Time Machine and Migration Assistant might be helpful if you wish to copy your total setup from one pc to a different. However in the event you’d want to wash home with a brand new machine and simply switch consumer preferences to your new Mac, you may. You simply must know which recordsdata to maneuver.
If you wish to copy over completely every thing, this in all probability isn’t the strategy for you – Migration Assistant will work just a little higher. However if you wish to switch consumer preferences and knowledge to a brand new macOS set up, this could get you there. You simply should know which recordsdata you want and the place to seek out them.
Person preferences, in case your curious, embrace all of the totally different choices you’ve used to configure your system, like Dock preferences, keyboard shortcuts, desktop backgrounds and extra. You would possibly use these process to “clone” an present consumer to a brand new account on the identical bodily Mac, or you may switch the consumer preferences to a model new Mac set up. Your alternative.
Table of Contents
Setting Up Your New Mac
Since you’ll be copying over the precise settings out of your outdated Mac, you'll want to ensure your new Mac’s consumer is configured in the identical approach as your outdated consumer. A very powerful factor right here is the account title, or “quick title,” of your account. Some macOS choices and third-party purposes reference your quick title, and if it’s not the identical, these references can be ineffective or buggy.
In case you’re unsure what your quick title, have a look at the title of your property folder. That would be the similar as your account title.
Earlier than your switch consumer preferences, ensure that the account title in your new account is precisely the identical as your present account.
Put together Your Switch Media
We’ll want an exterior storage medium to switch consumer preferences and knowledge to our new Mac. The best method to deal with this course of is over a USB flash drive, however an exterior exhausting drive will work simply as effectively. You can even use community storage, however transferring 20 GB over Wi-Fi isn’t a lot enjoyable. Ensure your drive is formatted as HFS+ and huge sufficient to include all of the recordsdata you propose to repeat over.
As we copy recordsdata, we should always attempt to recreate the file path for these recordsdata. This may make it simpler to put the recordsdata in the identical location once we switch them to our new consumer account, and keep away from misplacing (and dropping) choice recordsdata.
For instance, in case you have a file from /Customers/alexander/Library/Preferences, you may put that in a folder with the very same file path.
Switch the Dwelling Folder
Most customers retailer their recordsdata of their dwelling listing, so copying it to your new Mac is a no brainer first step.
1. Create a consumer folder in your switch media (/Customers/alexander on this instance).
2. Copy every thing within the consumer’s dwelling folder besides the Library folder to your switch media. You'll be able to copy the recordsdata by dragging and dropping, simply as you'd with a standard listing.
Switch Person Preferences
We are going to take care of your Library folder subsequent. Underneath macOS, consumer preferences might be saved in a few locations. The canonical location is ~/Library/Preferences, and that’s the listing most macOS system purposes use.
1. Click on Go to folder… in Finder’s Go menu.
2. Kind in ~/Library/Preferences to navigate to the right folder. We’re utilizing the tilde right here to characterize the house listing (/Customers/alexander on this instance).
3. Inside this folder, you’ll discover a ton of Property Lists or PLISTs. These are the precise recordsdata that include your preferences.
4. We have to copy these PLIST recordsdata to our switch media. There are two paths we are able to take right here:
Copy over each file. You’re assured to not miss something, however you’ll in all probability seize a variety of stuff that you simply don’t want, like PLISTs for purposes you’re not transferring to the brand new consumer account. These recordsdata shouldn’t damage something, however the do muddle up your system unnecessarily.
OR
Copy every thing that begins with com.apple. These are the preferences that relate solely to macOS system packages, just like the Dock and Finder. This additionally consists of the preferences for different Apple software program merchandise like Remaining Minimize Professional and GarageBand. That is my most well-liked methodology, and it grabs essentially the most related stuff.
Whichever route you select, copy your chosen recordsdata into the /Customers/[username]/Library/Preferences listing in your switch media (/Customers/alexander/Library/Preferences on this instance).
Switch Purposes (optionally available)
Copying purposes is hard, and I don’t usually suggest it. Some purposes set up in a pell-mell style, scattering recordsdata throughout your system which are unattainable to seek out. Worse nonetheless, purposes will generally full disregard copied choice recordsdata. It’s actually finest to only do a contemporary set up of your purposes.
In case you should copy an utility manually, it's best to attempt to copy the applying itself in addition to any related recordsdata. We are able to re-purpose AppCleaner to assist us discover recordsdata related to a given utility.
AppCleaner helps customers uninstall purposes by revealing all of the recordsdata related to a given app. It really works by looking out a couple of particular locations for recordsdata that embrace the applying’s title.
1. Seek for an utility’s recordsdata by dropping its icon onto the AppCleaner window.
2. AppCleaner will produce an inventory of recordsdata related to that utility. To disclose a file’s location in Finder, click on the magnifying glass button.
3. Copy the suitable recordsdata onto your switch media, taking care to repeat the recordsdata to the suitable directories. Additionally ensure to repeat the precise utility from the /Purposes/ listing
It may be difficult to determine recordsdata you want and recordsdata you don’t want. Some recordsdata, like logs, crash reviews, or something saved in /var/, received’t be mandatory in your new account. All these parts will get rebuilt on the brand new system as wanted. The recordsdata in ~Library/Software Help/ usually aren’t mandatory both.
Professional tip: don’t attempt to copy professional-grade purposes or purposes with complicated DRM (I’m taking a look at you, Adobe CC). Packages like that litter your system with recordsdata, and it’s exhausting to get all of them. There’s additionally licensing recordsdata you in all probability can’t entry. Thankfully, {most professional} purposes mean you can copy consumer preferences like keyboard shortcuts and workspaces individually. Seize these, however don’t attempt to copy the entire utility.
Ending Up
Upon getting your switch media loaded up, copy every thing onto your new system and reboot to switch consumer preferences. In case you’ve made your listing construction correctly, you may simply copy the foundation directories out of your switch media to your new Mac, and all of the recordsdata will fall into their appropriate areas.