Finder - Searching in it, adding columns, checking path

[Rod]

If you're looking for help within Finder, see this: Get to know the Finder on your Mac - Apple Support.

I have set my Finder up specifically to suit my needs by;

Placing my Home folder and my users Library folder in the sidebar.
Under View, I have Show Path Bar and Show Status Bar enabled.

And in Finder Preferences, I do not display any items in my Desktop Folder (Desktop). You can also change the search setting under "Advanced".

Thanks Bob, the supplied link on "Get to know your finder" has some really handy tips especially about "quick actions in the Preview pane". Its amazing how I can forget stuff I already knew.

 

[Rod]

With respect I would be inclined to rebuild this device from scratch. Without repeating what has already been said there is definitely something wrong with the User structure.

I would be Cloning the device, erasing it and installing a fresh copy of the operating system. Setting up the device from scratch will allow the Admin User Account settings to be redone correctly and needed files, applications, etc can be copied back from the clone, just like a Clean Instal. Mukund could use the trial version of CCC or SuperDuper for a one off bootable clone.

I know this is a Nuke an Pave solution but it may be better to do early rather than later when further complications arise. It sounds drastic but I'm sure we have all done Clean Instals and the process is not that complicated.

 

[mukund]

Notifications are managed in System Preferences > Notifications.

Thanks Bob.
I fixed it in Notifications, just like you suggested.

 

[mukund]

No, you will almost certainly have at least two users.

Things vary a bit based on which version of the Mac OS you are running, but my experience is that there are always at least two accounts on your Mac by default, even if you are the only user. For instance, the iMac in front of me running Mojave has an admin account with my name on it, and a generic Guest account. You might also see a Shared account (an account that lets different users share things).

You can check by going into:

Apple menu --> System Preferences --> Users and Groups

and looking in the left column to see what users there are.

In older versions of the Mac OS, Users and Groups is called Accounts.

See:
YouTube

Here's a screen shot:
I am ADMIN and the only User.
Guest is OFF.
Is this not how it ought to be?
Thanks

 

[mukund]

Ok, you have a real mess on your hands. I suspect when you created your account that you put things in the wrong boxes, or responded incorrectly to some of the prompts. The fact that you put your password as the account name, for example, sort of implies that you put something in the wrong box. macOS never displays the password, so having it as your user name is NOT a good idea.

Based on what you have said, I think we need to take a look at what is going on. Do NOT delete any files yet, as all of those duplicates may or may not actually BE duplicates, but just multiple pointers to one file and if you delete the wrong one, you lose the entire file.

So, can you go to the ~/Applications/Utilities folder and run Disk Utility? When the window opens in the upper left corner is an icon labeled "View." Click on the little down arrow beside that box and select "Show All Devices" and then get a screen shot of what the window shows, including the sidebar. That will tell us the structure of your drives and from there we may be able to sort out what has been done.

Hi Jake,

I have taken three screen shots of the three drives







Hope these will help you unravel the problem.
Thanks
Mukund

 

[mukund]

Hi Rod,

must confess this solution also crossed my mind.
of course being such a novice with the Mac it will pose a huge challenge. But if it comes to that I suppose that may be a radical option.
But the other option of moving files might be a bigger learning curve for me

Incidentally, can one select a bunch of files and MOVE them from one folder to another, or does it have to be copy and then delete original?

By the way, our son lives in Mel, and works for Australia Post. He is hardcore IT.

cheers mate

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Here's a screen shot:
I am ADMIN and the only User.
Guest is OFF.
Is this not how it ought to be?

That is a fine way for it to be, yes. Which is not to say that the other problems that are being discussed in this thread don't exist.

If you need to do a clean re-install of your OS, have a look at:

Upgrading To The Very Latest Macintosh Operating System
especially item #6

 

[mukund]

Randy,
I would prefer to avoid taking the option of doing a clean install.
so, would appreciate your advice on how to proceed
thanks

 

[MacInWin]

Ok, I've finally gotten to look at your screenshots. Basically, your internal drive, which is normally named "Macintosh HD" has been renamed to "zxcv" somehow. Given that z, x, c, and v are side-by-side on the bottom row of the keyboard, it most likely got renamed by accident. No real harm with that, but if you see any articles you want to use that refer to "Macintosh HD" remember your's is named zxcv. I think you can rename it back to "Macintosh HD" with no ill effects, but I'll have to look to see what Apple has to say on that.

