Hazel Video Review and Giveaway
I’ve never been rich enough to afford a house keeper – that is, in real life. Hazel however, is a cheap, powerful housekeeper for your Mac. It keeps your Mac organized automatically, without you having to even give it much thought once configured. Hazel uses the power of rules to file away, and perform actions to your files, media, and applications. The only real limits to these rules is your imagination.
In the following video I will go over the basic power of Hazel in a standard workflow, along with some tips on how I use the software to keep my files organized, and my Mac clean of clutter.
NoodleSoft, the developers of Hazel, have generously offered 3 licenses of Hazel to giveaway to our readers. In order to enter the random giveaway, you must comment on this post with 1 possible way that you can use Hazel to organize your digital life.
The giveaway will end at midnight EST on December 20th, with the winners being announced shortly after that. Good luck! Be sure to subscribe to MacApper for more great giveaways!
Useful to automatically sort documents projectwise if you´re using a consistent name scheme.
I do a lot of reviews of applications, hardware and technology.
Hazel could help me first of all delete apps I don’t need, but also to install them back in case I need them (as you showed in the review). also it will help me sort the images and files for each review.
It looks like two things but it’s 1 actually – It will help me sort all the things needed for the reviews.
Thanks
I have having files on my desktop, so I normally drag them into the Downloads folder. Safari also places all the files I download from the Internet into the Downloads folder, so it’s quite a mess in there. Hazel would come in handy to save me some time rather than organizing my files manually.
I would organize my cluttered desktop instantly by telling Hazel where to put jpegs, .docs, .pdfs, etc….
I would use Hazel to organize my video files create in Final Cut Pro. Making my scratch disk organized will help the editing process faster. I also like to have my desktop cluster free with one only the MAC HD drive icon on the desktop. That is how we Mac users roll.
Peace off
Jerdesign
I’d create some “moving rules” for the download folder so I wouldn’t have to move dled files manually.
good luck to everyone:)
An interesting way to organize your downloads folder is to have Hazel apply different color labels based on how old files are and what has been opened. Green would be new files that haven’t been opened, yellow would be somewhat old and/or opened files, and red would be old files. You could even have Hazel sort them in an archive elsewhere or delete them if they’re past a certain age.
I’m going to do two things with hazel:
First, I’m going to make it so that Hazel will update the important files on my flash drive with those on my hard drive, and vice versa; sorting as necessary.
Second, I’m going to make a “dump” folder that I can keep in my finder sidebar and dump single files or loads of files that hazel will sort out for me, based on kind or other criteria.
I can imagine Hazel being extremely useful to me, a high school student- I have a huge folder of school files that are somewhat organized, but that needs to be revamped and Hazel’s the tool to do it with- labeling, sorting, etc. will make old files and old cruft disappear, and the stuff I need pop out.
For me Hazel would be the missing piece of the puzzle to finally make Leopard’s Stacks useful.
filtering my many daily downloads and torrents into there respective Stack and further moving the older read files into longer term storage folders to keep the stack uncluttered and in the more handy fan view.
At home, I would use Hazel to automatically manage my Downloads folders: color tagging files that have been opened/used, moving unused files to trash after one week or used files after one month. At work, I do a lot of scans and Hazel could archived them by creating specific dates folders.
As a noob to GTD, having hazel automatically move new files to an ‘inbox’ folder would really speed up my workflow. Also, because I’m a high-school student without much time to clean up my system, automatically cleaning it up for me would he a godsend.
Put away things is easy. finding them again is another matter. Automatic consistent sorting – bliss!
I do a lot of downloads using bittorrent, It would be great if I could move automatically the .torrent files downloaded to the desktop to a particular folder and, when the downloads are complete, move to files to its propoer foledr (audio, video, document,…)
I can see this being extremely useful, especially when paired with Stacks. One of my chief complaints with Stacks has been the inability to use a saved search/smart folder as the source for a Stack. I don’t want to actually move all my files into one folder, but since Hazel allows spotlight criteria to be used as input, I could use it to create a folder full of aliases to files matching my desired search, and use that folder as a Stack. It’s a bit more work than just dragging the smart folder onto the dock, but since Apple decided not to let us do that, it’ll do quite nicely.
holy cow. i need this app. i download so many random files that my Downloads folder gets kinda ridiculous. in fact, right now there are 332 items in it. knowing that Hazel could automatically keep it organized would be so nice.
