I've been saving on my desktop!

[JudyM]

I didn't know any better, I've been saving files to my desktop. Lots of them.  Not photos generally, just other stuff.  Everything is organized in folders so can I just copy/paste the folders over to my "documents" on my mac, delete the ones on my desktop, and everything will be copacetic?  My mac does run awfully slowly, but it is 6 years old!

[Brian]

On 5/22/2020 at 3:04 PM, JudyM said:

My mac does run awfully slowly, but it is 6 years old!

I want you to read this multiple times, and memorize it. Ready?

The more Files & Folders you have on a Mac Desktop, aka "Crap," the SLOWER the damn thing runs!!

Now I get it, it's convenient to store things on a Mac Desktop. I do it myself, especially when exporting to FB or whatever. It's just easier. The thing is...the files do not stay there. My master .psd files are stored in the appropriate folders, located within a Hard Drive and NOT stored on the desktop. Once you have the Master .psd files, you can safely delete the exported JPEGS after they are uploaded or delivered to the client. You can always re-save the JPEGS from the Master .psd File.

Now, in your post it's just not photos, but other files on the desktop. Well, it doesn't matter as far as the MacOS is concerned. When you store things on the Desktop, the MacOS treats those things as if you are currently working on them; they are considered to be "Minimized" (for lack of a better term) and are sitting in the background taking up System Resources. So to put it another way, the MacOS treats them as Open Windows, even if you aren't doing anything with them.

For example, if you have a bunch of photos from the "Smith Family Photo Session" at the Local Park, plus a bunch of Word and Excel Documents, and a bunch of .pdf files...guess what? They are all currently running, even though they are not physically opened. Now let's take the Smith Family Session example to clarify things; you have about 300 RAW files, roughly 130 .psd files and about 120 JPEGS that will be delivered to the client. Plus the JPEGS that are posted to FB and IG or whatever Social Media. Let's say there are 20 photos for FB and IG. So that's 40 since FB and Instagram have different sizes and should be resized appropriately and sharpened accordingly to each size. So 300+130+120+40=590. When it comes to the MacOS and using this example, that's 590 opened "Windows" running in the background, plus any programs you have running. Now, that's just the "Smith Family Session." Then add all the other crap you have on your desktop, currently opened programs, plus we need to factor in each Web Browser Tab opened; the more tabs you have open, the more RAM is consumed!! See how things can get out of hand pretty quickly without knowing?!?

The quickest way to regain performance with any Macintosh Computer is to not buy any programs, it's simply to get all of the crap off the desktop. I guarantee you, as soon as you clear off your desktop, you will see a performance boost. Your Mac will just "Breathe" easier and just run more smoothly. Here is what your Mac Desktop SHOULD look like:

Of course, I changed the background to black for this example to illustrate, and it's normal to have a few other things, but you should always strive to have it this clean. Now, I'm sure you are wondering how to accomplish this and since you've "Always stored stuff on the desktop..." it's hard to imagine doing things the "Correct" way. That will be covered in the next section.

 

[Brian]

If you take a look at my example desktop images, you will notice a folder called "Junk Drawer." Now I'm sure you are wondering, if I say that it's a bad idea to keep stuff on your desktop, then why do I have a folder called "Junk Drawer" in my example. Because, it's not a folder. It is what is called an "Alias." What is a Alias? It's Mac-Speak for Shortcut. Windows has Shortcuts, Macs have Aliases. Why? So Apple could Patent the term. The word "Shortcut" is a Public-Domain / Common Term so it can't be Patented. That's why you only see "Alias" used on Apple Computers.

The cool part it, Aliases are meant to be on the Desktop. The MacOS knows that they are "Shortcuts" and not "Files," so it doesn't treat them as "Opened Windows" or things running in the background. They are just Aliases. Why use an Alias and how do you make them? Read on!!

First, why use an Alias, since you can drag stuff to your Photos Folder or Documents Folder, or whatever? For the same blasted reason you put them on the Mac Desktop in the first place, convenience. Sure, you can move stuff to the Documents Folder and wherever you choose, it is really is that simple. The problem is iCloud. You see, at the default, Apple gives you 5GB of Free Storage Space Total, and that includes your Documents, Contacts, Photos, etc. etc. If you go blindly putting things in the default folders, and you don't adjust what gets backed up to iCloud, you are going to run out of room really quick without realizing it. Then I foresee a post here asking why is iCloud complaining about lack of room. I'm trying to save you some hassle.

The second reason to use an alias, is once it's created and moved to the Desktop, it acts JUST LIKE A FOLDER. So what I would do is create various folders located somewhere within the Macintosh HD or an External HD, then create Aliases for each of those folders and move them to the Mac Desktop. Then at that point, you can still save stuff TEMPORARILY to the Desktop, and then move those files to the appropriate Alias. Since the Alias works like a folder, you just click and drag the file over to the correct alias and "Boom!" the file exists within that folder you created and is off the desktop.

