JUNE 2019 | MACFORMAT | 29
User folders
You might already have moved your
Desktop and Documents folders to
iCloud for convenient access on all your
devices. This can make your Mac, or
at least its internet connection, seem
slow when you save there. Considerswitching back – see bit.ly/deskicl.
Your personal Library folder – in Finder,
choose Go > Library – houses personal
preferences, Mail messages, sometimes
fonts, and more. Sometimes app issues
can be fixed by deleting .plist files from
the Preferences folder here.Image credits (top and bottom right): MacPawQuickly find leftover components from apps you no longer use, and more
leanMyMac X’s
primary function
is to uninstall
apps completely
and remove difficult-to-
find files from your Mac
when you don’t need them.
However, it can also help
improve the performance
of your Mac. For example,
it can identify unresponsive
apps and quit them, and
show you which apps are
consuming lots of resources.
It can also remove Login
Items and Launch Agents,
such as autoupdate scripts,
which can quicken loading
and getting in to macOS.
CleanMyMac X has tools
to rebuild Spotlight’s index,
and databases for Mail and
macOS’s Launch Services,
all of which can cause slowdown issues.Stay up to date
Another useful CleanMyMac X feature is
its Updater. We’ve already discussed how
keeping apps up to date is important. ThisGet help from CleanMyMac
feature allows you to compare your app
versions with those available from the
developer, all in one window – and update
from there too. It’s quicker than opening
apps (acquired outside the Mac App Store)
one at a time to find out what needsupdating. Then there’s the Space Lens
feature, which allows you to quickly see
what’s taking up space in your storage.
Not all of the app’s tools are useful in
recent versions of macOS. Repairing disk
permissions, for example, is no longer the
panacea it once was – although, as we said
earlier, it can solve permission-related
problems with your Home folder. Running
maintenance scripts manually is unlikely
to produce a noticeable benefit either.
CleanMyMac is £29.95/yr, and part of
the SetApp multi-app subscription service
for $11.99/mo (about £9, setapp.com).Speed up your Mac FEATURE
C
CleanMyMac X makes it easier to see
what might be slowing down your Mac.Get a better sense of what’s occupying space
on your hard disk with the Space Lens feature.