How to Organize Your Files on Your Mac

Want to boost your MacBook organization skills? Trying to learn how to organize files on your Mac computer?

No matter how often you use your Mac computer, it may get disorganized from time to time. Fortunately, if you want to improve file organization and make the most of your storage space, there are things that you can do.

Here’s how you can better organize files on your Mac computer.

1. Start With Your Desktop

One of the places on your Mac that can be most susceptible to clutter is your desktop.

Many people store items on their desktops when they’re in a hurry or because they want a file to be easy to find later. However, leaving files there permanently can be a big mistake. If you do, you may find soon that your desktop becomes cluttered pretty quickly.

Instead, make sure that you get into the habit of cleaning up your desktop regularly and putting any stray files that are there into categorized folders instead. This will help your desktop become more clutter-free and can make your computer feel more comfortable to use.

2. Use Folders and Subfolders

To keep your files organized on your Mac, you should make sure that you’re using folders as much as possible.

Don’t just leave your files anywhere, but instead, make sure that you’re organizing your files into folders and that you’re categorizing them well. Creating folders and subfolders can be very helpful for staying organized and can allow you to sort by file type or by theme, purpose, and more.

By creating a folder system on your Mac and by being sure that you add new files to them as you create them, you’ll stay much more organized on your computer.

3. Name and Sort Your Files

Creating a standard naming system that you’ll use with folders and files can also be very helpful for staying organized on a Mac computer.

Being descriptive when naming files is essential if you want to find what you’re looking for easily. It may also be helpful to add other information into a file name as well such as the date.

Also, remember that you can always sort your files easily when browsing in Finder based on the Date Modified, Kind, and more. Try using the sorting options when in Finder if you want to find files in a particular folder easily and effortlessly.

4. Make Use of Tags

A great feature that is built into Mac is the ability to use tags. Assigning tags or colors to your folders can allow you to keep them organized and will make them easy to find later on.

You can easily add tags to items by right-clicking a file or folder and choosing “Tags” from the dropdown menu. You can add multiple tags to an item.

By using tags on your Mac, items across your computer that are marked with the same tag can be found easily when needed. As a result, this can make things easier for you to keep track of and manage. It can save you a lot of time and effort if you ever need to find important folders and files.

5. Start Using iCloud

To organize files effectively as a Mac user, you should also make sure that you use Apple’s iCloud Drive. By using iCloud, you’ll be able to easily back up your files. You can be sure that you won’t lose them if something happens.

Storing certain files in iCloud alone can also be helpful because it can also allow you to clear up some of the storage space on your hard drive. The iCloud can also be useful because you can access it from other devices as well, such as on your iPad or iPhone.

6. Change Your Folder Icons

If you have a lot of folders to sort through, then one of the best things that you can do is to start using images as folder icons. You can easily do this by opening an image in Preview, copying it, and then pasting it onto the icon in a folder’s Info panel.

Using images in this way can help you to find particular folders more easily, particularly if you have a lot of folders that you’re adding files to. When you’re relying on the folder name alone, it can be more difficult to find what you’re looking for.

7. Add Folders to Favorites

One of the best things that you can do to stay organized on your Macbook computer is to favorite any folders that you need to access often and regularly.

You can do this very easily. All you need to do is browse to the folder in Finder. Then, you’ll want to drag it into the sidebar. The folder will then reside there where you can easily access it whenever you need to.

Managing your folders in this way can be very helpful when using your Mac and when trying to find your way around.

8. Consolidate Files When Needed

In addition to using folders and subfolders to sort and categorize files, it can be useful to learn other ways to bunch different files together and consolidate them as well.

Learning how to compress files and add them to an archive can be helpful. You can easily zip files in Mac in Finder. All you need to do is right-click your files and then select “Compress Items”. A zip archive will then be created.

You can compress and consolidate files in other ways as well. For example, it can be a good idea to learn how to merge PDF files. Be sure to visit https://setapp.com/how-to/merge-pdf-on-mac to learn how you can merge PDF files on Mac.

Using These Strategies to Organize Files

If you want to organize files on your Mac successfully, make sure that you take it one step at a time. Be sure to follow all of the tips above if you want to declutter files and find important things easily.

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