How to view all files in Time Machine

Question

Level 1

10 points

How to view all files in Time Machine

Hello,

I would like to open two Time Machine backups on an external drive and extract only the files I need to keep. The disk images, settings, programs, etc. are of no value, only the media.

Both backups have multiple snapshots. My problem is, I find that some older snapshots have files that were deleted at some point and don't appear in newer snapshots or in the "Latest" shortcut.

So my question is, how do I get Time Machine - or Finder - to display an amalgamated folder structure with ALL of the current and previously deleted files so that I can make a selection?

Thanks!

Posted on Dec 25, 2020 2:33 PM

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Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,588 points

Dec 25, 2020 2:51 PM in response to henri_b

You should be able to "Browse other backup disks" by holding down the Option key and selecting that from the Time Machine menu. That will open the backup in the Time Machine interface and allow you to go back in time in the folder to find the last available version of the file.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,588 points

Dec 25, 2020 3:24 PM in response to henri_b

The files will appear in the timeline when they existed. You can't show files together that didn't exist at the same time on your Mac. Maybe I'm still missing what you're after.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,588 points

Dec 25, 2020 3:46 PM in response to henri_b

Time Machine is a history of your Mac. It shows a snapshot of your Mac at the times the backups were run, consolidated into weekly snapshots.

Are you looking for Versions of Files? That is a separate but related feature. If the app supports it, you can "Revert To" and "Browse all Versions."

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Answer 4

henri_b Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 26, 2020 7:56 AM in response to Barney-15E

I understand this, and no, I am not looking for file versions. I am looking to view & save previously deleted files without having to go through each incremental backup. Maybe that’s not possible...

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