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The "How You Organize" Your Files Thread

HappyDude20 said:
So where does the original say, Pages file originally reside?

I'm finding Smart Folders appealing, but wouldn't want duplicates or even the main file someplace odd. I'm just thinking since you stated the smart folder contains a copy of that file, that the original files rests somewhere else. & my end goal i to have everything organized and not have duplicate files all over...

....but i'm sure there's a solution a novice (me) just hasn't found
Click to expand...

My mistake, it doesn't store a copy but a symlink/alias/shortcut (or whatever you want to call it/them)

Basically you store your file in a sensible location, say Documents/work/projects then create a smart folder with criteria that you wish to work with. If the file fits the criteria then it appears (as an alias) in the smart folder.
 
Anything work related goes in a the work folder under the appropriate sub folder. Personal projects go in pre-made OS folders (ie. music, pictures).

I always save to the right place for archiving and submission (work) but really, i never navigate to those places. I just use spotlight and smart folders to get to everything.
 
I'm pretty sure all of your questions (original Poster) have been answered... Yes smart folders are live updating (think itunes smart playlists). And nested folders, are just folders within folders.

The benefit to tagging for me, is if i forget where a file is, and what it is called. I can usually remember the subject matter, so search for a relevant tag i would have used. First i tag everything with either @school, @work, or @personal. So at the very least i can filter that way... then if i have a math class, i'll tag it with math, and course number. So now I can do a search for all math related files at once, or narrow it down to the actual course files...

I may revisit my organizing strategy of using 'together' and just do it manually with a file tagger, or quicksilver's tagging function. But it doesnt seem that many use the tagging/smart folder system...
 
As of now I'm thinking i'll most likely be folder-ing all my items individually and having them alphabetically under Documents.

I think i'll create like an up front documents folder which will include it's own tab in the finder where i'll house the folders that are of current importance to me. I could easily just drag a needed folder from my documents folder to the "look at me this is important stuff" folder and simply drag it back to the documents folder when i'm done but i think this is where the smart folders would come in handy...i'll create a smart folder with the needed documents without touching the original folders/files located at my documents so that way when i'm done with the project, I can just delete the folder and not have to worry about anything being touched or deleted under the documents section....

...good idea?
 
ddoonie said:
I may revisit my organizing strategy of using 'together' and just do it manually with a file tagger, or quicksilver's tagging function. But it doesnt seem that many use the tagging/smart folder system...
Click to expand...

Even in "OS X The Missing Manual" Smart Folders only get a page or so, yet they are one of the potentially biggest productivity improvements in the OS. I'd like to see nested Smart Folders introduced - a search reveals that Apple filed a patent application for this a couple of years ago - it would help further with organising things.

Back on topic: there's no one right way to organise files: if you've got a system that works for you then it's the right system.
 
I start out using the standard pre-mades (Documents, Pictures, Movies, etc.) and then create subfolders in each for various categories (e.g. Stories, Reference, Trek Illustrations, Amber [Benson] movies, etc.)

My wife, OTOH, saves everything on her desktop. Drives. Me. Crazy.
 
I agree I don't use Smart Folders as much as (reasonably) possible - I have this obsession that every file has to have it's own place. Simply using a Smart Folder to cherry-pick certain files from a mess of disorganisation doesn't fly with me.

I organise my files in three main ways:

First, I have DropBox for all of my desktops and screencapture images - these are most likely the files I'll need to share or link to. Sometimes PDFs and Pages wind up in here in their own sub folders, but not very often. Other images are stored and organised in the Pictures folder and subfolders.

Second, I keep all my work files organized inside a master "Projects" folder: Inside this I have folders for each project, including collect-all folders for sites mocks I haven't used or creative ideas that are unimplemented - if it's far enough along to have a name, it goes in Projects.

Third, All other files - PSDs (those not in the Projects folder of subfolders), Pages, PDFs, Misc JPGs/PNGs, etc etc, go in a highly organised Documents folder - which has subfolders for any major file type or purpose.

-

Other stuff - music, movies, music vids - are tracked by iTunes. I don't use iPhoto at all.

I have very strict naming conventions also... usually "task_title-#.filetype" or something like that. This way, I don't have to use a Smart Folder to find files that share a task (granted these aren't sorted into their own folder) - I just hit the starting letter and can arrow-key through them all.
 
