Questions tagged [file]
A resource for storing information which is available for a computer program. Computer files can be considered as the modern counterpart of paper documents.
447
questions
472
votes
7
answers
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How can I create a symbolic link in Terminal?
What command is used to create a symbolic link/soft link?
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308
votes
31
answers
563k
views
How to create a text file in a folder
In windows I right click and then there is an option to create a text file.
How to do so in mac?
- 3,631
263
votes
14
answers
360k
views
Why are dot underscore ._ files created, and how can I avoid them?
I am using different operating systems on different machines on different locations. I am using a USB flash disk to keep my files (source codes etc.).
I am new to Mac OS X and now I realize there are ...
- 3,148
198
votes
6
answers
707k
views
Is it safe to delete ~/Library/Caches?
Is it safe to delete the file Caches, in the Library of the Mac OS X Hard Drive?
It's a pretty big file, 3.56 GB, Caches reminds me of logs i don't need or browser cookies.
Is it safe to delete the ...
- 3,161
69
votes
5
answers
82k
views
What is the purpose of Docker.raw file on Mac OS Catalina?
I have Docker installed on my Mac OS Catalina and recently found very big file Docker.raw. It is 64 Gb.
I don’t understand why is it so big.
Is it really needed?
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28
votes
3
answers
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How can one save a file as plain text in TextEdit? [duplicate]
I'm not seeing an option to choose plain text encoding (.TXT extension) when saving a file in TextEdit.app in macOS. My documents seem to all be rtf - rich text format.
How can I change this?
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27
votes
1
answer
16k
views
Adding tags to files in OS X: How to use, where are tags stored, and will they work on a network?
I've heard it is possible to add tags to a file's meta data in OS X, and have Spotlight search through such tags.
In a nutshell, how would one access this feature in Finder – not Spotlight (...
- 4,419
26
votes
1
answer
24k
views
Is there a similar functionality of "Get Info" (Cmd+I) from the Mac OS X Terminal.app?
I would like to ask if in OS X there is a similar functionality of "Get Info" (Cmd+I) but from the Mac OS X Terminal.app? I mean something like finderGetInfo /path/to/a/file.ext which will output the ...
- 465
26
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How did this ominous file end up in my Application Support folder?
Deleting this file will break the whole internets, for the sake of our children don't do it!.
The above quotation is the content of a text file called STR8369805638PUB6932583035105 that I found today ...
24
votes
2
answers
70k
views
How do I create a symbolic link to a directory with a space in it?
I was trying to create a symbolic link using the following command:
ln -s "~/Foo Bar/" Foo
... but it didn't work (i.e. when I go into finder and try double clicking it, it says that it's pointing ...
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23
votes
6
answers
16k
views
How to change the default application for WEBLOC files?
On macOS Sierra, I am encountering a strange behaviour of WEBLOC files. In the Open with: section of the Info window, the drop down list for choosing the default application is greyed out. It is set ...
- 889
20
votes
2
answers
6k
views
What is this unknown executable on my boot volume? Is it Malicious?
I noticed I had this file in the Macintosh HD folder.
And then when I click on it, it shows this:
Apparently this file was created in 2017, but I don't remember creating it.
Any idea what it could ...
- 311
20
votes
4
answers
59k
views
Copy new files only - is this possible? Basically want to merge two folders
I have a folder on Drive 1 called Music, and it is 100GB. I have a folder on Drive 2 called Music, and it is 116GB. It's the most updated version. How do I copy the Music folder from Drive 2 to Drive ...
- 367
19
votes
4
answers
22k
views
Which file types are "ineligible" for iCloud drive?
It seems that some files (or name thereof) are "ineligible" for iCloud drive. For example, if the file name ends with a tilde, it cannot be uploaded to iCloud drive. [Example of programs that produce ...
- 889
19
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Paste path into File Open/Save Dialog?
How do I paste a file path into a standard file open/save dialog?
I have googled this and found articles that say that the normal ⌘ CMD-V will work, however it does not work for me.
I'm ...
- 1,087
19
votes
5
answers
3k
views
How to remove a file which name seems to be "." on an SMB share?
Overview
Incorrect specification of an argument in a commandline tool (details below) has led to the creation of a file literally named ".". I have already found out that directly trying to ...
