Sierra new feature: Manage Storage

Sierra brought a new feature to Mac OS, that is not well known, but a godsend when you run out of space.

Manage... is now available in Apple menu -> About This Mac -> Storage.

Once you click on Manage.... on the upper right on any device, you can see a sortable catalog of all file types on the Mac.

Click on any left sidebar item to view the catalog and click on any header to sort by any file category.

The files are able to be launched directly from this window.

Earlier versions of Mac OS only showed the file types and a graphical representation of how much space they took up. Keep in mind, when freeing space, always backup critical data to at least two separate locations.

Note that Finder, Go menu -> Home folder will give you access to your account data. Some files may be hidden or in packages that help prevent you from ruining your music library in iTunes or photo library in iPhoto or Photos. The Documents folder may have folders from Microsoft or Appleworks left behind to support their archived email and/or recent files, that you should only remove if you no longer use that software. The Library, System, and Shared folder, and other folders at the top level of the hard drive should only be touched by administrators who know how they affect the overall health and performance of Mac OS X. You should never edit anything outside your own User folder without prior verification from Apple Support or experts who can tell you what is safe and is not. Optimizers that affect caches, can damage the system's ability to launch programs, and should be stayed clear of. Etrecheck can help administrators see if you have hidden components of the system that could be slowing you down.

It has been arbitrarily found that 15% free space is necessary for smooth operation on both MacOS and iOS. This is by user experience only.