Automatic management of folders (the downloads folder in particular) is the killer feature of this app! Awesome stuff.
I would use it to highlight the files I’m currently working on using labels.
Waouh , I imagine my desktop soooooooooo clean , my document folder so organized that I will win some extra time to chill out !
I’d have sub-folders in my downloads folder for everything. grouping known file extensions like images (png,jpg,jpeg,svg) and archives (zip,sitx,rar,dmg) into their own folder and putting everything else in a folder by file extension.
mmmm, if I (inevitably) don’t win, I might buy a copy anyway! \o/
I tested Hazel a few days back, and I really liked it.
I tend to process a lot of video files – converting them, sorting them, and then storing them. Hazel streamlines this wonderfully…
Files in download bin, have the color changed immediately. THe new files get put in VisualHub, and dumped into another storage file.
After that, Hazel again sorts the file into the appropriate folder based on file name.
I’d use it to keep my desktop clean (it’d keeps my Downloads folder so nice and organized with labels.) I’d also use it to import all the new photos I get via email or web gallery into iPhoto.
This app looks like it cuts a lot of leg work out of the daily flow of things. I can’t tell you how many files I download in a day, and I manually move the files in my downloads folder into sub-folders… Ha! Automate! Sweet.
There are so many other unexplored possibilities as well, such as pointing Hazel at a folder full of old random archived junk files, having it organize them by kind, date, file size, etc…. extremely useful for decluttering.
I tested Hazel for a period of time and set up a whole dropbox system on my desktop, but unfortunately didn’t have enough money to buy it so the trial expired.
A couple of things I used:
1) When there was a bookmark on my desktop run a ruby script that defines it’s category and then folder it in a special folder (e.g. “Read Sometime”, “Work”, etc.)
2) When there was a torrent on my desktop open Transmission and download the torrent
3) When there was some encrypted file on my desktop decrypt it in it’s defined application
And a lot more, but I hope you get the idea
I’d use Hazel as my own .mac replacement. To share Bookmarks, Dock setup, NewsFire preferences, important (work) folders and lots more. Of course it would also sync my Hazel rules so I don’t have to set them up on both computers.
I’d use some sort of shell, php or ruby script to sync them to the appropriate folder with rsync (or the unison shell command).
I’m always too lazy to empty my trash. I would love it to automatically do it!
I’m to busy with being productive. It is in line of Apple and Apple-related tools to improve my productivity.
Or just give it to me, ’cause I like it!
I feel that Hazel can fix my cluttered workspace and work flow. I’m always searching tirelessly through my heaps of files looking for files specific to a project, but I feel Hazel might be able to help me automatically sort this out. So that I have more time to be productive. In addition, after watching a few tutorials on GTD with Hazel I saw a great way to sort through the clutter on your desktop and color code based on age. I truly feel Hazel might be the missing link in my attempt to be always productive life.
I use EyeTV to record TV shows and I would use Hazel to help convert, copy tv shows to several machine on my network. After the files are converted I would use it to delete the original version.
Ethan Schoonover also has a nice tutorial/screencast on how he combines Hazel with his GTD desktop. Plus he includes for download the ruleset he uses to make it all tidy.
My girlfriend is an interior decorator and she is always downloading things like furniture brochures and lighting catalogs and leaving all the PDFs and JPGs all over my desktop. Hazel would be a great tool to simplify sorting these things and deleting ones she hasn’t bothered to reopen over a period of time.
I just bought Hazel a few days ago; so glad to hear some new ideas on how to use it!
The best possible thing I can think of that would happen for Hazel would be the features I see in the app Default Folder X.
Hazel truly is a killer app, great review Mike!
An additional option to delete downloads after a specific period in your downloads folder.
It can keep my work-related word docs sorted out from all the other riff-raff in my downloads folder.
If i had Hazel, I’d use it to create an amazingly fun game, where you would put a file into the starting folder and allow hazel to take it on a magical journey through your different ‘game’ folders. Your aim, as the player, is to locate the file before it reaches the ‘end’ folder.