I have a LOT of stuff to organize, but somehow I manage to find everything, due to having a good system for filing things.

Documents are organized by category: Financial, Computers, School, Travel, etc. and further by subcategories if needed: inside the Computers folder is Installers, Programming, Documentation, and UNIX. Some folders are even more nested: Inside Installers are 3 folders: Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. Within those are categories of installers: Security, Multimedia, Games, etc, and within THOSE are folders for each individual program (or, in the case of Games, game genre, THEN program folders).

Music is partially managed by iTunes. The parts that are not are sorted by type: Modules, WAVE files, OGG files, etc.

Movies are all organized by source in the Movies folder, except the 5 iTunes manages. For example: Apple, Miscellaneous, Video Games, etc.

Pictures are also organized by source. iPhoto is totally useless to me, because it's not really designed for the way I use my images.
 
I have created sub folders in the Documents section for each member of the family and additional subfolders for each project. So naturally, my wife and kids just save documents wherever the save menu takes them. Mostly to the desktop :mad:

I am going to get my own computer (MBP!) and never let them touch it!!!
 
what's this dropbox everyone is talking about?? where can i find it?? i read through all the post and have no idea what this dropbox is.. :( anyone want to lighten me?
 
TJRiver said:
I have created sub folders in the Documents section for each member of the family and additional subfolders for each project. So naturally, my wife and kids just save documents wherever the save menu takes them. Mostly to the desktop :mad:

I am going to get my own computer (MBP!) and never let them touch it!!!
Click to expand...

yeah i know what you mean!!!

my favorite thing is when there is ~300 word documents all with the first 3-5 words of the first sentence in the document... and they want to find one they did sometime (which they can't remember when)

if only you could create an AppleScript that automatically saves word documents into certain folders created by the author, then by month, then inside of that - by week.

then again that would get pretty annoying haha
 
I have just amended my organization strategy, allowing me to tag and organize into separate folders in as little steps as possible. I have been using hazel for a while (http://www.noodlesoft.com/hazel.php), and it is much better than the 'watch folder' folder actions. Basically I am making it watch one of my folders for what tags are in the spotlight comments, and it will move the file to a predefined folder ie. File tagged @school, mba, will get moved into my mba folder that is nested in my school folder. I am tagging each file using quicksilver's tagging module. Hazel also monitors the folders the files are moved to, and causes them to open up in Together (creating a symlink in together). With all this set up, i have all my files accessible to be viewed via Together (and content searched), while files are organized in a folder structure.

Going to try this out for a while.

ps. Regarding drop box, it is a site that normally gives you 2gb of free space online, and has an app that automatically synchs a folder on your computer with one online. Very convenient for backups/synching/sharing links... I have a referral link if anyone wants to use it, giving you an additional 250mb of space in your account (me as well). If this is not appropriate, i can edit this post!

Extra 250MB Drop Box referral link.
 
CaptMurdock said:
I start out using the standard pre-mades (Documents, Pictures, Movies, etc.) and then create subfolders in each for various categories (e.g. Stories, Reference, Trek Illustrations, Amber [Benson] movies, etc.)

My wife, OTOH, saves everything on her desktop. Drives. Me. Crazy.
Click to expand...

lol. Yeah, personally when I see any more than 2 folders on my desktop i can't sleep well at night.

Melrose said:
I agree I don't use Smart Folders as much as (reasonably) possible - I have this obsession that every file has to have it's own place. Simply using a Smart Folder to cherry-pick certain files from a mess of disorganisation doesn't fly with me.

I organise my files in three main ways:

First, I have DropBox for all of my desktops and screencapture images - these are most likely the files I'll need to share or link to. Sometimes PDFs and Pages wind up in here in their own sub folders, but not very often. Other images are stored and organised in the Pictures folder and subfolders.

Second, I keep all my work files organized inside a master "Projects" folder: Inside this I have folders for each project, including collect-all folders for sites mocks I haven't used or creative ideas that are unimplemented - if it's far enough along to have a name, it goes in Projects.

Third, All other files - PSDs (those not in the Projects folder of subfolders), Pages, PDFs, Misc JPGs/PNGs, etc etc, go in a highly organised Documents folder - which has subfolders for any major file type or purpose.

-

Other stuff - music, movies, music vids - are tracked by iTunes. I don't use iPhoto at all.