- 345
18
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Search file duplicates in OSX by hash
I am looking for a way to search for a determinate file in OSX (Maverick but more generally OSX).
In particular I would like to do the following:
given a File_001 I'd like to search if in the ...
- 460
18
votes
1
answer
13k
views
What is installer.failurerequests in the root directory?
I just noticed a file called installer.failurerequests in my root directory:
cd /
ls
Applications/ User Information@ cores/ installer.failurerequests sbin/
...
- 3,622
17
votes
4
answers
33k
views
Can I open a text file in Preview from the Terminal?
I know that I can open a file with an external program from the Terminal with open, and that works for most applications. However, when I try to use a command like open -a Preview info.txt, it ...
- 653
17
votes
1
answer
5k
views
How to determine which process is creating a file?
Two files have suddenly appeared in my home directory, called "aa" and "err". They are empty. I'm wondering how they got there. I deleted the files and they are created again after some seconds.
Is ...
- 471
16
votes
4
answers
11k
views
File browser with treeview
I am looking for a file browser for Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) with as many following features as possible (approximately ordered by descending importance):
has a treeview along with the main pane
...
- 3,624
15
votes
2
answers
2k
views
ZIP files created with GUI have more bytes than ZIP files created in a shell
I created two ZIP files of the same directory. One with the GUI, the other with:
$ zip -r alpha_cmd.zip Alpha
The Alpha directory is 33.640 MB with 164 items.
The ZIP file created by the GUI is 2,...
- 461
15
votes
2
answers
8k
views
How to use Finder to find all files that do not match a certain criteria?
How can I use Finder's search feature to find all files that do not match a certain criteria?
For instance, all files that don't end in ".txt" in the current folder.
- 4,323
14
votes
10
answers
32k
views
Finder takes long time to load some folders
When opening some folders, the Finder takes a long time (30-60 seconds) to load all the files in it. Specifically, these folders typically contain 10-50 PHP files (which are text files), each about 10 ...
- 4,323
14
votes
2
answers
24k
views
What will occur if the .DocumentRevisions-V100 folder is deleted?
This post concerns the folder located at the following file path:
/.DocumentRevisions-V100
I right-clicked this folder in Finder.app and selected Get Info. After several minutes of waiting, the "...
- 5,660
14
votes
1
answer
10k
views
Processing videos through iMovie increases file size by 70x
This is just a curiosity of mine. I screen recorded ~5hrs of video using Quicktime, split up into roughly 10-20 minute segments. The folder which I saved them to is 4.73 GB big.
However when I string ...
- 1,520
14
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How can I disassociate a single app (e.g., Xcode) from all file types it's mapped to?
Every time I get a machine that I install Xcode on, it associates itself with all kinds of filetypes. E.g., .xml, .rb, even .java! It's such a nuisance to have to re-associate those file extensions ...
13
votes
4
answers
13k
views
Resume file move after Finder crash (unmoved items appear washed out)
I was moving a large amount of data to an external drive. The Finder crashed (or appeared to restart) in the middle of the operation.
Now the files appear as "washed out" in the external drive (...
- 2,659
12
votes
1
answer
16k
views
Charlie Stigler and other random items running in the background?
I have a MacBook Pro with macOS Ventura 13.0.
In System Settings -> General -> Login Items, I discovered that a random Charlie Stigler item was running in the background. I have no idea what ...
- 323
12
votes
2
answers
43k
views
Does OS X enforce a maximum filename length or character restriction?
What is the maximum filename character length of files in OS X?
Of secondary importance is whether some characters are allowed/disallowed in addition to any overall length restrictions.
- 1,049
12
votes
1
answer
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views
How stop my IDE from showing hidden files on Sierra?
I have disabled hidden files in the Finder on macOS Sierra, but they still show up in my text editors, such as Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text and PhpStorm.
I have already tried
defaults write com....
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11
votes
9
answers
1k
views
Trash folder is not emptying because of the P ͎̮͉͍ͨ̈́̾̈́A ͎̮͉͍ͨ̈́̾̈́I ͎̮͉͍ͨ̈́̾̈́N ͎̮͉͍ͨ̈́̾̈́.jpg file
When I cd ~/.Trash in the terminal, it shows that there is a folder Downloads, and inside the Downloads folder, another folder Reactions, and inside Reactions, there is a file called
Shutting down ...
