file management
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ExpanDrive 4, more services and faster sync
I've written about ExpanDrive in the past, but I haven't mentioned it since version 2.0. Version 4 is out now, and it's a major update to this app that allows you to mount remote servers and cloud services as local drives. ExpanDrive has always done an amazing job of mounting a wide array of remote server types and letting you use them like your server was just a local USB drive. Lately, the number of accessible services has become wider than anything else I've seen, and the usability of the mounted drives is outstanding. ExpanDrive 4's biggest advancement is in speed. It can now cache files locally and transfer smaller files in the background, meaning you can mount a remote server, edit files in a text or graphics editor, and when you hit save you're immediately able to continue working while the actual transfer happens transparently. It can even watch for changes on the remote server to keep the sync rapid and up-to-date on both ends. ExpanDrive has also been adding to its available services. You can now mount everything from SFTP and WebDAV servers to Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, Amazon S3, and DreamObjects cloud services. The latest services include Microsoft OneDrive, Copy.com, HP Helion Cloud, Owncloud and hubiC. Being able to mount a Dropbox drive without installing the Dropbox app means easy access to your synced files on remote computers without the bandwidth of a full download, or even the trouble of setting up selective sync. This holds true for any of the supported cloud services. It also means easy backups to the services without any special software. ExpanDrive has a free trial available (and is also available for Windows). You can license a copy for $49.95 US.
Compelling idea for moving files from Mac to iPhone
We've all faced the difficulty of moving a file from our Mac to our iPhone. There's iCloud, Dropbox and a host of other services to help us tranfer these files, but there are no solutions as elegant as the concept devised by interaction designer Ishac Bertran. His idea for proximity-aware devices and a seamless drag-n-drop transfer is detailed in an article at Fast Company. You can get a glimpse of how the file transfer would work in the Vimeo video embedded below.
Windows 8 file management: you ask, Microsoft listens
After augmenting Windows 8 with some mobile-friendly features, it looks like file management is next to go under the knife. Not the sexiest part of an OS, granted, but one you'll use almost every day -- a fact not lost on Redmond. Based on newsgroup feedback, Windows 8 will sport a stack of tweaks hoping to make some of the more mundane tasks, well, less mundane. For example, if you copy duplicate files to a directory, it'll make decisions based on size, name and modified date to determine if it's the same file or not. For long copy jobs, error messages will be mercifully left until the end, allowing the rest to complete. Other simple touches include EXIF orientation data, which will be reflected in Explorer's preview, updates to the slightly contentious Ribbon, plus a bunch more user-driven goodies. We're reserving judgement until we get hands-on of course, but if you want to know more, there's a full rundown in the source after the break.
Yoink takes the drag out of file dragging
Lion users, have you ever tried to drag a file between full-screen apps? It's a bear to do, especially with a trackpad. Matthias Gansrigler at Eternal Storms (no stranger to TUAW) has solved this problem with an app called Yoink. Yoink simply watches for you to start dragging a file and when the app notices this dragging motion, it opens a small drawer on the side of your screen. You can drag files to the drawer, and even stack multiple files in there, then switch spaces and drag them back out. It's simple, it's effective and it solves the problem quite elegantly. Check out Yoink on the Mac App Store, where you can pick it up for US$2.99. For a video of Yoink in action, or a 15-day trial, visit the Yoink homepage.
Google Docs now on Jolicloud Desktop, Joli OS
It already has one of the cutest names in cloud computing, and now it has Google Docs, too. Following up on its integration of Dropbox, Jolicloud just added support for the online office suite, which means you can access and edit all of your important missives and memos via the Jolicloud Desktop or Joli OS. Setting it up is as simple as clicking a button to link the two accounts -- after that, you can browse, edit, and do whatever you do in Google Docs, and because it's all stored in the cloud, you can pick up on one device where you left off on another. Sound familiar? For complete instructions, follow the source link below.
