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How to Free Up Space on an iPhone or iPad

iPads and iPhones don’t have file systems you can see, but there are still apps and files eating up space. You can see exactly what’s consuming that limited space and free it up.

Each bit of data on your device is associated with an app. For example, downloaded Kindle eBooks are tied to the Kindle app. Music files are part of the Music app, videos are part of the Videos app, and photos are part of the Photos app.

View Per-App Storage Usage

The number displayed to the right of each app includes the app’s application files, cached documents and data, and media files. Tap the app to view exactly what part of the app is using up the space.Your device’s Usage screen shows an overview of the storage space used on your device and exactly how much each app is using. Open the Settings app, select the General category, and tap Usage to view it.

Delete Apps

Free up space by removing apps. Games are particularly large, so your installed games will probably appear near the top of your Usage list. Tap an app in the list and tap Delete App to remove it from your device.

You can always reinstall the app later. Just visit the app store, search for the app, and download it again. If the app uses iCloud syncing or its own user account system, your saved settings and data may be accessible even when you reinstall the app later.

Clear an App’s Documents & Data

Some apps have quite a bit of space used by their “Documents & Data.” In the screenshot below, the Pocket app itself is using up 37.4 MB, while its documents and data are using up a comparatively whopping 191 MB.

An app’s Documents & Data include any documents and other files the app has downloaded or created. For example, the Pocket app’s Documents & Data include offline copies of articles in our Pocket queue. The Amazon Kindle app’s Documents & Data include any eBooks you’ve downloaded for use offline. Google Chrome’s Documents & Data include your settings and Chrome’s browser cache.

You can’t actually clear an app’s Documents & Data from this screen. Instead, you’ll need to either delete the app and reinstall it or clear the an app’s temporary data from within the app. For example, you can open the Settings screen in Pocket and tap Clear Downloaded Files to remove offline copies of downloaded articles. This will reduce the Pocket app’s Documents & Data usage. Not every app has this sort of option, so you may have to delete and reinstall an app if it’s using too much space for its temporary data.

Delete Music, Videos, Photos, and Other Media Files

Videos, music, photos, podcasts, and other media files are stored as part of the associated app. The Music and Videos apps in the storage list show how much space music and video files are taking up on your device.

Tap the Videos app to see a list of videos taking up space. Swipe a video to the left and tap Delete to remove it from your device, freeing up space. The Podcasts app allows you to delete downloaded episodes in a similar way.

The Music app just shows a total amount of space used by all music on your device. Swipe All Music to the left and tap Delete to remove all music from your device.

If you’d rather remove individual songs, open the Music app itself, swipe a song to the left, and tap Delete.

Photos work similarly. The Photos & Camera app in the Usage list displays how much storage is used by photos on your device. To actually remove these photos, you’ll need to open the Photos app, select the photos you want to delete, and tap the Delete button.

Erase Browsing Data

The Usage screen displays different types of browsing data when you tap the Safari app. Tap Website Data to and tap Remove All Website Data to remove cache and cookies. Swipe to the left on Offline Reading List or History and tap Delete to delete these other types of data.

If you use Google Chrome, you can clear Chrome’s cache by opening the Chrome app, accessing the Settings screen, tapping Privacy, and clearing your browsing data. Chrome’s browsing data appears as Chrome’s “Documents & Data” on the Settings screen. Other third-party browsers work similarly.

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If you can’t figure out how to clear an app’s documents and data, just uninstall the app and reinstall it. You may need to set up the app again afterward if it doesn’t sync its settings online.

For Apple’s own preinstalled apps, you can open the the app itself and remove content to free up space. For example, iMessage may be eating up quite a bit of space. You can open the iMessage app, locate message threads containing file or photo attachments, swipe to the left on them, and tap Delete to delete them from your device.

What is OS X’s Launchpad and How Does it Work?

If you’re new to OS X, or even if you’re not and you’re simply used to pinning everything to the Dock, you might have wondered what Launchpad is, what it does, and how to use it.

Launchpad, for lack of a better comparison, can be thought of as the OS X equivalent of the iOS home screen, which is how you launch iOS apps. Indeed, that’s exactly what Launchpad is, an app launcher and like its iOS equivalent, it is similar in appearance and function. If you’re a traditional Windows user, you can think of Launchpad as a sort of Start screen that you don’t have to use.