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11
votes
3
answers
26k
views
Delete metadata
There is a program provided by Apple to see most of the metadata in a file. It is nice to have the metadata clearly arranged, but the catch is that you cannot delete it or I don't know how to delete ...
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11
votes
1
answer
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views
What is the /bin/[ '[' file in OS X?
See the screen shot.
There is the '[' file at /bin.
What is the '[' file? What does it do?
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10
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How to change multiple file type associations on the Mac at once?
I want to change my default media player in macOS.
(In my case, I want to change it to my own AppleScript-created instance of VLC that I exported as ‘VLC-New-Window.app’, which is scripted to always ...
user163629
9
votes
6
answers
51k
views
Mass remove character from file names and folder names
We have created a lot folders and files that contains the "<" character.
Is it possible to mass-remove these characters?
- 601
9
votes
7
answers
15k
views
How to force Finder to update file thumbnails?
Recently I updated album covers in most of my mp3s, but their respective thumbnails on Finder did not get updated.
Things I tried:
Removed (rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist) without ...
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9
votes
1
answer
564
views
Keep desktop icons as they are shortly after logging in
The following image shows two screenshots of my Mac's desktop whilst starting up. The first is a few seconds after starting, whilst the other one is a few seconds to shutdown.
I prefer the icons on ...
9
votes
2
answers
12k
views
how to do a batch change (shift) of file creation date
OS X Yosemite:
I took thousands of pictures on a trip recently, some from my iPhone, and some from my DSLR camera.
Now, the iPhone automatically gets its time and date from the local cell towers, ...
- 892
9
votes
2
answers
7k
views
How to manually create a working .webloc file?
So I created a .webloc file using a .vncloc file as a template (standard xml/plist format), but instead of opening in a Safari window, it is downloading the html of the website into a file.
My goal ...
- 1,297
8
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How can I tell mac that program X can open file type Y?
Firefox can open pdfs, and for some purposes, it's pdf viewer is advantageous. In particular, the print menu has some options not available elsewhere.
Unfortunately, it's not registered as a program ...
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8
votes
2
answers
16k
views
Recents not updating with new files in High Sierra
There has been a lot of wingeing over the loss of "All My Files" in favor of "Recents" in High Sierra, and I am beginning to understand why. For one, it seems to be an opaque tool and I have yet to ...
- 623
8
votes
3
answers
583
views
How can I make the draggable titlebar file icon always appear at the top of files in Big Sur?
I don't know the nomenclature for this, but there used to be always a little file icon at the top of say, a pdf or jpeg which could be dragged to put the file somewhere else (eg paste it into an email)...
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8
votes
1
answer
119k
views
What format and encoding does iPhone save video clips in?
Using the default Photo/Video application. Tried to find any info regarding this on Apple's web site with no success. Does anyone have the specs on this?
8
votes
2
answers
93k
views
How can I change the default save location of Office for Mac?
I have Office for Mac 2011 and unlike Office PC, I can't find how to change the location where my files are to be saved.
The default position doesn't suit my needs and I spend a lot of time "...
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8
votes
1
answer
3k
views
AppleScript: How to check if the clipboard consists of a file (instead of text)?
If my understanding is correct, there are two types of content that can be copied to the Mac global (systemwide) clipboard:
text
or
file
Even though they are two different, discrete data types, ...
- 5,660
8
votes
1
answer
17k
views
How can I cut down on the size of iMovie Library.imovielibrary?
I recently noticed that the file at ~/Movies/iMovie Library.imovielibrary is taking up an awful lot of space:
Is there a way to make it smaller? I don't have anything important in iMovie - what ...
user44427
7
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Setting "open with" default app forever
There is a nice option in MacOS X that you can right-click on a particular file, select "open with", then select the app that you want to use to open the file type and check the mark "always open with"...
- 801
7
votes
4
answers
803
views
Changing text applied when duplicating file in Finder
When duplicating files in the finder, OS X attaches a space followed by 'copy' to the file name. This can lead to some file alphabetizing problems and the copies may appear out of order (not directly ...
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7
votes
3
answers
18k
views
How to search Mac for files that begin or end with a space " " or period "."
I just need to know how to search (within Finder vs Terminal, if possible) for all file names within a specific folder, which begin or end with a space or a period.
For example:
" file.jpg" ...
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