If you tend to set up a new Mac the exact same way as your old Mac, you know how tedious it can be to go and download files, tweak settings, and mess around with various preference panes. Blogger Jacob Salmela shows of a way to use Dropbox to save all those settings.
Hi Lifehacker, How can I file an email to multiple related folders within Outlook 2013?
Windows: Some programs seem like they should come by default with Windows. FoldersPopup gives you one-click access to your favourite folders and locations.
Windows: On OS X, Folder Actions are a powerful way to automate your folders. Folder Actions for Windows brings those easy-to-use tools to the PC world.
Mac: If you make a lot of folders for your projects, you know it can be a pain to get things organised. Post Haste is a free Mac app that allows you to create project-based templates so you can get started immediately.
By default, when you start Windows Explorer, it opens up to your Libraries. If you'd rather have it open to a different folder, changing this behaviour is very easy. Here's how.
A simple option in Windows Explorer's preferences fixes one of its biggest annoyances, automatically expanding the left sidebar as you navigate through your computer's folders.
Windows: Creating a new folder in Windows is easy, but not necessarily fast. Smart Folders is a simple little app that turns folder creation into a simple, one-step process.
We've long recommended filing away email into folders for better organisation, but a study by IBM Research finds that just using the search function can be much faster than navigating through folders to find old messages.
Android only: Creating folders on a home screen, then finding and dragging apps into them, isn't quick or precise. Apps Organizer and its broader cousin Folder Organizer make creating and accessing batches of apps, contacts and bookmarks much easier.
The familiar "up" arrow from previous versions of Windows is missing from Windows 7. You can still head up to a higher directory with the Alt+Up keyboard shortcut, but if you'd like the actual button back, you can restore it with Classic Shell
Windows only: Pir is a lightweight Windows application that creates text lists of folders and directories for exporting — handy for quickly sending a friend lists of your music collection or ripped movies.
Need a listing of everything you've got in a Windows folder? You could grab screenshots, but that's a pain when there are lots of files. A quick command-line trick gives you an easily printable directory of contents.
Chances are your computer's desktop and other folders aren't cluttered because you like it that way, but because you don't want to spend time organising every file that hits your hard drive. Automate your file organisation and stay clutter-free without the effort.
Ed. Note: If you love Gmail but just can't shake a longing for folder-style organisation this clever hack will help you create pseudo-folders.
Firefox: If you hate having to search through your folders every time you change the type of file or directory you're saving to—and we certainly do!—Save File To helps you make custom context menus for file saving bliss.
The control and shift keys have long been the imprecise means of selecting multiple items on a Windows system. The How-To Geek's blog away from Lifehacker reminds us that, as with Vista, Windows 7 users can use check boxes instead.
