The Finder’s Get Info figures allow for sparse files when giving size ‘on disk’, but don’t take into account shared data in clone files. This can prove misleading, as shown here with VMs.
Finder
Snapshots made by Time Machine and tmutil should be purgeable, although sometimes they won’t purge, and aren’t shown reliably as purgeable space. An exploration of bugs and missing documentation.
Two command tools, lsregister and lsappinfo, are often recommended for dealing with LaunchServices problems. This summarises what they can and cannot do.
How macOS makes the association between file types and apps for the Finder and GUI, using UTIs and their associated data including filename extensions. Why clashes occur, and how they’re resolved.
When you double-click a file and expect to see it opened by the app of your choice, but instead it’s opened by the wrong app, or the wrong version of the right app, or maybe macOS refuses to open it at all. How to fix that.
When listing files by name, should 20test.text come before or after 200test.text? Which order is the more ‘natural’? How this quickly becomes complex.
Many document formats store metadata with their data. Choosing the right ones to use must ensure their access, indexing and search. Here’s how to check those, and why Keywords are usually a good choice.
A new drag-and-drop app to change quarantine extended attributes on documents, so enabling you to double-click them to open when they won’t otherwise.
How this expresses file sizes, which data it includes, the difference between KB and KiB, how to view more of a file’s metadata, and more.
How to find and use the Finder’s Get Info sibling, the Inspector, how to make exact duplicates, a free slideshow without Keynote, and an Easter Egg.
The Eclectic Light Company 