Home Forums Hardware Mac Desktops & Notebooks New Mac every thing slower

ARtie, can send screenshot, what is root mode? Kind of a noisy interface, I choose file and folders, root mode something innovating beyond that?

What can the root mode (Find All) find that the normal Find won't?

The root mode is mainly useful when the Mac has multiple user accounts configured and you like to find files in every user's private folders. Without the root mode, you won't get to look at other users' files.

If you're the only user on the computer, then using the root search mode is hardly ever necessary, as whilst Mac OS X does protect quite a few system files, it doesn't usually hide them from view. However, there may be software that hides files on purpose from you, and that's where the root mode might help you reveal those items, too.

If you prefer to perform all your searches in this root mode, see the manual: Automating "Find All"

Automate "Find All" (root permissions)
If you want to use "Find All", you have to hold down the option (⌥) key so that the Find button turns into Find All. Once you click on this button, you'll be asked to enter your password.

You can save your admin password in your personal keychain just for Find Any File so that you won't be asked for it every time any more. Here's how:

Launch the program Keychain Access.app, which you can find in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder.
From the File menu, choose New Password Item (⌘N).
In the appearing dialog, enter "FindAnyFile" for the Keychain Item Name, then enter your Admin user name (i.e. your Mac login name) and your Admin password into the Account Name and Password fields.
Save it (i.e. click the Add button). This will add a password item of kind application password with the name FindAnyFile to your default keychain.
Launch Find Any File (FAF) and perform a root-level search by holding the option (⌥) key before clicking on the Find button. You'll be asked to confirm that Find Any File wants to access information from your keychain. Choose Always Allow.
Now, whenever you launch FAF and want to search with root permissions, you need to hold down the option key. You can change that, too, so that FAF will always search with root permissions. To do that, launch the program Terminal.app and paste the following into it:

defaults write org.tempel.findanyfile AlwaysFindAll -bool yes
Press the Return key to issue this command. Now quit and relaunch FAF - the Find button should now read Find All. With that, you're set. (To turn off this feature, issue the Terminal command again, replacing yes with no.)

And isn't true that tons of gunk files that don't have name? Search Excel, maybe some junk does not have excel.. Junk always has the name of app sure?

How compare to App Cleaner, that seems to be pretty impressive, though that wont work once have the app deleted and then junk is around years later, which is case ... in fact nothing works, cause years later, you don't even know what app was the foundation for the junk.

Because App Store apps are “Sandboxed” all of their support files are encapsulated in the application package itself. Therefore, the recommended way to delete them is through the Launchpad app. Simply click and hold on the icon in Launchpad until the icon shakes and an X appears at the upper left corner of the icon. Click on the X, approve the deletion and it is a complete deletion. It even works on Microsoft and Adobe apps purchased and installed through the App Store.

Microsoft and Adobe apps not purchased through the App Store usually have an uninstallation option in their installer, which should remove all application and settings files but leave the data files.

And unless you really know what you are doing, it is easy to delete more than you intend. (Don't ask how I know that )

PMFJI but a good friend who earned his living as a Unix System administrator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation who told me that after 20+ years of experience he never logged in as Root if there were any other alternatives because a single typo in a command can all too easily erase the entire system.

But there are apps that will search for old unused files.

JOe, thanks, good post. What are apps you recommend.

Just checked out Launchpad, never really tried it before, still don't get why one would use launchpad when have dock, but nice to see all icons so large.

...TinkerTool which has an app uninstaller function that has turned up bits parts and pieces missed by other app cleaner tools.

TinkerTool works only with apps that have been installed by drag & drop, not those that have been installed by installers. <https://imgur.com/FysgKso>
For the heck of it, I'll try it after I uninstall Excel and see what it says.

Just checked out Launchpad, never really tried it before, still don't get why one would use launchpad when have dock, but nice to see all icons so large.

As I reported earlier, both here and to Apple, and including the latest Monterey update to v 12.5.1, none of my app store purchases or 3rd party apps in /Apps appear in Launchpad with the sole exception of one that's in /Apps/System Prefs/Utilities.

Can you make huge icons smaller so fit more on one page? As it too huge/ weird to be practical

Can you choose what want or don't want?

Can you arrange them to taste? Put what want on page 1 or alphabetical

Baffling: I see tiny circles on bottom to navigate, but arrows keys don't seem to move from page 1 to page 2? Clicking arrows on keyboard, nothing happens.

...either of you know how one can advance the page without mousing to the next page? With normal keyboard?

Is there a way to alphabetize it all if you decide you want that?

Just tested making folder, ok but call two in row productivity..Can rename?

If you hold down the option key, the icons "wiggle," and while they're wiggling you can drag them around.

I mean is there an alphabetize quickly option?

Seriously, though, I imagine that if there's a way to alphabetize, it would be default.

I wonder what sort of algorithm places those icons? Judging from my screen, it certainly has nothing to do with usage patterns.

I use Find Any File in root mode, and I've always assumed that it's finding everything, but a while back, Jon posted that EasyFind found items that FAF missed. I expect to uninstall Excel (in favor of Numbers ) soon, and when I do, I'll d/l EF and compare it results with those of FAF.

Open Launchpad, click on the screen anywhere outside a folder or icon, and a search bar will appear at the top of the page, which makes alphabetic sorting unnecessary.

...which is why Monterey and Ventura have a setting in System Preferences > Dock & Menu to “Show recent applications on the menu bar”.