App for easier viewing and organising files ?

[toMACsh]

One wonders if the OP was helped by any of the replies...

 

[MacInWin]

One wonders if the OP was helped by any of the replies...

Hard to tell when they don't come back.

 

[pm-r]

One wonders if the OP was helped by any of the replies...

It's hard to know as already mentioned, but I know I and it seems like several other members certainly learned something. And that's saying a lot considering most of us are old and fairly experienced Mac OS users.

Old dogs but some new tricks. Neat!!!

Heck, I was already learning something new when reading the How to Rename Tags on Mac article yesterday evening, and in so doing, also learnt some other interesting things as to how tags and labels work that I've used for years. But now I can use them even better, so thanks to all and for the additional info.
How to Rename Tags on Mac
Now that's a real sentence mouthful eh...???



- Patrick
======

 

[AMACL]

Dear all,

Very sorry to have taken so long to reply to all your advice ! You have given so many great ideas, including tags which to tell the truth I had no idea what they were for :Blushing:

I had also never thought of using a second Finder window - again, it didn't dawn on me how it could be useful.

@Charlie, thanks for suggesting Path Finder, I will take a look and see if it is going to make my life easier.

@Ashwin, I agree that my file organization is not ideal, that's what I'm trying to solve . Like you, I didn't want to put everything on iCloud in case I couldn't get to it while on travel (or simply outside my home office). So I stopped the iCloud sync in the middle (dumb) and now some files are there and some are not. And then I copied files/folders to a memory stick for use on travel - same reason as you but don't want to carry a hard drive around in my purse ! I could back all the memory sticks up to a HDD but then I would have even more copies of the same files.... or different versions of the same files.

Maybe the basic problem is that I use two computers, one that has lots of storage space and one (Macbook) that doesn't.

Maybe the use of tags, as suggested by Ashwin, will help me locate the duplicate files. Will the computer recognise different versions of a file with the same name ?

Bottom line : many thanks. Wish me the time to sit down and work this out.

Ann

 

[AMACL]

Hard to tell when they don't come back.

Oh dear, as the OP I am doubly sorry that I didn't come back before now. Truth is, I got overwhelmed with work and other things.
I found this thread incredibly interesting and helpful. In the end, I just have to take some time to implement one or more of the great suggestions.
And great to know that others have been helped as well, even the veterans.
Thank you all. Mac-Forums has really come through this time !

 

[AMACL]

And one more reply, since you wanted to know whether I had been helped or not : at @Ratsima's suggestion, I did download Path Finder, the free version for the time being. I note that there is an 8.5 but I downloaded the 8 version that apparently was flawed. In any case, I like it !! It looks so much like Finder but is a whole lot easier to use. I also downloaded EasyFind, which I thought was good until I looked at Path Finder (paying versus free...).
It's still a struggle to untangle the knots of my filing system, but a little easier now.
To be continued.
Thanks again all!

 

[chscag]

@AMACL:

Note that we suggested Path Finder to you in post #4. Anyway glad you finally decided on something and came back to let us know. And by the way, Path Finder works well in Catalina.

 

[Greg_ghp]

I have found "Duplicate Detective" (upgraded this last August), useful for finding duplicate files but a system wide search takes a long time. Much more effective if you can isolate your search to a much smaller grouping in a folder or so.

Another app I use for this is "Kaleidoscope" (although it has not been upgraded since Nov. '17), which will compare files (in a line by line manner, so you can compare the individual files for any changes) and folder lists to make sure you have all of your files in the folder...

BE Well,
Greg

 

[AMACL]

Path Finder - new question

@chscag, Indeed I acknowledge that you suggested Path Finder - that's why I downloaded it !! I have now bought it.

The reason I did not react earlier was in part because I didn't realize there were two pages of replies. I admit that was dumb.

I have a basic question though : is there any reason why I should NOT allow Path Finder access to my system, as it is requesting? Since my computer was invaded by malware a couple months ago, I am paranoid about this kind of thing. But surely it must be safe or people would not trust this software ?

@Greg_ghp, thanks for the info about the duplicate finder. I may indeed need it to weed out the duplicates everywhere on my systems.

Cheers

Ann