As for the "lele" account, your screenshot seems to be OK in that area as well. I would suggest that if your account name you use to log in is "lele" and you have the same thing as your password that is not a good security practice. It will work, it's just not very secure. Again, you can go to System Preferences and change the password if you want to do that, but you don't HAVE to do that. So, overall your system, even with strange naming, is set up normally.

Your original post said:

Good morning everybody,

When I started my MacBook this morning, I got a bunch of Yahoo notifications.
1. How and where do I change the setup to stop these notifications?


I opened Finder and searched for Notifications. I got a long list of files, apparently from in MacBook. Almost every file has a duplicate.

2. How do I locate which folder or sub-folder the files are in (path)?

3. Is it possible to add columns to this search screen, and if so how?

4. Is there a quick way of deleting the duplicates, or do I have to select and them one by one and then delete?


5. In the Sidebar, I see under Devices:
Mukunds MacBook Pro
zxcv
Remote Disk

6. What is this ZXCV, and where did it come from?

7. Please could you help me understand the difference between Mukunds MacBook Pro, and Documents (under Favourites).

8. All the listed files appear to be in Mukunds MacBook Pro. But how can I access them?


Many thanks for your help

Have a safe day,

Mukund

From what I see, you have the notification sorted out. What is remaining are questions about duplicate files and the various names. I still think that perhaps the duplicated files are attachments to email that are listed in the email database but also on your drive a files. If that is the case, then the duplicates are normal. One way to examine that is to get the list of duplicates again and then right click on one, and click on "Get Info" to see where that file is located. Then repeat that with the duplicate. Doing that should show you where the files are located on the drive. If they are duplicates and you feel comfortable, you can then delete the dupes from one or the other location. If they turn out to be as I suspected, in Mail and as files, then don't delete the Mail copy as that will muck up the Mail system.

For the names, the Finder sidebar shows Mukunds MacBook Pro because that is the name of the system overall, and so the files will show there because they are on your MBP. zxcv is the hard drive name, as discussed, so they will show there as well because they are on the harddrive and Documents is a folder under your account name, "lele," which is where normally you would put documents.

At this point you really don't need to do anything. The system is normal, although unusually named.

Hope that helps.

 

[mukund]

Hi Jake,
Thanks for the help.

Your: "If they are duplicates and you feel comfortable, you can then delete the dupes from one or the other location. If they turn out to be as I suspected, in Mail and as files, then don't delete the Mail copy as that will muck up the Mail system."

Noted.. I shall do just that.


I have just recalled how the files got into my Applications folder.
When I visited the US last Oct I carried the MBP with me. But in case I needed to refer to my docs I needed to have a copy of my IBM machines Docs folder.

So I put them on a pen drive and stuck it into the MBP. Earlier my MBP had been set up to have everything in Cloud, so I was presented a choice of copying it to the iCloud Drive OR to Applications. In my ignorance, I chose the Applications folder and made a mess of it!!

There would hardly be a couple of files which came as attachments to a mail, while I was in the US. But I shall be careful about these.

Now I need to first delete dupes in the manner advised by you, and then MOVE a bunch of folders and files from the Applications folder to my ~/Docs folder.

Like in Windows Explorer, can one, in MBP, select a bunch of files and MOVE them at one go?
Or does one have to cmd+X and Cmd+V, one by one??

As you have confirmed that my basic HDD configuration is OK. I am very relieved.
I would welcome a tip on how to change the name xxcv to "Macintosh HD".

Cheers
Mukund

 

[mukund]

Jake,
please disregard my question about how to delete the files and folders.
I selected them and chose Action>Move to trash and Pooof, all gone.
Or almost. I kept being prompted to activate "CleanMyMac".
I have not bought a license for that.Is it worthwhile?

So I went to Trash Bin and selected all and GONE !!

Now I need to MOVE the stuff to my Docs folder

Thanks

 

[ferrarr]

Hi Jake,
Thanks for the help.

Your: "If they are duplicates and you feel comfortable, you can then delete the dupes from one or the other location. If they turn out to be as I suspected, in Mail and as files, then don't delete the Mail copy as that will muck up the Mail system."

