With iPhoto open and active, click on the Time Machine icon on the dock, and you will be able to browse your backed up iPhoto photos! You can restore individual photos, albums, or restore the entire library. Backup source (ex. External Drive) must be mounted and available.
If you ever just saved a file, and you want Time Machine to back it up right away, there is a way. On the dock, right click the Time Machine icon and click “Back Up Now”.
Last week, I spoke about using Time Machine’s “Exclusion” functionality to make sure unwanted files were deleted/ignored during backups. But what do you do if you come across a file that’s already been backed up and you want it gone forever?
Luckily, Time Machine has anticipated this need–though it might not seem obvious right away. Let’s say you come across a file on your drive, and you want it gone completely, backups and all. Here’s how:
First of all, open the folder/directory where the file is located. Trash the current “version” of the file as you normally would. Next, while you’re still in the window, click on the Time Machine icon in your dock to enter Time Machine “mode.”
Click back once to the previous backup version of that window, and you’ll see the file you just deleted. Click once on the file to highlight it, then go up to the actions (“gear”) pull down menu, and select “delete all backups.” Voila! That annoying file wont bother you again.
Obviously, you’ll want to use this function with care, since there’s no turning back once you’ve deleted something in this manner. That being said, it’s a great little feature that might not be obvious when first using Time Machine.
This tip is for people new to Time Machine and curious about internet files on their computers. Time Machine is a great new addition to the Mac OS X experience. However, while it’s nice to have your entire hard backed up, there are files you might NOT want sticking around on your computer taking up space, much less backed up–like any temporary Safari files.
The files that we all probably get rid of regularly are cache files, history files, and, more than likely, downloads that you’ll undoubtedly erase or move right after download (like large disk image files that you’ve already used). But with Time Machine running, how can we REALLY erase these files securely/forever?
Cache files – The good news is that, according to Apple and the Apple support forums, temporary cache files are ignored by Time Machine altogether. You can see this by opening your “cache” folder, going into Time Machine, and seeing all the empty, black windows behind the current one.
History – In case you didn’t already know it, you can exclude certain items from being backed up by Time Machine. In other words, you’re telling it to “ignore” something when it backs up. While it’s usually a good idea to back up everything, you might want your browser’s history file ignored. It’s as simple as entering Time Machine preferences, clicking “options,” and dragging the file/folder you want ignored into the list. I chose to ignore the files in this path: “user>library>safari>” You may want to choose other files, but that’s up to you.
Downloads – Obviously, there are many files you download from the internet that you want instantly eliminated from your HD, but unless you delete them before Time Machine’s next backup, you won’t get rid of them. To rectify this, just add your “downloads” folder (or wherever you save things to) to Time Machine’s exclusion list as above, and those pesky files won’t outstay their welcome.
Obviously, every user is different, so make sure to make your “exclusion” choices carefully. (I, for example, use my downloads folder as a temporary folder, but you may not). As a side note, take care when excluding System level directories, as doing so makes it harder to restore your system if your disk becomes damaged, etc.
If you open Time Machine whilst making sure that Mail is the active application, it will open up a complete history (once you have set up Time Machine of course) of your inboxes, sent messages, drafts etc. Restored messages are placed into a new folder under Mailboxes. Very useful for finding accidentally deleted messages…
