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Free Up Other Storage On Mac

If you need to clear off space from your Mac's hard drive, there are some places you should look first. You may have some old iPhone backups, installers,. Recognizing this simple truth, Apple has come up with Storage Management tools. To access them, open the Apple menu and click About This Mac Storage. Then click Manage. To transfer all your large files, photos, and messages to the cloud, click Store in iCloud. With a free plan, you can clear up to 5 GB of storage space.

If you check the storage report on your Mac system, you will notice that Apple offers a simplified report with categories like Photos, Videos, Backups, etc. However, you will also notice the “Other” category in the storage report.

The Other category usually contains every file type that doesn’t fall into any of the other categories defined by Apple. So, what if you want to clear up some space on your device and want to delete files from the Other category? There’s a simple way.

In this step-by-step process, we will show you how to delete files from the Other category on your macOS powered system to free up some storage space.

How to clear Other storage in macOS

Free Up Other Storage On Mac

Step 1: First of all, close any open window on your Mac device and go to the desktop.

Step 2: Now, press the Command + F keys on your keyboard.

Step 3: A new window will open. Make sure that the “This Mac” option is selected.

Free Up Other Storage On Mac

Step 4: In the drop-down menu with the Kind option, click on it, and select “Other.”

Step 5: From the file attributes, select File Size and File Extension. You can select document types like .pdf, .csv, etc or .zip and .dmg.

Step 6: You will now be presented with a list of items. You can delete the content that you no longer need. You can also sort the file based on their size.

This is the process to clear files from your Mac device which has been categorized as Other by the system. You can follow the same guide with multiple other file extensions and sort them based on the size to remove or to take a backup.

The limitations of Mac storage often create a problem that prevents the Mac from running smoothly, which results in inconvenience to every user. With that said, we take a look at the four ways to free up the storage space on the device manually, according to Apple.

How to Free Up Storage Space Manually on Your Mac

1. Store the contents of the device to the iCloud storage.

iCloud is an online storage service that enables Mac users to save their files and other data online. This is a safe and secure place for your files. It will save the files automatically after editing or modifying its contents. Also, a user can always check and access these files online, anywhere and anytime. All Apple users have a free 5 GB storage space in iCloud and can subscribe to more storage through monthly subscription

  • To use the iCloud, go to the 'Apple menu'. After, you will see the option 'About this Mac.' Click it.
  • Once you see this on the screen, select the 'Storage.'
  • Then, click 'Manage.'
  • Click the 'Store in iCloud' and it is done.

For documents stored in iCloud, you can always download these documents locally on your Mac anytime. For photos and videos, the iCloud will store full resolution images and videos. It can also save the messages and attachments.

2. Uninstall unused or unnecessary applications in the device.

Sometimes, there are unnecessary applications in the device that occupy spaces in the storage. To free up the storage, users can uninstall these applications.

Read Also: How to clean up your Mac quickly? Outbyte MacRepair's Guide

This can be done in three easy steps, per Tech Solutions:

  • Choose the 'Finder' in the device's dock.
  • Then, click 'Go.' After, browse the options, find and click the 'Applications.'
  • After clicking it, it will show you all the applications in your Mac. Browse through the applications and choose those applications that are unused and unnecessary. To uninstall each application, drag the application's icon to the Trash icon that you will see in the dock. Continue doing this until you have uninstalled all the unneeded applications.

3. Empty trash

The items in the Trash can also occupy space in the storage. There are two options you can choose from. You can manually empty the Trash once in a while or enable the feature that automatically and permanently delete all the items in the trash every 30 days.

How To Free Up Other Storage On Mac

  • To delete manually, click the Trash icon in the device's dock. Browse through the items and delete the items that you do not need anymore. You can also select all and empty the Trash.
  • To enable the feature that will automatically and permanently delete all the items in the trash every 30 days, follow the instructions in storing in iCloud above mentioned. However, this time, browse and choose the 'Empty Trash Automatically' and click 'Turn On...'.

Clean Up Storage

4. Free up a large storage space on the Mac

Free Up Storage On Mac Yosemite

You can use an external storage to help maximize the storage of the device. These external storage devices are: USB flash drives, external hard drive, SD or Micro SD card, and external port adapters. There are four steps to move the items from the Mac to an external storage device, per Business Insider.

  • Check for an available port on your Mac device and plug the external storage device.
  • After plugging it in, it will appear in the finder and the desktop of the device.
  • Copy or move the items or files that you do not need currently and are often unused in the Mac.
  • Lastly, after copying and moving the items in the external storage, delete all the original documents and other items in the Mac to free up storage.

Related Article: Mac Running Slow? Here Are 4 Tips to Help Improve Its Speed

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