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macOS Sierra: Save Disk Space With the New 'Optimize Storage' Option

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macOS Sierra, available today, includes a built-in storage optimization feature that's designed to free up storage space on a Mac by storing rarely used files in iCloud, regularly emptying the trash, removing unnecessary files, and more.

It's a handy feature that can give you a good amount of additional storage space with a set of tools that you normally had to download a third-party storage optimization app to use. Here's how to take advantage of Sierra's Optimize Storage feature:
  1. Click on the Apple logo at the top of the menubar and select "About This Mac" from the list of options.
  2. Choose the "Storage" tab at the top to see an overview of how much storage you're using on your Mac.

    optimizestoragemanage.jpg
  3. Click on "Manage" to open up the optimization options.
When you open up Optimize Storage, there's a breakdown of where your files are stored and a list of recommended actions you can take to free up space, all of which is new.


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Article Link: macOS Sierra: Save Disk Space With the New 'Optimize Storage' Option
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/20/macos-sierra-optimize-storage/
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SteveJobs2.0

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2012
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Seems risky with Apple's recent lack of quality assurance. If this caused my MacBook to loose my PhD dissertation I would snap. I keep multiple copies offline and online of all my files, but many others are not as cautious.
 
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CrystalQuest76

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West Cost A Lot
kcamfork said:
Such a feature is laughable when you only are provided 5 GB of iCloud storage.
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Its a great feature for Apple executives to charge fees for additional storage space. Since its a cloud service this slice of Apple business is registered in Ireland and where all the fees go.

As we know Apple pays very little taxes there and the executives are unwilling to bring those profits back into the United States since they want to get the bigger bonus by not paying US taxes.
 
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KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
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gsmornot said:
The real savings will be (next year?) when we see Apple File System.
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You mean, APFS will make files magically smaller?

SteveJobs2.0 said:
Seems risky with Apple's recent lack of quality assurance. If this caused my MacBook to loose my PhD dissertation I would snap. I keep multiple copies offline and online of all my files, but many others are not as cautious.
Click to expand...

Just the thought of it... A system that deletes files for you and uploads them somewhere. So many things can, and I suspect will, go wrong. Even if you do have a backup, this feature removes old files, files you probably won’t immediately miss. Not even Time Machine keeps files forever as long as it continues to back up everything.
 
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2457282

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I have the Time Capsule to back up at home and the iCloud for remote backups. With this feature, I am wondering if I need the Time Capsule.....

Somehow I still want to have a local copy.
 
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gsmornot

gsmornot

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2014
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KALLT said:
You mean, APFS will make files magically smaller?
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Not smaller, more efficient which will lead to less used space due to lack of duplication in the file system. Virtualization will reduce considerably the needed file space.

Your personal files will remain the size they are but if you happen to have multiples of a part of your files the system will know this and virtualize parts of it. Thats how I understand it with the little bit I have read so far.
 
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SteveJobs2.0

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2012
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Mr_Brightside_@ said:
Fingers crossed this could bring a similar feature in iOS in the future.
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There already is, sort of. My iPhone keeps old, full resolution photos in the cloud and only low quality version on the phone. When I click on a picture it downloads the full version. Granted, this is a very specific implementation of the memory management feature, but it helps those with many photos and more so the "16 gigers".
 
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manu chao

macrumors 604
Jul 30, 2003
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KALLT said:
Just the thought of it... A system that deletes files for you and uploads them somewhere. So many things can, and I suspect will, go wrong. Even if you do have a backup, this feature removes old files, files you probably won’t immediately miss. Not even Time Machine keeps files forever as long as it continues to back up everything.
Click to expand...
In my mind this feature makes only sense if you have multiple Macs, in particular a desktop and a laptop, and only enable the 'Optimise Storage' feature on the laptop (but have iCloud sync stuff between your computers).
 
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