#mactip

Smart folders have been available in Mac OS X since 10.4, but if you're new to the platform—or haven't really explored it—then you might not know how useful they can be. These "saved searches" give you instant access to files matching a particular set of criteria, so they're perfect for picking out pictures taken with a certain camera on your Mac. Here's how to set it up.

Smart folders don't affect the location of any of the files on your computer, they just group them together for easy reference. They can come in handy whenever you have files spread out all over your system that you need to quickly sort through—so when you're hunting for photos across multiple folders, for example.

Put a smart folder in place by opening a Finder folder at the top of the level you want to search through (like the Desktop or your Dropbox). Choose File then New Smart Folder to bring up the search options. The plus icon to the right lets you add fields to your search, such as file type, the date the file was created, and so on. Select Other from the menu to see the full list of options available to you.

Here you'll find Device make and Device model, which let you search for all the pictures taken with your smartphone (or your expensive DSLR). If you're unsure about what these values should be, open up the Get Info dialog on an existing photo to check. Click Save to confirm your criteria and display a link to the folder (which is shaded purple). Every time you open this folder, the search runs again.

Have youlost an important document? Did your Mac crash while you have a document open? Don’t worry: most software tools are able to recover documents automatically if this occurs. If you’ve trashed a file and then realized you need it, you can recover it if you haven’t emptied the Trash since you dragged the file there; just click the Trash icon in the Dock, and drag the file from the Trash folder to the Desktop. If you’ve emptied the trash and are using Time Machine to make regular backups, open Time Machine, use the arrows at the bottom-right of the screen to ‘go back’ to a point when you know you had the file. 

Click on the file and hit Restore. For other back-up software, refer to that app’s manual to find out how to recover a file. Not running regular back-ups? Set up a regular schedule now. At least two: both on and off-site.  It’s not time to panic yet. Trashed files aren’t deleted from your disk, but their entry in the directory is removed and the space made available to be over-written. So as soon as you realize you need the trashed file, stop using your Mac for anything that’s not necessary to recover the file. There are a number of software tools that can help recover trashed files. ProSoft’s Data Rescue is one; Clever Files’ Disk Drill another. 

Both apps have free demo versions that allow you to scan a drive for trashed files. Start a scan; if it ‘finds’ your trashed file, you might be in luck. Depending on the size of the file and the tool you use, you might be able to use the demo version to recover it. If not, you’ll have to pay for the full version. If neither tool can find your file, the next step is to take your Mac to a specialist data recovery firm. (This is expensive.) If the document hasn’t been trashed but has been changed and you need an earlier version, OS X’s versioning may be able to help. The app you use to work on the document must support it, though. With the current version open, click on the File menu, then go to ‘Revert to’ and select ‘Browse all versions’. Use the checkmarks on the right to navigate to the version you want, and click Restore. Or, hold down a and hit ‘Restore a Copy’ to open the old version in a new document.  

Use an iPhone to lock your Mac

We all want to keep our Macs secure when we’re away from them, and this app uses your iPhone as a tool to lock and unlock a Mac. It’s much like the Atama Sesame 2 wireless proximity lock (see right), just without the extra piece of hardware to keep in your pocket. If you have an iPhone and a Mac, then, Guardian Angel might seem like the better solution – it’s way cheaper, after all. But it isn’t better. Still, you can choose the lock range (much like Sesame), but the range map is a bit hit and miss, with your Bluetooth device (iPhone) struggling to be pinpointed. Forgot your phone? Your master password will get around that problem. The options to tweak are plentiful, but a little overblown for something that’s supposed to be mostly admin-free. Still, it works and is a very inexpensive solution. the bottom line. A useful proximity locking app, using your existing devices, but a few niggles prevent it from being the best solution.