Here is how you create an Alias.

1. Open the Finder
   
   
    
2. Double-Click the Users Folder
   
   
    
3. Then double-click on the Profile that you are currently logged in as. It should have a "Little House" as the Icon.
   
   
    
4. Create a permanent Folder within your Hard Drive that is easily accessible. You can use the Root Directory if you want. In this example, we will create three folders, "Stuff 1," "Stuff 2," and "Stuff 3." Rename those folders according to your personal preferences. They could be "Vacation Photos" or "Quick Documents," "Contracts," it does not matter. Just name them something obvious.
   
   
   
    
5. Now select the first folder, in this case it's "Stuff 1," then right-click it and select "Make Alias." Do this for all other folders in which we are creating Aliases.
   
    
6. Now drag each of the Aliases to the "Desktop" in the left column of the Finder.
   
   
   
    
7. Now head to the Desktop and select each Alias, one at a time. Then right-click and select "Get Info." Do not use "Rename." It doesn't work well on renaming Aliases, it's better to use "Get Info."
   
    
8. Remove the word "Alias" from the end of the name box and click the Red Circle to close the "Get Info" Box and apply the changes. Do this for the other Aliases on the Desktop.
   
   
    
9. Then Click-and-Drag each of your items that are on the Desktop to the appropriate Alias and you are done!
    
10. When Finished, your Desktop should look like this. See the little arrows in the lower left corner of your Aliases? That's how you can tell they are an Alias and not a folder, even though they act like folders. The reason that I'm mentioning this, is if you ever need to copy or move your source folder to another HD, be sure to do it on the ACTUAL FOLDER and not the Alias so you can be sure that things transfer over properly.
    
    

[Brian]

OK @JudyM, I've completed the Tutorial on "How to Make Aliases." Now, for the second part of your issue: Speed.

While it's true that having all sorts of crap on a Mac Desktop slows things down, it's not the only culprit. There are two Main Suspects: Lack of RAM and Lack of HD Storage Space. Before we begin, can you do this for me and post the results in this thread?

Details About Your Computer's Health.

[JudyM]

I have a Mac laptop running catalina 10.15.4 and Photoshop 21.1.2. It is over 4 years old, and has 8GB of RAM. Its hard drive has 94GB free out of 251GB. The last time I shut down was last night. I run a cleanup program about once a week.

[Brian]

3 hours ago, JudyM said:

8GB of RAM. Its hard drive has 94GB free out of 251GB.

Just as I expected. OK, first things first...
 

1. You only have 8GB of RAM. That is the BARE-MINIMUM with today's technology that you want to have. In reality, 16GB is the new "Minimum" and 32GB is what your target should be. Yesterday's 4GB/8GB is Today's 8GB/16GB. The problem with Mac Laptops is normally they are sealed units Upgrading the RAM is very difficult, if not impossible. Normally, you have to purchase the extra/upgraded RAM at the time-of-purchase and Apple is INSANELY OVERPRICED when it comes to upgrading RAM. For example, if I were to upgrade a fancy 27" iMac to 32GB, that will cost me around $600, give or take. If I install RAM from Crucial.com, using the same exact memory, I could increase that same iMac to 64GB for about $300. If I just went to 32GB, I'd probably spend around $150 or so with today's prices. So $150 vs $600...for the same damn RAM modules. Only difference is that Apple will cover the OEM RAM under warranty, and won't be quick to blame 3rd party components for causing hardware issues. I'm not being THAT silly when I say that Apple will blame the Crucial RAM (or other 3rd Party RAM) for when your Mouse's batteries die and it needs to be recharged. Apple will find a way to blame the non-Apple item for ANY problems you might have, even if it's nowhere near the cause of your issue. 
    
2. Lack of free Hard Drive Space. By default, you do not want to ever-ever-ever go above 75% full on ANY Mac HD, including externals. Well, the number is closer to 80%, but I lean towards the conservative side of things, and 75% is a good target number that allows a little wiggle-room. Just like the Mac Desktop filled with a bunch of crap, once you go above 80% full, your Mac's Performance takes a DIRECT HIT. If you go above 95% full, you are in very dangerous territory where things will come to a screetching halt and you are in danger of File Corruption / File Loss. At 95% full or above, you are seriously playing with fire. 
    
3. With you only having 94GB free, that isn't much area for the Photoshop Scratch Disk to work, especially if your camera is 24MP or greater. There is no where for things to go on your HD when using things like Photoshop.
    