LogMeIn Ignition update adds file management / transfer capability
LogMeIn Ignition (US$29.99) is a popular tool for making hassle-free remote control sessions to Macs and PCs. We've reviewed the universal app on TUAW before, and it's a well-designed tool for those who may not want to play with router settings and firewall ports to get a VNC connection going. Now LogMeIn has added a new feature to Ignition that raises the bar for remote control apps. In an update that appeared last week to version 2.0.264, LogMeIn Ignition gained the ability to view, transfer, and save folders between your iOS device and Mac or PC. The capability is easy to use and very simple; you have a choice of either doing a remote control session or a file manager session when you log into your remote computers. Once that's done, Ignition keeps a status screen available containing windows with either the remote control or file manager sessions for each computer you've connected to. File transfer works very well. In the app is a Local Files folder where you can store those documents that you bring over from your Mac or PC. You can then open those documents in a compatible app (i.e., Pages for .doc / .docx files) and make changes. There is no "round-tripping" capability -- that is, you can't then save those documents back onto a PC or Mac through the app. However, I'm wondering if the "Saved from Other Apps" folder that appears in the Local Files folder is designed for future use by compatible apps so you can do a round trip. If you have more than one remote computer that you're connected to with LogMeIn Ignition, you can actually move files between those remote computers. There's now support for AirPrint printing of documents that you copy or move to your iPad, and the app can even wake a sleeping remote computer through Wake-On-LAN. Existing users of LogMeIn Ignition should make sure that they update their app as soon as possible, and those who are looking for a remote control or file management app may want to consider LogMeIn Ignition for their work. Be sure to check out the gallery for screenshots of LogMeIn Ignition at work. %Gallery-119777%
Blast is a great way to keep track of what you use and where it is on your Mac
Mac OS X has buckets of really neat features, many of which aren't always obvious. One of the things I use frequently in OS X is the "Recent Items" menu, which is invoked from the Apple menu. It shows recently used apps and documents. Blast (US$9.95 for a single user) is kind of Recent Items on steroids. It resides on the menu bar, and keeps track of every item that was recently used or changed. Take an incoming download, for example. Sure, I can go to my download folder, but I often have more than a hundred items in there. Yes, I can then search by date and come up with it, but with Blast, it's instantly found with a click. That's something the Apple Recent Items menu doesn't do. Even better, I can then drag the item somewhere else, like to an email, or to a program icon to launch it. Of course, I can double click on the item, too. All your recent saves are there, along with a list, for example, of what documents you read yesterday. If you have a favorite place you go, like a folder of images, that folder can be pinned to a sidebar so it is always there. %Gallery-109505%
ForkLift 2, slick file management, fast file transfers
ForkLift 2 was officially released this week. This is the second generation of the FTP client-cum-Finder replacement, and it brings with it a veritable shipping palette full of new features. When it comes to file transfer, ForkLift 2 has just about all the bases covered: FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, iDisk, SMB, AFP and NIS, with impressive speeds and FXP copy capabilities. You can connect directly, as you would in a standard FTP browser, or you can mount the disk in the same fashion that the latest version of Transmit does. This allows for access to remote files from any application, remote editing and some additional file management tools. ForkLift can save "Droplets," similar to other FTP clients, which give you a drop target for uploading to a specific server and folder. You can also set up a sync between any two folders, remote or local, and save the set as a "Synclet," a small app that will run the sync automatically. The interface is slick, with a few features that make this a killer app for me. It maintains the original ForkLift's two-pane, tabbed interface, and it adds a Favorites panel, better progress meters and extensive keyboard navigation. My favorite new feature is the Stack, similar to what Path Finder has, where you can temporarily collect files on which to perform mass actions. You can turn any file selection into a stack, and you can have multiple stacks going at any time. Another feature I love is Workspaces, which lets you define pairs of folders to open at the same time. It sounds simple, but if you do a lot of filing from one folder to other subfolders, it's a very nice time-saver. The tool set is pretty impressive, too. From being able to create both aliases and real symlinks to splitting and combining large files, it brings in a ton of functionality that Finder has always been missing. It even has a Trash App command for removing an application and its data, à la AppZapper. Selecting files is a breeze with the advanced search, filter and selection tools. ForkLift even has a multi-rename feature for performing mass filename changes. I won't try to detail every one of the new features -- it's an extensive list. I will say that I think ForkLift 2 brings to life a truly integrated file management environment that combines the best features of leading FTP apps and file managers. A single-user license is US$29.95, and ForkLift 1 users can upgrade for US$19.95. There's a family license available as well, which covers all the Macs in your household, for US$49.95. You can find out more, and download a free trial, at the BinaryNights website.