Noted.. I shall do just that.


I have just recalled how the files got into my Applications folder.
When I visited the US last Oct I carried the MBP with me. But in case I needed to refer to my docs I needed to have a copy of my IBM machines Docs folder.

So I put them on a pen drive and stuck it into the MBP. Earlier my MBP had been set up to have everything in Cloud, so I was presented a choice of copying it to the iCloud Drive OR to Applications. In my ignorance, I chose the Applications folder and made a mess of it!!

There would hardly be a couple of files which came as attachments to a mail, while I was in the US. But I shall be careful about these.

Now I need to first delete dupes in the manner advised by you, and then MOVE a bunch of folders and files from the Applications folder to my ~/Docs folder.

Like in Windows Explorer, can one, in MBP, select a bunch of files and MOVE them at one go?
Or does one have to cmd+X and Cmd+V, one by one??

As you have confirmed that my basic HDD configuration is OK. I am very relieved.
I would welcome a tip on how to change the name xxcv to "Macintosh HD".

Cheers
Mukund

Yes, hold "shift" to select all, or use "command" to select individual files, How to Select Multiple Files on Mac (OS X or MacOS) - Appuals.com

 

[Rod]

You can use the option key held down to select multiple items in eg the Documents Folder if you use Icon View within the Folder. If you use the List or Column view you can only select multiple consecutive files. In Icon view hold down the Option key, select each file you want, you can scroll though the view selecting as many as you like, they will remain selected even when you can't see them. When you are ready click and hold any one and drag to your destination they will all move as one.
I would move them to the Desktop, that's what I use my desktop for. Alternatively to a folder on the Desktop. This will move the files as apposed to copying them.

 

[MacInWin]

If you use the List or Column view you can only select multiple consecutive files.

This is incorrect. In List and Column view you can select multiple files, consecutive or not. Hold down CMD and click on each file you want to select/deselect.

@Mukund, Clean My Mac has caused problems for a lot of people. Generally we do not recommend it. I would suggest just ignoring the popup.

 

[ferrarr]

This is incorrect. In List and Column view you can select multiple files, consecutive or not. Hold down CMD and click on each file you want to select/deselect.

In Column view, it is difficult to select individual files from multiple folders.

 

[MacInWin]

Bob, that is true of ALL views except the List view. The reason is that to move between folders one has to release the CMD key to click on another folder, or that click on the folder will select that folder instead of opening it. In List view you can open the folder to see the contents, then open another folder and then use CMD-click to pick documents in both folders. But if you want to open a third folder you still have to release the CMD key to open that third folder, which un-does the previous selections.

 

[mukund]

If you're looking for help within Finder, see this: Get to know the Finder on your Mac - Apple Support.

I have set my Finder up specifically to suit my needs by;

Placing my Home folder and my users Library folder in the sidebar.
Under View, I have Show Path Bar and Show Status Bar enabled.

And in Finder Preferences, I do not display any items in my Desktop Folder (Desktop). You can also change the search setting under "Advanced".

Hi Bob,
I checked out the link on FINDER.
The article refers almost exclusively to MacOS Mojave.
Apparently the Finder in Mojave has quite some changes from the High Sierra.
But anyway thanks a lot.
Cheers
Mukund

- - - Updated - - -

Is it worth upgrading to Mojave?

 

[IWT]

@Mikund

Hi, Ian here. I have two Macs, one on macOS High Sierra and the other on macOS Mojave and I haven't spotted much difference in Finder.

macOS Catalina does have differences for sure although the general principles are similar.

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

Apparently the Finder in Mojave has quite some changes from the High Sierra.

Like what? I, like Ian, didn't see any big changes in Finder in any of the recent versions of macOS. That article should still be valid. About the only change in Finder recently is that it picks up the sync/backup functions from iTunes that went away. The rest of Finder works just as before.

 

[ferrarr]

Hi Bob,
I checked out the link on FINDER.
The article refers almost exclusively to MacOS Mojave.
Apparently the Finder in Mojave has quite some changes from the High Sierra.
But anyway thanks a lot.
Cheers
Mukund

- - - Updated - - -

Is it worth upgrading to Mojave?

See this, See and organize your files on Mac - Apple Support