CleanMyMac 3 includes the following cleaning modules:
• Smart Cleanup
• Large & Old Files
Smart Cleanup
Smart Cleanup incorporates all CleanMyMac 3 cleaning modules and looks through all areas on your Mac to find items you can safely get rid of.
While preparing files for removal, CleanMyMac uses the Smart Select approach that focuses on
unneeded and outdated files that were not created by the user and aren’t involved in any processes. For that reason, using the Smart Cleanup module once in a while is enough for keeping up your Mac clean and healthy on a basic level.
Note: To establish accuracy and safety of cleanup operations, CleanMyMac refers to the custom Ignore List and to its built-in Safety Database, which includes a list of vital items, rules, and exceptions.
If you are sure you will never want to remove a particular item, you can add it to CleanMyMac’s Ignore List. For more information, see Add files to CleanMyMac’s Ignore List.
Smart Cleanup includes the following CleanMyMac modules:
• System Junk — outdated cache files, old logs, extra application binaries, broken application data, unused language and localization files.
• iPhoto Junk — hidden original copies of previously modified images. By default, CleanMyMac selects only original copies of fixed red-eye and rotated images. Click the iPhoto Junk icon to review and select more hidden originals for removal.
• Mail Attachments — local copies of attached files that you’ve once opened or viewed in Mail.
• iTunes Junk — iOS apps stored on Mac, old iOS device backups and update files, corrupt and incomplete downloads.
• Trash Bins — deleted items in trash folders on your Mac and external drives, as well as in the iPhoto and Mail applications.
• Large & Old Files — a list of files from your system that you may want to delete. Click the Large & Old Files icon to review and select files for cleanup.
Scan your Mac with Smart Cleanup
Do one of the following:
• Click Scan at the bottom of the window.
• Choose Action > Scan.
• Press Return.
Review Smart Cleanup scan results
Note: By default, none of your Large & Old Files are selected for removal. You need to view scan results and select files you want to remove.
After completion of the full scan, you will see:
• Total amount of items that are selected for removal. All of these items are absolutely safe for cleanup and do not affect the functionality of your Mac.
• Amount of items selected for removal within a particular cleaning module (specified under corresponding module icons).
• Total amount of items found within a particular cleaning module but not necessarily selected for removal (for example, items found in the Large & Old Files module). The amount of these items is specified next to the module name in the Modules list.
• Switch to the appropriate module in the Modules list.
Add more items to the cleanup list
1. Click on a module icon that has the Needs Review subscription (Large & Old Files and iPhoto Junk), and then click See Details.
2. After you are switched to the corresponding module, manually select items you want to remove. For more information, see Large & Old Files or iPhoto Junk.
To return to the Smart Cleanup module, do one of the following:
• In the upper-left corner of the main area, click Back to Smart Cleanup.
• Choose Go > Smart Cleanup.
• In the Modules list, click Smart Cleanup.
Exclude items from the cleanup list
• To exclude all items of a particular cleaning module from the Smart Cleanup removal list: Deselect the checkbox under the module icon.
• To exclude some items of a particular cleaning module from the Smart Cleanup removal list: Switch to the appropriate module in the Modules list, and then deselect checkboxes of items you do not want to remove.
Clean up your Mac
Note: Usually, when you start a cleanup or maintenance process, the system asks you to confirm it by entering your administrator account password. Alternatively, you can go through the quick authentication procedure that frees you from entering your credentials more than once per
To remove selected junk files and free up a significant amount of space, do one of the following:
• Click Clean at the bottom of the window.
• Choose Action > Clean.
• Press Return.
To discontinue scanning or cleanup process, click Stop.
After completion of the cleanup, you will see how much space you’ve freed.
To view a detailed information on cleanup results: Click View Log in the lower-left corner of the main area.
To return to the Smart Cleanup screen: Click the Start Over button on the cleanup completion screen. Or choose Go > Start Over.
System Junk
The System Junk module takes care of all unneeded data generated by your system and applications. In particular, it accurately analyzes all your files and selects for removal only outdated cache files, old logs, extra application binaries, broken application data, unused language and localization files to trim the excess off your operating system.
Start the System Junk module
1. In the Modules list, switch to the System Junk module. Or choose Go > System Junk.
2. Do any of the following:
Use Smart Selection
While preparing a cleanup list, CleanMyMac uses the Smart Select feature that focuses on unneeded and outdated files that were not created by the user and aren’t involved in any processes. After completion of scanning, you will see the amount of smart-selected items in the center of the main area.
To avail of the Smart Selection feature: Click Clean.
Note: To establish accuracy and safety of cleanup operations, CleanMyMac refers to the custom Ignore List and to its built-in Safety Database, which includes a list of vital items, rules, and exceptions.
If you are sure you will never want to remove a particular file, you can add it to CleanMyMac’s Ignore List. For more information, see Add files to CleanMyMac’s Ignore List.
Review scan results
CleanMyMac’s Smart Select offers to remove only unneeded files, but generally a number of items that you might want to remove is much bigger. The total amount of items found in the System Junk module is displayed next to the Review Details button.
