
- #HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR MAC SIERRA HIGH MAC OS#
- #HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR MAC SIERRA HIGH UPGRADE#
- #HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR MAC SIERRA HIGH SOFTWARE#
- #HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR MAC SIERRA HIGH DOWNLOAD#
Next, click the Options button for iCloud Drive and then uncheck the box for Optimize Mac Storage.

To undo the first option - Store in iCloud Drive - open System Preferences and click on iCloud. Thankfully, these settings can be enabled - and disabled - elsewhere in MacOS Sierra. When you enable the first three settings, you get a green check mark to show you've completed each task but aren't left with a way to disable them.
#HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR MAC SIERRA HIGH DOWNLOAD#
Really, this Reduce Clutter option is most useful for finding and deleting large files and download installers. Lastly, there's a File Browser so you can search and destroy any files you no longer need, though it's no more helpful than taking a spin through Finder. You can also browse your downloaded files to delete many installers you likely no longer need. This last option lets you review files, starting with large ones - in my case, videos I could either delete or move to an external drive. With this setting, items older than 30 days are deleted from the Trash, similar to how the Photos app on your iPhone or Mac treats trashed photos. Since the virtual garbage man doesn't come around once a week to collect my Mac's trash, I remember with great infrequency to empty it. It also tells the Mail app to download only recent email attachments when you're low on free storage. This option removes movies and shows you've already watched from iTunes - you can download them again should the desire arise to rewatch a previous purchase. If you have iCloud Photo Library enabled in the Photos app, this setting also stores your original, full-resolution photos in iCloud, leaving behind "optimized" versions on your Mac to save space.Īpple's description of how it determines which files to remove from your Mac and store in iCloud Drive is frustratingly vague: "When space is needed on your Mac, files from your Desktop and Documents folders that you use less frequently are kept in iCloud, where you can download them on demand." Optimize Storage


Consider these marked files placeholders, since they're not really there - clicking on one will prompt a download. When files and folders are moved to iCloud, they're marked with a little cloud icon. It works in conjunction with syncing your Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud Drive, in that it creates copies of your files in the cloud, but instead of just copying files, it moves some when you begin to run low on free space.

Sierra makes space by finding data that's "Purgeable," then gives you a few ways to get rid of it.īy enabling the Store in iCloud setting, older files in those folders are moved from your Mac to iCloud Drive to free up space.
#HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR MAC SIERRA HIGH MAC OS#
Let's take a look at how you might optimize your Mac's storage with Mac OS Sierra.
#HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR MAC SIERRA HIGH UPGRADE#
If 5GB of space won't cut it, you will need to upgrade to an iCloud Drive paid plan. Apple provides a meager 5GB of space for free, a limit you must share with any of your iPhones or iPads that use iCloud and will most certainly exceed in short order, even if you don't opt to upload your photos. The second way lets you move to iCloud Drive or simply delete older files to reclaim some space on your Mac's cluttered drive or, as Apple calls it, optimize Mac storage.īefore we jump in, you should know that some of the options below require you to set up an iCloud Drive account, namely uploading your Desktop and Documents folders and your Photos library to iCloud. The first way lets you sync your Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud Drive, so that files in either location are more easily accessible, as long as you have an internet connection. It lets you reclaim storage space on your local drive, while also making those files accessible from your other devices.
#HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR MAC SIERRA HIGH SOFTWARE#
Apple's new MacOS Sierra software introduces two ways to help you offload files from your Mac to iCloud.