The way Hazel would do this is, once the file is placed in the start folder it would move it to the next folder, which would be selected based on the type of file. Say our file is ‘mouse.pdf’, our mouse file would be transported to the pdf folder. Once in the pdf folder it could be sorted into another folder based on it’s name. There are all sorts of rules you could apply to have it move. The file age check would be useful to give players time to catch the file at the different stages.
Alternatively if you skip having the end folder, you could just drop in occasionally to see if you can find the file whilst tactfully avoiding doing that all important report.
…
Or y’know, organise my notes for that report… maybe.
As a recent Mac switcher I have been using and trying tons of Apps. I would love to have the sweeper function of the Apps I delete.
The sorting of my downloads is something else that I would really like!
safetyobc
I love this program for one reason only, iTunes integration. Watch folders and automatically insert music into desired playlists, that’s the power I need.
I would use Hazel to keep all my electronic sources organize as I work my way through a review of the literature for my dissertation.
I would have Hazel automatically mount disk images, move apps to the Apps folder and other items to their respective folders, and then automatically trash the disk image.
I would have “get_video” files appended with “.flv” (through a script)
Lastly, I would have Hazel organize my Mail Attachments folder.
I have to read a lot of pdf files for my classes; I would have hazel organize them into folders and then automatically delete them after a week or so, when I didn’t need them anymore.
What I really need is a real-life housekeeper for the chaos pit I call my house. Short of that, I’d love to have a virtual Hazel on my computer keeping one small corner of my life organized.
I’ve got a hundred or so images scattered all over the place, not to mention the countless PDFs. My desktop looks like my basement.
This would be nice to have to put these files where they belong.
I would use Hazel to help me get through college. I accumulate tons of homework assignments that I need to keep organized and filed away so I can use them later. Hazel would help me to keep all of my files organized, keep my desktop free of clutter, and make sure that my homework gets turned in in time. The archive feature of Hazel would be perfect for filing away all of my completed homework, so when my teachers loose assignments, I don’t have to do them over.
As well as a student, I am also a freelance web designer to help bring in some extra money and to pay for books. While I am building a new site for one of my clients, I accumulate thousands of little files, useless test pages, and unused images. Hazel would help me find these files, and delete them so they don’t get in the way and cause problems.
I also help my roommate store all of his media, as he is an avid music listener with no computer. Hazel would help us to keep our files separate so when I go to listen to some quiet classical music when I go to bed, I don’t wake up the entire dorm to the worst quality recording of “Party Like a Rockstar” that I have ever heard.
With all of these features, I would run right out and by Hazel, if I didn’t need that $21.95 for something else. I think that Hazel could truly revolutionize my life, giving me the time to get all of my work done before midnight. It would definitely reduce the coffee bill that I have had to live with, and give me more free time to pursue other projects.
I’m really bad about emptying my trash container – a way to do that automatically would be great. And sorting downloads into appropriate folders automatically would be great also. But the best thing I see about this app is that it automatically cleans up after applications when you drag them to the trash. Why Apple didn’t think to do that automatically I’ll never know. I know you can use AppZapper but sometimes I forget and just drag an unneeded app to the trash without even thinking about it.
My life lies within my computer.
I run a major website that deals with having to juggle
documents and emails.
I also use my Mac for personal downloading that includes
music and movie files.
In short, my desktop is used both for business and entertainment/leisure.
I was quite intrigued with the demo video I watched on macapper. It looks as if I finally found a program that could do what I don’t have time to do — that is, keep my computer organized.
I love the idea of documents, music and movie files instantly being organized into individual folders. As a user of Apzapper, I am tickled to see that Hazel has automated the process of deleting files completely.
As a business owner and Mac enthusiast I can already see how HAZEL can make my entire computing experience more organized.
My girlfriend and I share a computer and she has her own account, but never empties the trash, which takes up space on the hard drive we share. I would install this on her account and have it auto empty her trash.
For starters I would have it auto-empty my Trash since I have a small hard drive. Also, since I tend to test out a lot of apps on a daily basis I’d have it sort DMGs and ZIPs into a folder (probably color coding them), while sorting downloaded PDFs for school into another folder.
