Organize Mac Apps Into Folder

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Dec 26, 2019  Automatically and manually remove/organize apps. There are a few available for iOS like Cleaner but you may want to use a Mac app. Photos Duplicate Cleaner is. So they’re worth checking into.

Deadlines are fun! They keep us on our toes. But what happens when you can’t find a piece of work you did a few years ago, that would save you a whole load of time - but you just can’t find it, buried amongst old folders and files in your Mac?! Instead of saving you time, you look everywhere and have to give up.

Best practices for organizing files on your Mac

We so often throw everything into separate locations and pray they can find it when needed, taking a hit-and-hope approach. That method has never worked for the New York Yankees, so it’s likely to leave you striking out too. If only there were a way to arrange folders and find files faster. An efficient, proven system to avoid all the wasted time, stress and extra effort. Thankfully, Setapp has a solution or two. We have an array of ready to install organizational apps to make life that little bit easier.

Let’s start with some simple rules for managing your files and folders:

  1. Clutter control: don’t put files on the desktop. Your desktop is supposed to be clean and display that amazing HD wallpaper you’ve got going on.
  2. Find files faster: name your files and folders strategically.
  3. Shortcuts to your project resources in one place to access them quickly. It solving the annoying part of switching between projects.
  4. Tagging. Instead of—or in addition to—folder structures, try tagging files. The benefit of tagging is the ability to add multiple tags to a file. Without a strong folder structure, tags are all that’s keeping your files from getting lost in chaos.

Apps to find files faster

The Setapp collection of apps brings order to your Mac. Get the tools to seamlessly organize folders and files.

Clutter control: clean up desktop

Gather all the files and folders you want to keep on the desktop and put them in a folder or two for temporary storage if you’re referring to it regularly. If you want to make sure to keep your desktop clear, check out our Spotless tutorial. There is a rule to automatically clean off your desktop.

With smart algorithms such as the Autotidy feature, users can input ‘tasks’ which specify where particular files belong with an easy-to-use drag and drop system. The app will store your instructions and automate the process by scheduling folders to be organized at regular intervals.

How To Organize Folders Outlook

There’s no limit to the number of automated tasks you can create, making for a spotless Mac. Users can teach the app to organize their images, desktop or individual documents, using a range of different parameters, e.g. filename, extension, file size, modified date etc. This gives users full scope to organize and locate files efficiently, without having to do the dirty work.

Putting your important documents and folders in the hands of an AI robot may be daunting, but Spotless is heavily regulated to minimize possible risks. Before submitting a new task, users receive a full preview of changes to consolidate understanding and ensure no errors are made, as well as having comprehensive and configurable conflict resolution rules to safeguard your files. With a fully editable dashboard, users can search engagement history to track what actions Spotless has undertaken and have the power to restore files or undo any unwanted changes.

Spotless is reminiscent of the swan analogy – your Mac is the swan, gliding smoothly on top of the water with ease. Spotless is the legs, powering away beneath the surface, laying the foundations for your relaxed drift up-stream. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

Find files faster

Keep in mind that you can search for files using folder names - the more specific, the more quickly you’ll find what you’re looking for. Think about saving an invoice. Do you think invoice1.pdf is a good name? Probably not. July invoice.pdf is not any better. So when you’re naming that invoice, think about how you might look for it. Probably:

  • By date (I want the July 2018 invoice)
  • By company (I want the ABCom invoice)
  • By type of document (I want a invoice)

So a good name would allow you to look at the files in a folder and right away see what each file is without opening it. It would give you things you can use to search. So a good file name, in this case, could be 2017-07 ABCom invoice.pdf
The same concept applies to folders. Setapp has a good bulk renaming app which perfect for any kind of file renaming including music and photo files.

Project shortcuts

The next step is to use workspaces to manage multitasking.

The nature of the macOS system doesn’t particularly lend itself to multitasking. Having to jump between the countless browser tabs open alongside your documents and any impending emails isn’t ideal, especially when you have a long to-do list. The fact that Workspaces allows users to add any resource to the workspace, along with handy widgets like a bookmark bar, makes it easy to work on web-focused projects and to handle online information simultaneously. With a fully customizable platform, Workspaces is built to evolve along with your tasks. If projects are surplus to requirements, the archiving feature stores all your old workspaces into one easily-accessible document, which can be made visible again at any time. Furthermore, adding new resources couldn’t be easier, with a one-click system inherent on encouraging efficient, fluid productivity.