The Big Mean Folder Machine turns 2.0
Oh, Big Mean Folder Machine 1.5, we hardly knew ye! You joined the Mac world in October of 2008, and now you're gone, replaced by your new and younger sibling. Big Mean Folder Machine 2.0, from publicspace.net, is the newest version of the great Mac file manipulation application. BMFM 2.0 continues the tradition of allowing you to split files from different folders into new folders based on a set of criteria, or merge files from multiple folders into a new folder while taking care of naming conflicts. So what's new with 2? Publicspace.net has redesigned the user interface, built in an automatic update engine, and streamlined BMFM for better performance. The application also does an even better job of resolving file name conflicts. The Big Mean Folder Machine's droplet capability, which lets you take custom folder merges or splits and save them as for future use as standalone apps, has also been improved.This is a free update for owners of previous versions of Big Mean Folder Machine, or you can purchase the program for €14.95 (about US$21.25) from publicspace.net. If you haven't used BMFM before and you're intrigued by what it can do, a free trial is available for download.
Beta Beat: Grape, a new way to manage your Desktop clutter
Grape, just released as a beta, is a new take on desktop file management. I've seen several attempts at innovative user interfaces for file management in my day, some better than others, but this is the first one I've been really excited about. In the words of the author -- Stéphane at docklandsoft.com -- "Grape is a visual and spatial way to classify and organize temporary files." I use my desktop as a sort of Inbox, saving all of my working files, PDFs of web pages and other random bits there during the day, and then tagging and bagging the collected mess once or twice a day. It's not a bad system, but I love anything that might make my life simpler and/or more interesting. Grape takes all of the files on your desktop and puts them into a kind of three-dimensional workspace where you can pan and zoom, group files and perform various functions, including filing them to folders anywhere on your hard drive. You can zoom in and out with your scroll wheel or by holding command-space and dragging a rectangle. You can pan around the space by holding space and dragging. Once you've started organizing, you're able to create boxes and text labels to highlight groups of interest or provide highlighted areas for sorting. You can also Quick Look files, as well as choose the preview image for movies and multi-page PDF files. You can't descend into folders, but if you have a Quick Look plugin for folders, it's really easy to identify previously grouped files without jumping back to the Finder. At this point, Grape is interesting (and fun), but lacks some much-needed functionality. Among the list of things I'd like to see: more mouse-only navigation, droppable folders, the ability to create functional drop-boxes to send files to specific folders, OpenMeta tagging (or AppleScript access to selected files for apps like Tags) and a more customizable interface (I find the default blue gradient a little overwhelming). It's a great start, though, and has really piqued my interest in more "spatial" file-management interfaces. Check out a video of Grape in action after the jump, and grab the beta here.
AppleScript: Delete old folders
If you work like I do, then you have a hierarchy of folders contained in a single folder that allows you to manage project files, notes, etc. Well, when it comes time to chunk those old files, normally you have to manually go through and remove them; this task can become daunting if you have multiple project folders. I am going to show you an easier way. In this how-to, we'll cover how to create an AppleScript that will allow you to remove folders that are older than 30 days. Continue reading to learn how to create this AppleScript.
Forklift 1.5: fast, pretty and stable.
Forklift, the split-pane file manager with support for multiple network protocols, is officially at version 1.5 now. We covered the initial release a while back, and we're excited about the progress it's made. With an interface update (Leopard goodness) and some behind-the-scenes tweaks, it's turning into a sweet piece of work. Forklift has always been of interest to me, with its support for SFTP and Amazon S3, but my previous experiences with Forklift had shown it to display a tendency toward a little sluggishness and the occasional poorly-timed crash. This latest version has not only been stable for me, but has been snappy. And by that I mean speedy to the extreme, especially when dealing with (S)FTP servers and S3. Ten times faster on remote transfers, actually, according to their own benchmarks. Quick Look and FXP Copy (server-to-server file transfer) round out a great feature set. If you're looking for a Finder add-on/replacement (or a great FTP client), definitely download the trial. At $29.95, it's quite reasonably priced for what it can do. And for current users the upgrade is free and will fix quite a few shortcomings you may have noticed thus far. Version 1.5 is Leopard-only, but 1.2 is still available for our striped friends.