To view all found items by categories: Click Review Details. You will see the following item categories:
Broken Login Items
When you remove an application or a service, a broken link to it may remain among your Login Items. CleanMyMac easily resolves this problem.
Broken Preferences
Sometimes application preference files get corrupted, which leads to improper behavior or inability to launch applications. Generally, removing broken preference files eliminates these negative effects.
Development Junk During installation and configuration process, applications may create some supporting files that become useless afterwards.
iOS Photo Cache After you sync photos with any of your iOS devices, some photos stay cached on your Mac. This data only wastes space after the sync is done.
Language Files
Almost every application you install comes with multiple localizations you do not use. You can safely remove them to save a significant amount of disk space.
Leftovers Uninstalled applications sometimes leave a lot of junk that occupies
OS X Localizations result in longer startup time, performance degradation, and possible improper system functioning. CleanMyMac cleans cache and improves performance.
System Log Files
Activity of your system applications and services is being logged into numerous files. Generally, they are useful for debugging purposes only, and therefore are hardly worth employing your disk space.
Universal Binaries
Developers usually compile their applications to support several Mac architectures, which means putting in twice and sometimes four times the code. However, your Mac only needs one copy.
User Cache Files
Originally intended to improve startup time, the cache files of your applications ultimately accumulate, and result in improper system functioning or overall performance drop.
User Log Files
The activity of your applications is being logged into numerous files, which start using a lot of space after a while. However, these files are rarely used and absolutely useless if old.
Xcode Derived Data
If you are a developer, you might want to clean up your system from a significant amount of intermediate build information and project index generated by Xcode. This CleanMyMac ability will come in useful when you need to speed up your project and free some space.
After you open the detailed results window, you can take a closer look at items and change their sorting.
• To reveal files included to a particular category: Click the category in the left-side pane of the main area. Items included to the category are revealed in the right-side pane. To view contents of a folder in the right-side pane, click its disclosure triangle.
• To view an item in the Finder: Hover over an item you want to reveal, and click a magnifier icon that appears next to it.
• To view an item path: Hover over an item line. You can double-click any path component to open a related directory in a new Finder window. If an item path does not appear, choose View > Show File Path.
• To change sorting of items or categories: At the top of the window, use the left-side “Sort by’’
pop-up menu to change sorting of item categories, and the right-side “Sort by’’ pop-up menu to change sorting of items.
• To find an item within the scan results list: Start typing a word in the search field — results appear below the field right as you type. To view all available items, click the close button (x).
Modify the System Junk cleanup list
By default, CleanMyMac selects most of the System Junk items for removal. You can deselect any of the found items to keep them in your system.
• To exclude all items from the cleanup list: Click Deselect All in the upper-left corner of the main area.
• To exclude one or multiple items or categories from the cleanup list: Select checkboxes opposite categories or items you do not want to remove.
Note: When you deselect items from the cleanup list, CleanMyMac 3 remembers your choice, and keeps these items deselected in future scan results.
• Add one or multiple items or categories to the cleanup list: Select checkboxes opposite categories or items you want to remove.
• Add all items to the cleanup list: Click Select All in the upper-left corner of the main area.
Clean up your Mac from system junk
Note: Usually, when you start a cleanup or maintenance process, the system asks you
to confirm it by entering your administrator account password. Alternatively, you can go through the quick authentication procedure that frees you from entering your credentials more than once per CleanMyMac session:
• Choose Action > Authenticate.
• In the dialog that appears, enter your administrator account credentials.
Do any of the following:
• Click Clean at the bottom of the window.
• Choose Action > Clean.
• Press Return.
To discontinue scanning or cleanup process, click Stop.
After completion of the cleanup, you will see how much space you’ve freed.
To view a detailed information on cleanup results: Click View Log in the lower-left corner of the main area.
To return to the initial System Junk screen: Click the Start Over button on the cleanup completion screen.
Or choose Go > Start Over.
iPhoto Junk
The iPhoto Junk module significantly reduces the size of iPhoto and Photos libraries by eliminating hidden originals of previously edited images. Originals are copies of images you have once rotated, cropped, or edited in any other way.
CleanMyMac does not remove final versions of your images, instead it allows you to compare original and final images to make sure the deletion is safe.
Note: To establish accuracy and safety of cleanup operations, CleanMyMac refers to the custom Ignore List and to its built-in Safety Database, which includes a list of vital items, rules, and exceptions.
If you are sure you will never want to remove a particular file, you can add it to CleanMyMac’s Ignore List. For more information, see Add files to CleanMyMac’s Ignore List.
Start the iPhoto Junk module
1. In the Modules pane, switch to the iPhoto Junk module. Or choose Go > iPhoto Junk.
2. Select an iPhoto library you want to analyze by doing any of the following:
• Use a default iPhoto library for scanning
• Select another iPhoto library by clicking Change Library. In the dialog that appears, locate to the library you want to analyze, and click Open.
3. Do any of the following:
• Click Scan at the bottom of the window.
