the dock permanently? How do you manage folders, it seems like you are just set with the ones they give you in the bottom left section of the "Finder." And how exactly do you use the Finder (what's it for), while we're on the point...

I'm going to install Windows via BootCamp and run it thru VMWare for school since there's a few things I need in windows (and with office 2008 not out until january i'm now gonna go ahead and use office via windows), and I'm tempted to maybe go ahead and just keep my life (mac) separate from my work (windows) via the virtualization...

any comments, answers, or ideas for me? Thanks!

-BB
 
Think of Finder as the equivalent to Explorer on Windows. It's really quite simple. Apple has made a few default folders for you, with links to these folders in the side bar (Documents, Pictures, Movies and so on). You can make your own folders within these folders and, if you like, drag them to the side bar in Finder to have shortcuts there too. Alternatively, you can drag a folder to the right side of your Dock to have a link there, too. Clicking and holding this folder icon in the Dock will bring up a list of all the things within this folder. You can also make 'shortcuts' (called an Alias on a Mac) of any file or folder via the File menu. Does that clear things up a bit? :)
 
I am also at college and I find this helpful:

Put frequently accessed folders (ie. Calculus, Java 101) into the dock to the RIGHT of the divider, next to the trash (careful not to dump it! :p )

That way, if you download a file to the desktop or something, you can just drag it to the folder it needs to be in.

I also recommend the above-mentioned folder shortcuts in the left side of your Finder windows. When you do that- whenever you save a document, in Word perhaps or whatever, you can pull down the Location/Destination menu and those particular folders will be readily available to choose from, as well as the defaults (Macintosh HD, Desktop, etc)
 
BugsBunny said:
Hey everyone,

I just got my first Mac in late June (the updated MBP), and so far I've loved it! It's fast, easy, and pretty!

Thus far, all I've used it for is regular, day to day living, as in the web, using iTunes, IMing, and...well that's pretty much it (makes you realize what summer is for). So, thus far I know how to just do the drag and drop into the Applications folder (to install Adium, Limewire, etc.).

However, when I go back to college next month, I'm going to be dealing with loads of files...so my question is how to use the folders and filing in OSX effectively. Is there a way to stick a shortcut to a "School" folder in the dock permanently? How do you manage folders, it seems like you are just set with the ones they give you in the bottom left section of the "Finder." And how exactly do you use the Finder (what's it for), while we're on the point...

I'm going to install Windows via BootCamp and run it thru VMWare for school since there's a few things I need in windows (and with office 2008 not out until january i'm now gonna go ahead and use office via windows), and I'm tempted to maybe go ahead and just keep my life (mac) separate from my work (windows) via the virtualization...

any comments, answers, or ideas for me? Thanks!

-BB
Click to expand...

Don't forget you can assign Spotlight comments to files, and use saved smart folders to get to them. This is a much more flexible system than folders, as a file can have more than one Spotlight 'tag' whereas a file can only live in one folder. Tagbot makes life easy to add Spotlight comments, as does the QuickSilver file tagging plug-in. If you prefix each tag with a '&' character you can avoid getting file contents in your search results. For example I might have a file with Spotlight tags as follows...

&Excel &Budget &Urgent

I also use HoudahSpot as a more convenient search tool (for me) than Finder
 
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