March 2021 • Macworld 111throttled to a lower speed
each month against some
baseline, and if so, how
close to that limit are you?
(Some ISPs have temporarily
suspended limits due to
the pandemic and the work-
from-home shift.)- Consider your broadband
speed. Do you have enough
throughput to upload many
gigabytes and download
them on demand?
Next, follow these steps:- Select Optimize Mac
Storage in the appropriate
preference pane for your version of
macOS as noted above. (If you have
multiple Macs logged into the same
iCloud account, you will need to
enable optimization on each of them
to avoid filling their start-up volume.) - Copy a batch of tens of gigabytes
of data from your external sources
to iCloud Drive. - Wait for the files to upload fully. You
can check via iCloud.com to see
if the files are available there as a
check on completion. - Copy another batch of files.
As pressure increases on your
Mac’s storage, macOS will – as
noted above – start deleting the
local copies. You should be able
to monitor storage and watch
that happen.- Continue a batch at a time: copy,
wait for upload, repeat.
Another option is to upload
directly via the iCloud.com site, but
Apple provides just a file-selection
tool, and uploading via a browser
can be fraught with interruptions
and slowdowns.
To be extremely clear: don’t
delete any files. macOS and iCloud
manage the process so you don’t
have to.Optimize Mac Storage lets you cram 50kg of
digital potatoes in a 5 kg bag.March 2021 • Macworld 111throttled to a lower speed
each month against some
baseline, and if so, how
close to that limit are you?
(Some ISPs have temporarily
suspended limits due to
the pandemic and the work-
from-homeshift.)- Consider your broadband
speed. Do you have enough
throughput to upload many
gigabytes and download
them on demand?
Next, follow these steps:
1.SelectOptimizeMac
Storageintheappropriate
preferencepaneforyourversionof
macOSasnotedabove.(Ifyouhave
multipleMacsloggedintothesame
iCloudaccount,youwillneedto
enableoptimizationoneachofthem
toavoidfillingtheirstart-upvolume.)
2.Copya batchoftensofgigabytes
ofdatafromyourexternalsources
toiCloudDrive.
3.Waitforthefilestouploadfully.You
cancheckviaiCloud.comtosee
if thefilesareavailablethereasa
checkoncompletion.
4.Copy another batch of files.
As pressure increases on your
Mac’s storage, macOS will –as
notedabove– startdeletingthe
localcopies.Youshouldbeable
tomonitorstorageandwatch
thathappen.
5.Continue a batch at a time: copy,
wait for upload, repeat.Another option is to upload
directly via the iCloud.com site, but
Apple provides just a file-selection
tool, and uploading via a browser
can be fraught with interruptions
and slowdowns.
To be extremely clear: don’t
delete any files. macOS and iCloud
manage the process so you don’t
have to.Optimize Mac Storage lets you cram 50kg of
digital potatoes in a 5 kg bag.