• Choose Action > Scan.
• Press Return.
To open the added library in the Finder, click a magnifier icon next to it.
Use Smart Selection
While preparing a cleanup list, CleanMyMac uses the Smart Select feature. By default, it adds to the cleanup list only originals of fixed red-eye and rotated photos, since their data is restorable. After
completion of scanning, you will see the amount of smart-selected images in the center of the main area.
To avail of the Smart Selection feature: Click Clean.
Review scan results
CleanMyMac’s Smart Select offers to remove only 100% unneeded files, but generally, a number of items that you might want to remove is much bigger. The total amount of items found in the iPhoto Junk module is displayed next to the Review Details button.
To view all found images: Click Review Details.
On the detailed results window, CleanMyMac shows you pairs of thumbnail images — a hidden copy and a version to keep (final-version image).
The size of each image is specified in its lower-right corner. Each final-version image is also marked with a number of icons that depict changes applied to it:
Cropped Earlier resized image or image with a partly removed background.
Enhanced Image improved with some of iPhoto effects and adjustments like sharpness, contrast, exposure, and many more.
Fixed Red-Eye
People’s eyes came out red on an original copy of this photo. This negative effect was fixed with the corresponding editing option of iPhoto.
Rotated
Probably, an original copy of this photo was taken at a wrong angle.
Therefore, this image was either automatically rotated by iPhoto, or you did it manually.
RAW
Original copy of this photo was initially saved as a RAW file, which is not usable in common image viewers and editors. That’s why when you export RAW files to iPhoto, it always creates a JPEG final copy that you actually view within the application.
Note: If you are a photographer and RAW files are valuable for
you, try CleanMyMac’s “Ignore RAW photos” feature to exclude these kind of images from scan results:
• Choose CleanMyMac 3 > Preferences. On the Ignore List tab, switch to the iPhoto Junk section, and then select “Ignore RAW photos” checkbox.
After you open the detailed results window, you can take a closer look at found images and group them as you prefer.
• To zoom images in and out: Drag the slider in the upper-right corner to scale an image.
• To view an image in iPhoto: Control-click an image, and choose Reveal in iPhoto from the shortcut menu.
• To compare original and final-version images: Control-click an image, and choose Quick Look from the shortcut menu to view images side-by-side.
• To review images within a particular group: Click the group in the left-side pane of the main area.
• To regroup images: Click the “Group by” pop-up menu above the listed photo groups, and choose a grouping criterion:
• Modifiers — based on changes applied to images.
• Events — based on event names in iPhoto.
• Date — based on image creation date.
• To find an image within the scan results list: Start typing an image title in the search field — results appear below the field right as you type. To view all available items, click the close button (x).
Modify the iPhoto Junk cleanup list
• To add one or multiple originals or groups to the cleanup list: Select checkboxes opposite groups or originals you want to remove.
• To add all originals to the cleanup list: Click Select All in the upper-left corner.
• To exclude all groups and originals from the cleanup list: Click Deselect All in the upper-left corner.
• To exclude one or multiple originals or groups from the cleanup list: Deselect checkboxes opposite groups or originals you do not want to remove.
Note: When you deselect items from the cleanup list, CleanMyMac 3 remembers your choice, and keeps them deselected in future scan results.
Clean up your Mac from iPhoto junk
Note: Usually, when you start a cleanup or maintenance process, the system asks you
to confirm it by entering your administrator account password. Alternatively, you can go through the quick authentication procedure that frees you from entering your credentials more than once per CleanMyMac session:
• Choose Action > Authenticate.
• In the dialog that appears, enter your administrator account credentials.
Do any of the following:
• Click Clean at the bottom of the window.
• Choose Action > Clean.
• Press Return.
To discontinue scanning or cleanup process, click Stop.
After completion of the cleanup, you will see how much space you’ve freed.
To view a detailed information on cleanup results: Click View Log in the lower-left corner of the main area.
To return to the initial iPhoto Junk screen: Click the Start Over button on the cleanup completion screen.
Or choose Go > Start Over.
Mail Attachments
The Mail Attachments module scans the Mail application for restorable, locally kept downloads and attachments. It reclaims a lot of free space while keeping original attachments safe in your online Inbox.
By default, when you open or view a new attachment in Mail, the application stores its copy on your disk and keeps it until you delete the associated email. After a while, the total volume of copied attachment files may reach a couple of gigabytes and more, especially if you receive many images, PDF, or
presentation files.
Start the Mail Attachments module
1. In the Modules list, switch to the Mail Attachments module. Or choose Go > Mail Attachments.
2. Do any of the following:
• Click Scan at the bottom of the window.
• Choose Action > Scan.
• Press Return.
Use Smart Selection
While preparing a cleanup list, CleanMyMac uses the Smart Select feature that focuses on those
attachments that can be easily brought back by simply accessing related emails in Mail. After completion of scanning, you will see the amount of smart-selected attachments in the center of the main area.
To avail of the Smart Selection feature: Click Clean.
To avail of the Smart Selection feature: Click Clean.