DECEMBER 2021 MACWORLD 117requirements before
doing the migration.
Enable iCloud
Photos and set Photos
(Photos → Preferences →
iCloud) to store only
optimized versions of
your images. This does
result in your not having
the ability to create a
full local backup of all
your media (fave.
co/3pYaUdk), and it may
require an upgrade
from your current iCloud
storage level. However, it can be worth the
trade-off of hundreds to several hundreds
of dollars for a larger-capacity drive on the
new Mac.
Use optimized storage in macOS via
the iCloud preference pane in Mojave and
earlier or the Apple ID preference pane’s
iCloud view in Catalina and later. Selecting
Optimize Mac automatically offloads files
synced via iCloud Drive to your iCloud
storage as needed.
Get help from macOS in finding items
to delete. Choose → About This Mac →
Storage and click Manage, and macOS
makes a number of suggestions about
how to reduce drive consumption. You
may find (as I did) some large files you’d
forgotten about. On my laptop, I had a
nearly 13 B Big Sur beta installer.
> Use Spotlight to identify large files
and apps (fave.co/3q3bwhV) with a Finder-
based search. This can reveal items that
the Storage view mentioned in the
previous instruction does not.
> If there are items you want to be
sure you retain but don’t need “online”—
that is, directly and always connected to
your Mac—transfer them to an
inexpensive external hard drive, but be
sure you have separate backups of that
drive. (Some online backup services will
only keep archives of attached drives for
about a month at their basic service level
without their being attached. Either set a
reminder to attach and power them up
monthly, or pay an additional fee, as with
Backblaze [fave.co/3CHraTx], for longer-
term storage.)macOS offers insight into the files that fill your drive, including
forgotten ones—like a massive beta macOS installer here.