Workspaces is a simple Mac organizer, facilitating and simplifying the art of multitasking. Through a designated ‘workspace’, you can access all relevant resources needed for the task in hand – web pages, emails, documents and more. By saving all the relevant documents to your workspace, you’ll eradicate all that wasted time hunting for files and, with the inbuilt task list, you’ll be able to switch exercises with ease.

What about pics organizing?

We can all appreciate the perils involved in keeping your images organized. From those videos of unforgettable nights-out to the endless array of selfies, the camera roll can be a mighty mess. For so many of us, photo hoarders who love collecting and storing photos, keeping them arranged is a near enough impossible task. Or was.

Picture this, an app that helps you manage your entire gallery, accessible at your fingertips, without the need to delete any images. Using a powerful photo manager, Emulsion effortlessly arranges your images in a well-structured, consistent and beautiful way. The Live Folder feature allows images to remain in their primary location, while simultaneously storing them with automatic syncing.

Furthermore, the app utilizes macOS features seamlessly. By placing all images together in one easy to access panel, users can sort pictures by metadata, tags and notes, complete with full-screen options, quick look and gestures. Through tagging, Emulsion can sort images by people, locations, time and even colors, demonstrating the impressive AI behind the app.

How to use tags to organize files in macOS

Alongside the apps to keep your things organized and easy to find, Mac has its own tagging feature that lets you color code files and folders. You can use this to group your items so that you’re not scrolling through endless lists.


Tags work for files and folders stored on your Mac or iCloud account and are easy to add.

How to tag files and folders in macOS?

To tag an open file, hold the pointer to the right of the title and click on the arrow, followed by the Tags field. Choose a tag from the list, or enter a new tag.

To tag a file in the Finder or on your Mac desktop, select the item that you want to tag, open the File menu and choose a color. If you want to choose a different tag or enter a new tag, click on Tags for additional options.

To tag a newly created file as you save it, click on File > Save and select the Tags field in the Save dialog. Enter a new tag or select one from the list.


Items can also be tagged from a Finder window by selecting a file or folder and clicking on the Tags button.

How to find tagged items in macOS?

Once you’ve tagged your items you can easily find them by opening up a Finder window.

From the finder window, enter the tag name or color in the search field and locate your file from the list. Alternatively, you can ask Siri to find the file for you by asking it to, “Find files with a blue tag” or something similar.

To see every file with a particular tag, you can click on the tag color in the Finder sidebar. You can also choose which tags you want to see located in the sidebar by going to Finder > Preferences and choosing the appropriate tags.

To sort items by their tag, go to View > Show View Options and click the checkbox next to Tags. Click the Tags column in List view and the files will be arranged for simple viewing. Click on the column name again to revert the order back to how it was.

How to edit tags in macOS?

To edit a tag that you’ve already created, go to Finder > Preferences > Tags.

From here you’ll be able to change the color by clicking on the color button and selecting a new option and change the name by clicking on the tag’s name.

To add a new tag, click on the + button.

How to remove a tag in macOS?

If you want to remove a tag from an item, all you need to do is Control-click the item, click Tags, select the tags that you want to remove, and hit Delete.

Removing a tag from your Mac is equally straightforward. Go to Finder > Preferences > Tags, select the tags that you want to remove and click on the - button.

Gone are the days of folder hunting and head scratching. With Setapp subscription, you can get these apps plus a whole host of others, bringing an end to the constant categorizing confusion. Start your free trial with Setapp today and discover a world of app innovation.

With cameras so readily available, it’s easy to accumulate more photos than you know what to do with. You probably take dozens of pictures when you go out, meet up with friends, or go on vacation. And while taking photos is fun, organizing them is work. But it doesn't have to be that way. In this article, we’ll show you how to organize photos on your Mac in three easy steps:

  1. Merge your photo libraries in the Photos app
  2. Delete unwanted photos
  3. Group pictures using Smart Albums in Photos

Step 1. Consolidate all your photos in the Photos app for Mac

When macOS Yosemite was released in 2014, the Photos app finally came to Macs, replacing outdated iPhoto. Now with Photos, you’ve got more organization tools, including the ability to switch between libraries and merge them.

To start with, let’s get all of your photos from different places onto your Mac. Here’s what you should do:

Organize Mac Apps Into Folder Mac

  1. Use iCloud Photo Library to ensure that everything you take on an iOS device is synced automatically with your Mac. Alternatively, AirDrop photos from your iPhone and/or iPad to your Mac.
  2. Import photos from external drives to the Photos app on your Mac
  3. Import photos from your camera
  4. If you have several libraries in the Photos app, merge them into one

Once everything is on your Mac and in one library, it’s easier to get organized. Let’s take a look at a few questions most people have when they juggle several Photos libraries.