To open Launchpad, you can click on its Dock icon.

If you’re using an Apple laptop, pinch on the trackpad using three fingers and your thumb or use the designated Launchpad button on your keyboard (otherwise known as F4). Finally, if you’re a keyboard ninja, use Spotlight and type it!

Once open, you’ll see all your apps arrayed in neat rows of seven. You can move apps around and arrange them so they make better sense to you. Just click and grab an app icon and drag it to its new location.

Note, at the bottom you see navigation dots. These are pages. To move between pages you can swipe left-right with two fingers on your trackpad, click the dot at the bottom of the page, or use “Command + left/right arrow” on your keyboard.

To launch an app you just click on the icon or use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate and “Enter” to launch. Remember, use left or right arrow to move around on a page, and “Command + arrow” to move between pages.

If you’re looking for a specific app or group of apps, you can use the search feature at the top of the page. In this example, we display every Microsoft-centric app on our system.

Any apps you install will automatically appear in Launchpad, and new apps installed from the Mac App Store get the sparkle treatment.

You can uninstall any app that you install from the Mac App Store by clicking and holding the mouse button until the apps shake and a small X appears in the upper-left corner, just like on iOS. Clicking on that X will uninstall the app.

Note, any apps that you install via the more traditional Mac method (mounting a .DMG file and then dragging the app to the Applications folder) will have to be uninstalled the same way (dragging from the Applications folder to the Trash). The ability to uninstall apps from Launchpad is a strictly Mac App Store perk.

Organizing Apps and Creating Groups

Over the course of your Mac’s lifespan, you’ll no doubt install dozens upon dozens of apps, and over time, you’ll have page upon page in Launchpad.

You can move apps around and organize them to whatever scheme works for you. Just click and drag the icon to another spot or page. If you want to create a separate page for just a few select apps, you can drag the icon over the last page and a new one will open. This works to an extent but can still be a bit unwieldy.

Better yet, if you want to organize your apps into groups, you can consolidate space so your Launchpad doesn’t stretch for page after page. To create a new app group (Apple calls them Launchpad Folders), simply drag one icon on top of another. The apps will be merged and you can click the title to change it to whatever you want.

To disband an app group, you’ll need to drag each icon out of it.

If you want to close out of of Launchpad, you can press “Escape” or tap the Launchpad key on your keyboard. You can also click anywhere outside of an app icon, use the app switcher, or pinch out on your trackpad using your three fingers and thumb.

Using Launchpad can be a cleaner, more efficient way to launch apps than simply pinning every last one to your Dock, or using the Applications folder. It’s probably not as quick as using Spotlight, but for users who prefer to navigate by mouse, or for those who are routine iOS users, Launchpad may feel a great deal more familiar and comfortable
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How do I Insert a New Row in Excel via the Keyboard?

If you are a keyboard ninja, then you hate having to move your hands from the keyboard for any reason unless there is no other option. Today’s SuperUser Q&A post provides multiple ways to help a frustrated reader keep his hands on the keyboard while using Microsoft Excel.

Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites.

The Question

SuperUser reader jstricker wants to know how to insert new rows in Excel using a keyboard instead of a mouse:

Right-clicking on a row and selecting insert is fairly time consuming. I would rather not have to take my hands off the keyboard. How can I insert a new row above my current row using only the keyboard? I am primarily interested in inserting a single row at a time, but would also be interested in answers that address inserting multiple rows at a time.

Is there an easy way to insert new rows in Excel using a keyboard?

The Answer

SuperUser contributors jstricker, ATG, KRyan, BillOer, and assylias have the answer for us. First up, jstricker:

There are two options that I am aware of and both (unfortunately) require two steps.

Option 1

1. With a single cell selected, hit Shift + Space to select the row.
2. Hit Control + Shift + + (Plus Sign) to insert a row above the current row.

Option 2

1. With a single cell selected, hit Control + Shift + + (Plus Sign) to insert a row.
2. Hit Enter to accept the default of Shift Cells Down.

If inserting many rows at once, I think the first option is the best since you can repeat the second step without having to re-select the row.

