Content starts here
CLOSE ×

Search

Tuesday Tech: Hack Your Mac, Magic Folder Edition

Just got a new Mac? Learning to use the one you got? We're posting simple tips every week (for Windows users too!) You can bookmark our tech blogs here

Ever notice those folders on the right side of that "dock" on the bottom of your screen?

Screen shot 2011-05-24 at 9.30.20 AM



Special folders! Check it out... any folder you create you can drag down here. Open a Finder window, like so...

Screen shot 2011-05-24 at 9.31.59 AM



Then click on the folder image... and drag. Keep dragging! Hold that mouse button down as you move the folder down to the "dock" on the right side.

Screen shot 2011-05-24 at 9.32.55 AM

Now play organizer.  Check it out - you can drag your "downloads" folder there, and set it to sort by "date modified" - that way your last download will always be the first one that pops up.  Maybe this folder is all photos - you might want to use the "grid" option to see little thumbnail previews of each one. Or maybe I'll set it to "list" the names in my recipe folder, like so:

Screen shot 2011-05-24 at 9.36.02 AM

Pro tip: remember those special "smart" folders from  this post? You can drag those too! So, for example, I download music all the time- new tracks from unknown artists, email attachments people send me, et cetera.  Once I have a "smart folder" set up to collect all music files, I just dragged it to my dock, set it to "fan" by "date modified" and voila, I can click on it whenever I want to see what I last downloaded.

Have questions? Comment here or Twitter at us here. Previously on Hack Your Mac: how to make your computer search for you, so you don't have to, the magic popup that will save you hours every day, and little helpful "widgets" you didn't know existed. 

Search AARP Blogs