Leap 1.0: a peek under the hood
Some applications remind me of cars. For example, most Java based applications are Volkswagen Things as they're useful in certain situations, but horrifying (or hilarious) to look at. But once in a while you get a Jaguar XJS: a beautiful exterior that doesn't bely its underlying power. That, and you frequently have to spend some time at the mechanic. Leap by Ironic Software – makers of Yep – just hit 1.0 after a long stint in beta. It's my current Jag. We covered the beta, but here's a quick review. Leap is a Spotlight interface which, once you get used to it, causes a fundamental shift in the current paradigm of file management. Prior to finding Leap, I had already been using a homegrown, Spotlight-based file management system. The strategy – based on a tagging system – requires a far smaller folder hierarchy and allows for much faster location of related files in a project. Leap both complements my system and elegantly replaces a lot of its kludgier functionality. By combining full Spotlight search capabilities with a tagging system (that writes to Spotlight comments), Leap makes file location a breeze and allows for easy association of files within a project. It can function like Finder, showing all files in a single directory, if that's what you need at the moment. The "Go Deep" search can display every file in every sub-folder of a project. The results can be filtered by criteria such as file type, location, date, keywords and other metadata, allowing for quick searching and tagging. It can also display a traditional list format, but the icon view with Loupe function and Quick Look integration makes browsing as elegant as any program I've tried. And, of course, a tag cloud view – and the ability to choose tags from a sidebar to narrow the search – makes all that tagging work worthwhile. All of that being said, Leap still has some bugs despite its 1.0 status. I've been subjected to freezes fairly frequently, but the random crashing that plagued the beta seems to be cured. As far as features go, I wish there were an easy way to exclude parameters from a query. I'm also wishing for the ability to select multiple file types during a search using a ???-click rather than defining custom file type groups. But the interface, as it stands, is friendly and elegant once you get the basic concepts down. And nitpicking aside, it does elegantly accomplish everything I've been doing in a more manual fashion. Leap is now selling for $59. You can buy Leap and Yep as a bundle for $69, and previous owners of Yep can get Leap for $39. That works for people who got Yep in a bundle as well. You can download a trial copy from Ironic Software and take it for a spin.
NTFSready cleans up your filename act
One of my intermittent day-job responsibilities is to move big chunks of data (20 GB or more in a session) from the friendly, forgiving, name-your-files-whatever-you-want confines of a Mac OS X server onto cranky, finicky, no-funky-characters (but portable) NAS devices so that the data can travel with a production team to some far-away city. This is generally a straightforward and simple task, except for one annoying fact: illegal characters, as SMB or NTFS define them, in file or folder names can bring those massive copies to a screeching halt. Major buzzkill! There are a few ways to clean up filenames to make them legal for transfer; I've used both FileBuddy and A Better Finder Rename with success, and ABFR even has an "NTFS legal" preset for quick action. For a single-purpose tool, though, there's now NTFSready, This 10-euro donationware tool will hunt through your files and folders for illegal characters, nuke them, and that's about all there is. Is it worth it? Well, if you need to rename files for NTFS use on an everyday basis, maybe. At 10 euro, though, I'd say you're better off paying the $19.95 for ABFR and getting the flexibility that comes with it.
Mac 101: ZIP files for easy e-mail
We're all faced with the problem of e-mailing large files. This task can be made simple by using Mac OS X's built-in "Compress" tool. This feature makes it easy to not only compress one file into a ZIP archive, but also multiple files or entire folders. Just select the files you need to ZIP and right-click on one of them. When you select Compress, then in a couple seconds (this will take longer depending on the file size) you will be presented with a nice ZIP archive containing all of your files in it. Just drag the ZIP file into your e-mail and send! There are alternatives, such as StuffIt Expander Deluxe, but if all you are doing is compressing files, there really is no need to spend money since Mac OS X will zip and un-zip the archive handily.