I do a component development review at topcoder.com so this tools can be very helpful to organize the files and manage it cleanly. Until now my harddisk is cluttered with past review and compiled file which I don’t need to keep.
I regularly rip DVDs with Handbrake and many times there are multiple episodes per DVD. I could use Hazel to automatically move the ripped files to my shared video folder (on my NAS) so my kids could watch the videos from their PC.
I would use Hazel to auto-delete applications with a Date Last Opened of a month. I’d probably use this for other files/folders too. Of course I’d also use it for my Downloads folder because it’s a mess!
Great review Michael!
I would use Hazel to change label colors for items in my downloads folder, with the colors being based on how long they’ve been in the folder.
I’d use Hazel to organize my downloaded files, and start the process whereby my music / movies are automatically added to iTunes, pages and docs have a spotlight comment added to clarify which browser was used to download them, and maintain a tidy hard drive by taking care of all the shareware I download and then discard.
and so much more.
Good luck!
This looks nice for guy like me!
I would use hazel to organize not only my own, but my girlfriend’s digital life, so that things she would normally nag me about (Cleaning up incomplete files etc…) could be done automatically, allowing me to sleep longer.
Could’nt wait for the giveaway. I bought it.
I would use Hazel to automatically delete torrent files, and sort downloaded pictures, movies, and music to their proper folders.
I’d use Hazel to keep my downloads folder (in Leopard) organized. I have all of my apps download to that folder and all different kinds of content ends up their: pdfs, movies, applications, word docs etc. I’d like Hazel to keep that folder organized by moving each type of file into its own subfolder.
I have the most cluttered Desktop ever. I have so many files that I had to shrink the icon sizes just so the icon can fit.
Hazel can help me auto-organize.
Thanks
I plan to use Hazel to rename, retag, sort and move all my downloaded BitTorrent files.
I would use this to automatically sort all downloads that come in, and then tag in red the ones older than a week.
Hazel can help me get rid of my many incomplete download files that result when I realize that I don’t really want that 500MB video halfway into the download.
Hazel can help me sort the .jpg and .mov files I copy from from digital camera, moving them to assigned folders.
I work as a marketing & technology consultant and am constantly looking for the best tools to recommend to my clients and to use myself. Hazel will help me streamline my evaluation process and cut down on the time I spend manually cleaning out my HD and re-installing Mac OS
This looks like a really nice App.
I’d love to use it since I have an old iBook with a small hard drive. I’m always deleting programs I don’t use, so it would help me delete files that I wouldn’t need that would just take free space away.
Really cool!
I need it to delete apps extra files since I keep forgetting about AppZapper.
I’d love to see a Duplicate File checker/remover. Something that periodically (automatically) checked for files with the same/similar filename, file type, and identical CRC and then would tag the files to later prompt the user for removal.
Since I currently don’t have Leopard, I’d use it to help me clean up my desktop from downloads and other documents
Hazel I need you desperately to clean up my MAC. Keeping my desktop clutter free by organizing all of my documents, movies, music, bookmarks, downloads, Final Cut Pro, Keynote presentations, etc. Color coding my files by date so I can keep track of things that need my attention, and allowing me to finally embark on my GTD life, so that I can become more productive and clutter free.
OH HAZEL,
How I need you so
to make my MAC and productivity flow
to keep my trash clean while on the go
OH HAZEL,
How you could make my life so bright
making file and folder life so light
knowing you are there day or night
OH HAZEL,
Won’t you help me
Won’t you clear the clutter so that I may see
Won’t you be my productivity key
OH Hazel,
How I need you so!
I don’t know yet. I just know that my desktop looks like a complete mess, that I would like to do some cleaning someday but I don’t know where to begin from. I really hope this could be magic. Is Hazel magic?
I work as a freelance writer doing advertisements for medical facilities. Hazel would let me know which assignments I’ve completed and then separate ones that I’ve already recorded on an invoice from ones that are not. I also think using it to automatically import downloaded mp3s to itunes, and automating my torrent-related activities would be an amazing time saver. I’m a college student…I can’t afford this but it would make my life infinitely better
The giveaway is now over, the winners will be announced in a few days.
[...] week we ran a review and giveaway for Hazel, agreat application for keeping your Mac organized and performing automated cleanup tasks. We were [...]
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