Followed by the answer from ATG:

The following keyboard shortcut will insert one row above the active cell’s row:

Press Alt + I (Insert), then press R (Row).

On personal computers, use the Keyboard Right-Click Key to emulate a right-click on the current selection.

Additional note from ATG: Substituting C for R will insert a new column.

Then the answer from KRyan:

It is worth noting that this is a sequence, not necessarily keys to be pressed simultaneously (see answer from ATG above). You can type Alt, thenI, then R and get the same effect.

Followed by the answer from BillOer:

You can also select multiple rows and then right-click to insert rows, or you can insert one row and then use Ctrl + Y as many times as you need to insert rows. If you format your spreadsheet as a table, you do not even need to worry about copying your formulas.

And our final answer from assylias:

On Windows I use:

1. Shift + Space to select the current row.
2. Keyboard Right-Click Key + I to insert a row.

(*) The Keyboard Right-Click Key looks like this:

How to Share Files Between User Accounts on Windows, Linux, or OS X

Your operating system provides each user account with its own folders when you set up severaldifferent user accounts on the same computer. Shared folders allow you to share files between user accounts.

This process works similarly on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. These are all powerful multi-user operating systems with similar folder and file permission systems.

Windows

On Windows, the “Public” user’s folders are accessible to all users. You’ll find this folder under C:\Users\Public by default. Files you place in any of these folders will be accessible to other users, so it’s a good way to share music, videos, and other types of files between users on the same computer.

Libraries are hidden by default on Windows 8.1, so you’ll have to unhide them to do this.Windows even adds these folders to each user’s libraries by default. For example, a user’s Music library contains the user’s music folder under C:\Users\NAME\as well as the public music folder under C:\Users\Public\. This makes it easy for each user to find the shared, public files. It also makes it easy to make a file public — just drag and drop a file from the user-specific folder to the public folder in the library.

These Public folders can also be used to share folders publicly on the local network. You’ll find the Public folder sharing option under Advanced sharing settings in the Network and Sharing Control Panel.

You could also choose to make any folder shared between users, but this will require messing with folder permissions in Windows. To do this, right-click a folder anywhere in the file system and select Properties. Use the options on the Security tab to change the folder’s permissions and make it accessible to different user accounts. You’ll need administrator access to do this.

Linux

You can use Linux’s permissions system to give other user accounts read or read-write access to specific folders. The process below is for Ubuntu 14.04, but it should be identical on any other Linux distribution using GNOME with the Nautilus file manager. It should be similar for other desktop environments, too.This is a bit more complicated on Linux, as typical Linux distributions don’t come with a special user folder all users have read-write access to. The Public folder on Ubuntu is for sharing files between computers on a network.

Locate the folder you want to make accessible to other users, right-click it, and select Properties. On the Permissions tab, give “Others” the “Create and delete files” permission. Click the Change Permissions for Enclosed Files button and give “Others” the “Read and write” and “Create and Delete Files” permissions.

Other users on the same computer will then have read and write access to your folder. They’ll find it under /home/YOURNAME/folder under Computer. To speed things up, they can create a link or bookmark to the folder so they always have easy access to it.

Mac OS X

Mac OS X creates a special Shared folder that all user accounts have access to. This folder is intended for sharing files between different user accounts. It’s located at /Users/Shared.

To access it, open the Finder and click Go > Computer. Navigate to Macintosh HD > Users > Shared. Files you place in this folder can be accessed by any user account on your Mac.

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These tricks are useful if you’re sharing a computer with other people and you all have your own user accounts — maybe your kids have their own limited accounts. You can share a music library, downloads folder, picture archive, videos, documents, or anything else you like without keeping duplicate copies.

How to See Which App is Blocking Your PC from Going into Sleep Mode

Have you ever expected your PC to go into sleep mode only to come back and find it is still powered on? We know we certainly have, here’s how to check what’s keeping it awake.

How to See Which App is Blocking Your PC from Going into Sleep Mode

Press the Win + X keyboard combination or right click in the bottom left hand corner of your screen to bring up the Windows Tools Menu, then launch an admin command prompt.

When the command prompt opens, type the following command:

powercfg /requests

You can see from the screenshot above, that I have 1 Process (VLC Media Player) as well as 2 Drivers that are preventing my PC from going to sleep. That’s all there is to it.