4. It's good that you run a Clean Up Program weekly, hopefully that's CleanMyMax X from MacPaw.com or an earlier version. That said, if you don't have one already, now is the time to invest in an external HD and free up about 100GB of space, at a minimum. That will help speed things up dramatically.

Unfortunately, just clearing up your Mac Desktop and freeing up available HD storage space is just a treatment, and not a cure. The bottom line is, you need a new computer with more RAM and definitely a larger HD. When it comes to a Mac laptop, that's very expensive. Like around $3800 expensive. The low-end Mac Laptops that people can afford, are really just for general computing and are not meant to be a primary computer, especially if you are doing anything photo / video related. That's what the MacBook Pros are for; a regular MacBook with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB HD is meant for you to use a iPhone for Photos and to use Apple Software to do things. Once you add stuff like Photoshop, your situation changes. So start saving money, you are gonna need it.

[JudyM]

Thanks Brian!  Yes I have learned that the 8GB of RAM is an issue. Might invest in a non-mac laptop just for editing and keep my mac for emails, documents, etc. because unfortunately with my laptop I cannot add RAM to it.

I do use CleanMyMac v 4.6.3.

Thank you so much for all the information about how the desktop works and about aliases.....I had no idea!  This will be tomorrow's project!

 

[Brian]

Going back to Windows is going to be a bit of a pain. The file system that Macs use and the one Windows uses are completely different. Apple makes it VERY easy to convert from Windows to a Mac...just not the other way around. If you do convert to a Windows Laptop, I can help. Just create a thread in either here or the Windows Forum. But first things first, let's get more space on that HD (clear stuff out, you do not need 75 Raw Files that are photos of your lunch from 5 years ago.)

[JudyM]

Sounds like a good project for tomorrow; it's supposed to be a rainy day!  Thanks Brian.

[Brian]

I'd like to also add the power of Alias Folders. Say you edit a photo in Photoshop. When you head to File >> Save As and then select Desktop, the Aliases on the Desktop will appear in the main column. Just simply select the appropriate folder and click OK. The actual file will be in one of those folders that are contained within your HD and not stored on the Desktop. So in a sense, the only change to your workflow will be clicking on the appropriate Alias and then creating a folder within that Alias Folder, rather than just plopping things on the Desktop, only to organize them later. So if you think about it, it's not THAT big of a deal, and will make your Mac run so much smoother. 

 

[Brian]

OH! One more thing!!

Uploading files is just as easy!!

I just went to upload a Waterfalls Photo to my Instagram and I use Hootsuit to do this. When I went to upload the photo, the main box that appeared in my comment above was the same. I simply then went to the appropriate Alias Folder and selected my File and clicked Open. I forgot just how convenient working with Aliases are and it doesn't take a huge adjustment to your workflow. Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

 

[JudyM]

Well that was easy!  At least, the creation of aliases was easy.  Next, saving the old stuff on a portable drive to free up some space. ?

Thanks again Brian!

[Brian]

Here is the cool part with Aliases on the Desktop, you can move the folder and the Alias will update automatically!! Just as long as they are on the same Mac. (Duh!) As long as you move stuff via the Finder, the MacOS is smart enough to keep track where the folders that the Aliases point to reside. So if you do have to shuffle things around, just make sure your EHDs each have unique names. The can be as simple as EHD1, EHD2, etc. or G-Drive 12TB, G-Drive 4TB, etc.

[Brian]

Quick question, has your Mac's performance increased at all since you moved all the crap off the desktop? It won't be "earth-shattering," but is should work a little "better."

[JudyM]

Yes I think so. Just a bit. 

[JudyM]

Brian, when I am editing is it better to be working directly from my external hard drive?  Or is it better to save the image on my Mac (in one of the Alias files?), then when finished save on my external and delete from Mac? 

[Brian]

 

18 hours ago, JudyM said:

Brian, when I am editing is it better to be working directly from my external hard drive?

This is where Damien and my opinion differs. Personally, I work off my external hard drive. That being said, I have a very fast and stable 12GB Thunderbolt 3 G-Drive. If all I had was a USB 2.0 Drive, I wouldn't be working off my external. In your case, with a stupidly small internal hard drive, I would be working off an external drive. You want your internal hard drive to be as clean as possible. For the best results, you need to be using a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3 drive, depending on what TB port you have on your laptop.

If you create an Alias from a folder that is on your external drive, put it on the Mac Desktop, if you save whatever files to your Alias folder, it automatically puts in in the folder that the Alias in linked to. In reality, when it comes to an Alias, it's almost like you are working with the original folder, with the exception for when it comes to moving the source folder somewhere else. When you save out of Photoshop, just like my example above, you click Desktop in the left column and choose the appropriate Alias. Just like you did when things were physically on your desktop. So it's just like working with your stuff on the desktop, except that it should be on your external HD.

Make sense?