How do I switch libraries in Photos?

Organize Files And Folders

Libraries in Photos can come from a few different sources, including external devices such as cameras and iPhones. If you were using iPhoto prior to Photos, each device and source will have a Systems Photo Library. You can switch between them, and here is how you do that:

  1. Go to Launchpad
  2. Hold down the Option key, and then double-click on the Photos app to see the libraries you have on this device
  3. Now you can move easily from one photo library to another and open the one you want by double-clicking it

How to create a new Photo library on Mac?

Creating a new library is easy. If Photos is open, you’ll need to quit and reopen to create a new library:

  1. Hold down the Option key
  2. Double-click on the Photos apps
  3. Click the Create New button, then choose Library
  4. Give your new library a name and click OK

How to merge two or more Photos libraries?

At present, there is no native macOS tool for merging libraries in Photos. Essentially, what you’ll be doing is moving all pics to one new library. So, create one as described above, and then follow these steps:

  1. Launch Photos holding down the Option key and select one the libraries you want to merge
  2. In the menu bar, click Edit > Select All
  3. Again in the menu bar, select File > Export. Now you’ve got the following options:
    • Export Unmodified Original. This will export every image in these libraries, excluding any edits or changes made to them.
    • Export [number of photos you want to export] Photos, which gives you the option to pick a format and select Full Size. That will export your photos as they are, with any edits you’ve made, in TIFF, PNG, or JPEG formats.
  4. Pick where they’re going (this could be a folder on your Mac or a connected external drive, for example)
  5. Repeat these steps for the other libraries you want merged
  6. Now close Photos and re-open using Option to select the library you are merging these photos into
  7. Either use File > Import or drag the exported photos into the library

How do I delete a Photo library from my Mac?

If you want to delete a library, it’s super easy. You just navigate to the Pictures folder on your Mac, locate the library you want gone, and move it to the Trash. However, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got all the images and videos out of it first. Export them like we described in the previous section, and then trash the library.

Step 2. Remove duplicates and other useless photos

Now that you've merged libraries — which can take a while if you’ve got a lot of photos scattered across different locations — you’ve probably got a whole load of duplicates and similar images. Chances are, you had the same photo on an external HDD and on your Mac and now it’s duplicated, or you had a dozen slightly different variations of the same shot. Sure, you might want to keep one or two, but do you really need the other 11 wasting space on your Mac? Probably not. Here is how you delete redundant photos from a Mac without it taking all evening.

How to delete duplicates in Photos

  1. Download Gemini 2 for Mac and launch it
  2. Click Scan for Duplicates
  3. It will scan every photo, album and folder on your Mac, including those on any connected external hard drives and imported from the iCloud Photo Library. Once complete, click Review Results.
  4. Gemini has a photo preview mode, so you can see every image, including metadata. Your duplicates are grouped under Exact Duplicates > Images, and similar photos will be under Similar > Images. Use the icon at the top to see a grid view, making it easier to identify which copy you want to delete.<
  5. Tick the box next to each image you want to delete, then click Remove

Gemini places these in a separate folder in Photos (Gemini Duplicates), giving you a possibility to look through the images once again before deleting them for good. For more information, this article is well worth a read.

Step 3. Use Smart Albums in Photos to organize your pics

Organize Mac Apps Into Folder Free

After merging your libraries and clearing out duplicates and similar images, take photo organizing one step further and group the remaining pics with Smart Albums. Let’s take a look at how to use this fantastic feature of the Photos app to your advantage.

What are Smart Albums in Mac’s Photos app?

Smart Albums are a way of grouping images by the parameters you set. Maybe you’ll want an album to contain photos taken last Christmas, or you’d rather group all the pics of your kid together. All that and more can be done with a Smart Album. As is the case with a regular Photos album, you can edit and delete it.

How to make a new Smart Album in Photos

Creating a new Smart Album is simple:

  1. Launch Photos
  2. Click the + button next to My Albums in the sidebar
  3. Select Smart Album<
  4. Give your Smart Album a name
  5. Choose the Parameters, e.g. “kids,” “days out,” “Holiday 2018.” You can modify these at any time.
  6. Click OK to create

By developing a system (e.g., photos are grouped into albums by date taken) and using Smart Albums, you’ll make sure your photo library is easy to navigate, even if it contains thousands of photos from 2001 and up until now.

That’s it, hope this short guide helps you cope with your photo overload. And remember: the best way to organize photos on your Mac is to keep your library lean and manageable — free from clutter and useless copies. Gemini 2 will gladly help with that.

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