I have very strict naming conventions also... usually "task_title-#.filetype" or something like that. This way, I don't have to use a Smart Folder to find files that share a task (granted these aren't sorted into their own folder) - I just hit the starting letter and can arrow-key through them all.
Click to expand...

I'm agreeing with what you're saying and though smart folders seem like a great advantage with OS X, I think at most I'd have smart folder than recaptures i guess duplicates of already existing folders to i guess, not touch/mess with at all the originals.
 
My files resemble my house when I find out I have guests coming over. It looks nice and organized, but underneath everything, it's an incredible mess.

I have stuff going back 15+ years and organizing everything is a huge task. Every year or so, I get it into my head that I'm going to organize everything, come up with a logical system, then I go to town.

I usually get about halfway through before I run out of steam. I probably have twenty or so systems that were never fully applied. Thank the fates for OS X Spotlight.

I've learned not to mind so much. Sometimes, when I'm bored, I go digging through older directories and find some amazing stuff. It's like finding a pair of old favorite jeans with 20 bucks in a pocket. Just wish there weren't so many half eaten sandwiches in there...
 
I basically just use spotlight to look for things. My only form of organization is keeping the files related to a project in a separate folder inside Documents. I also arrange my Documents folder by date. This displays the most recently changed folder and files at the top of the finder window. This is useful as the ones on top are usually the ones I'm working on.
 
My advice is to use open meta tags rather than rely on a folder hierarchy. I have a Documents folder containing a few folders, but the majority of my files live in a folder called "Tagged". I currently have over 2000 files sitting in the folder, all with various tags applied, and use Default Folder X to tag them when I save them. You can also use "Tags", "Tagit", "Fresh", and "Leap" to set the tags, and use these apps as well as Spotlight/Smart Folders to find them.

Files can have multiple tags enabling much better categorization options. So I may have a file which has the tags "Document", "Review", "George", "Draft". So I can search for all Documents, or all Reviews, or anything to do with George, or all drafts, without worrying about where they are. Using HoudahSpot (my favorite), I have a whole bunch of search templates set up and saved which I access from my menu bar with one click.

You have to "let go" of the folder mentality, but once you try tagging you will be rewarded with much enhanced file management capabilities.
 
I dont know if i'm willing to adopt the open meta tagging scheme yet... Has not been approved by apple, and there is no way to back it up... ie. any update that apple may push may break compatibility.

interesting read (http://ironicsoftware.com/community/comments.php?DiscussionID=632)

If you use openmeta i would copy all tags to spotlight comments, as a back up...

ps... My new organization method is working well, we'll see how it stands up. Dropped the 'watched folder' in my dock, so just have to drag files into it, and they get auto sorted now, and added to my together database.
 
ddoonie said:
I dont know if i'm willing to adopt the open meta tagging scheme yet... Has not been approved by apple, and there is no way to back it up... ie. any update that apple may push may break compatibility.
If you use openmeta i would copy all tags to spotlight comments, as a back up...
Click to expand...

You're right it's a risk, but one I'm prepared to live with for the convenience it gives me. I used to use Spotlight Comments so most of my files still have them set. But if openmeta got badly broken by Apple I'd flip straight over to using EagleFiler, which maintains it's own tag database. I notice Michael Tsai from EagleFiler was the original poster in the discussion you pointed to.
 
I manage my RAW files through Aperture in their own folder at ~/Pictures/Aperture\ Masters/

The rest of my photos are organized by iPhoto and other image files are stored in a few folders depending on if they're screenshots or wallpapers or random images.

My movies folder basically organizes itself with iMovie and FCE.

My documents folder is organized into school work, text files, reference files, web page drafts, file documentation, VMWare, and Applescript reference PDFs. All of my school work is heavily tagged as are all reference files.

My Desktop and Downloads folder basically stay empty.

My music folder just has my iTunes and Ringtones I've made in garageband.

I hardly ever use spotlight since I am so well organized, but when I do it's for school files and they're so heavily tagged that finding the right file is easy.
 
I love the Mac but downloaded files are completely disorganized ... What to do?

Ihad windows machines all my life . Got the iPad, iPhone and iMac. Now I download files to iMac and there hard to organize and find, Steve for all his simplicity talk made a very unintuitive os in iMac. Windows blows it away on this note, there should be a qui time library. I wasted a lot of time with it. But the iMac is far superior in it's functioning so I have to accept this waste of time . Any help?
 
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