Getting the most out of synching and backing up with ChronoSync
I picked up a license for Econ Technologies' ChronoSync a little while ago, as I didn't want an app like SuperDuper which simply backs up an entire machine. ChronoSync offers a ton of options for fine-tuning your backup operations and synchronizing a machine with a backup folder or even another Mac, scheduling backups / synchronizations and even backing up to optical media. ChronoSync also has special options for performing operations like syncing Home folders between Macs, and even backing up to an iPod. Long story short: if you're looking for a highly flexible backup solution, I definitely recommend ChronoSync.The one catch with ChronoSync can be summarized with a twist on an old phrase: with great power sometimes comes great confusion. ChronoSync has a slight learning curve due to all its flexibility, but thankfully, 43Folders just pointed out a great ChronoSync Tips page with backup scenarios for a number of different users. Listed on the page are a dozen sets of instructions with screenshots for setting up operations like synchronizing/backing up iPhoto, synchronizing to a disk image or another Mac and even using the Document Scheduler to automate as many different backup and synchronization operations as you can dream up. For anyone trying to wrap their head around what ChronoSync can actually do for their backup and synchronization sanity, this is a great one-stop case study page that should convince any potential customers to take the dive.
ForkLift 2-pane file manager with SFTP ships
A while back when we mentioned a preview of ForkLift, a new 2-pane file manager for the Mac, the comments suggested that I may have somewhat under-appreciated what it offered. Well ForkLift has now shipped and appears to include quite a few nice features. Among these are a full-fledged (S)FTP client, tabs, spring loaded folders, Amazon S3 support, an Application Deleter (a la AppZapper), the ability to browse archives as if they were folders, and quite a bit more. For those moving over from using an orthodox file manager on the PC, or for anyone who finds the Finder rather limiting, ForkLift is worth a look. (Incidentally, if you're interested in the new Mac indie development company behind ForkLift, BinaryNights, MacApper had an interesting interview a while back.)ForkLift is $30 and a demo is available.[via MacNN]
TUAW Podcast #24: Journler
[Update 2: The direct download link is working fine now, and I pinged the iTunes Store to check our podcast feed again, so it'll take a little time for them The iTunes Store feed has updated so we're good to go. I hope you enjoy the podcast - and of course Journler if you give it a whirl - and please leave feedback as I hope to make a lot more of these in the future (with podcast releases going far more smoothly, of course). Thanks again for your patience.]This week's podcast is a screencast of an app that I finally 'get' and have subsequently gone nutty for: Philip Dow's Journler. It's an app very much like Yojimbo, Mori and SOHO Notes in that it's a journal/digital junk drawer for your work and life. For roughly fifteen minutes I cover some of the coolest features in Journler that both grabbed my personal attention and caused me to chose Mr. Dow's excellent app as my new blogging tool of choice for penning most of my TUAW and Download Squad posts.As usual you can pick up a copy of our latest podcast (weighing in at 36MB and 13 minutes on the dot) from our iTunes Store Podcast directory, this direct link or our own podcast rss feed. I'm also please to announce that I finally did some research into why my previous video screencasts weren't iPod-friendly and have fixed the issue. Even though this particular screencast might look a little tiny on a 5G iPod (I captured the entirety of my 1440 x 900 MacBook Pro display, then re-sized to 640 x 398 for this one), you should nevertheless be able to take it with you on that commute you're packing up for. Enjoy![Update: We are indeed having trouble serving the podcast at the moment. Hang in there, we'll get this fixed as soon as possible and I'll update this post once we stamp out the issue. Sorry for the trouble.]
Hazel update brings even more productivity to automated file manager
I instantly fell in love with Hazel from Noodlesoft the first time I found it back in September '06, and since then it has received a literal landslide of new features that make it even more indispensable to any heavy file trafficker. For those just tuning in, Hazel is fundamentally a file organization utility; it allows you to set up a series of rules that watch files in directories of your choosing, and then it carries out various actions based on your criteria. For example: I download a lot of videos, particularly motion pieces I find from studios all over the web. I also download a lot of DMGs and ZIPs in the name of TUAW, and as you might guess, after just a busy morning of all this watching and downloading, my desktop is about as messy as the typical freshman dormroom. Enter Hazel, the background file management ninja. For these two scenarios, I have a couple of rules that watch my Desktop for files of type Movie, DMG or ZIP which were added more than 1 day ago. These rules will then move said files into their respective directories (Movies and Software, as one might guess) and apply a blue label to them, just to make sure I know what was moved how.