How to Quickly Batch Rename Files on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux

Windows, Mac OS X, and most Linux desktops have built-in tools for quickly renaming multiple files. Use a batch-rename tool rather than fixing them one by one.

More powerful batch-renaming features may require a third-party tool or the command line. Batch-renaming features are often integrated into third-party file managers, too.

Windows

We’ve already covered the many ways to batch-rename files on Windows. For basic batch-renaming, begin by selecting several files in Windows Explorer or File Explorer. Press Ctrl+A to select a folder full of files, use the mouse cursor to select a group, or hold Ctrl as you click to select and de-select files.

More advanced operations will need Command Prompt commands, PowerShell cmdlets, or third-party bulk-renaming tools. (Be extremely careful when downloading and running such third-party software, as there’s a good chance you could end up with adware or malware.)When you’re ready, right-click a file in the list and select Rename — or just press F2. Type a new “base name” for the files, such as My Vacation, and press Enter. The files will be renamed as My Vacation (1), My Vacation (2), and so on. This will give all those files a much more logical name, grouping them together.

Mac OS X

Mac OS X’s Finder gained its own batch-rename function in version 10.10 Yosemite. These built-in batch renaming features are much more powerful than the built-in Windows ones.

To get started, select the files you want to rename in the Finder, Ctrl-click or right-click them, and select Rename items. You’ll see a Rename dialog where you can choose between three options. Here’s what they do:

• Replace Text: This option lets you perform a search and replace in the selected files’ names. Enter text you want to find and the text you want to replace it with. For example, you could replace the words “My Vacation” with “Paris Trip.” Or you could search for a bit of text and replace it with nothing at all, snipping that bit of text out of every file name.
• Add Text: This option allows you to add some text to each file name. You can add the text either before or after the name.
• Format: This is the most complicated option. You can “format” file names, using a base name and a number. This works similar to the equivalent renaming feature on Windows. You could also use the file’s associated date instead of a number. The number or date can appear before or after the base name.

This may sound a bit complicated, but it’s not too bad. You’ll see a preview of the resulting file name appear below the Rename dialog, so you can see exactly how the files will be named. Feel free to experiment!

Linux

If you’re using a KDE desktop, the standard Dolphin file manager does have this integrated. It works like the batch rename feature on WIndows. Select multiple files, right-click them, and select Rename or press F2. Enter a base name for the files, including the # symbol somewhere in it. The # symbol will be replaced by a sequential number for each file name. For example, if you enter Photo # From My Vacation.jpg, you’ll get files named “Photo 1 From My Vacation.jpg,” “Photo 2 From My Vacation.jpg,” and so on.Some Linux desktop environments come with an integrated batch-renaming tool, and some don’t. The Nautilus file manager used by Ubuntu’s Unity desktop and GNOME doesn’t have this feature built-in.

The Xfce desktop and its Thunar file manager has an easy-to-use, powerful bulk rename tool built into it. To access it, select some files in Thunar, right-click them, and click Rename. This tool can do everything from renaming files based on their audio tags, inserting a date and time, numbering files, performing a search and replace, making text uppercase or lowercase, inserting or deleting characters at a specific position in the file name, and so on.

Thunar’s interface is powerful, but it’s also fairly simple to understand. The preview of how each file’s name will look afterwards helps you experiment safely, so you can see exactly what its functions will do.

On other desktop environments, you can head to your Linux distribution’s software management program and install a bulk-rename tool. We do like Thunar’s Bulk Rename tool, even on GNOME and Unity desktops. Install Thunar on another desktop environment to get a “Bulk Rename” tool you can launch directly from your Linux desktop’s applications menu. Drag-and-drop files from your desktop’s file manager into the Bulk Rename window to start renaming them.

You can even integrate Thunar’s Bulk Rename tool into the Nautilus file manager using the Nautilus Actions tool.

As on other operaitng systems, you can also batch-rename files from the terminal. The Linux terminal is so powerful that you can batch-rename files in all sorts of ways.

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Batch-renaming isn’t something every computer user needs to do regularly, but it is often useful. That batch of oddly named image files from your digital camera’s DCIM folder are prime targets for a good batch-renaming when you import them to your computer.