Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Remove Folder/File by Using Terminal

Normally, you can remove files/folders from Finder just by selecting files/folders first and then hitting "delete" key. However, I encountered a special case that I could not remove a folder in Finder. I got a prompt message saying that the folder is in use. Actually this is a misleading message. The folder is not in use and I could not delete it even after I tried to restart my mac.

Further investigation, I found that the folder is in kind of nested loop endless. It is in my Trash. I don't know why it is like that.



Full Path to the Folder


The first thing I need is to find the path to the folder. The file/folder full path is not obviously available in Finder.

There is a way to obtain the full path from folder's Info. Just locate the folder in Finder, and hit Command+i combination keys. This will bring up an info window.

For example, the following is the info window for the folder in my Trash.




Highlight Where section, kit Command+c keys to make a copy. This will copy the full path of the folder to clipboard, ready for use.

Terminal to Rescue

Use spotlight to open Terminal. This can be easy done by pressing Command+space keys, and type in terminal in spotlight search area. Press enter key to open Terminal.

I remember that there is a command tool to remove folders. It is the command of rm.

First I have change current location to the path where the folder is. Use the following command cd to change the current location or directory or path:

  1. cd /Users/dchu/.Trash

Before removing the folder, I have to make sure the folder is there. Use ls command to show the content of the current directory, with -F switch to show folder:

  1. ls -F
  2. iPhoneDev copy 6.00.02 PM/

Now it is time to remove the folder. Use rm command with -R switch. This switch will force to remove the folder as well as any contents, such as files and folders, within the folder.

  1. rm -F iPhoneDev\ copy\ 6.00.02\ PM/
Tip: when you type in folder's name, you can just type in a few characters like "iPho" first, and press tab key to get the complete name filled out.

Kit enter key and the folder is gone!

Note: there may be spaces within file or folder names. The spaces in a file or folder name can be specified by escape char \, just like above example.

References





Friday, April 13, 2018

Update to macOS High Sierra

It is late time to get my macOS updated to High Sierra. I had to to do this when my iOS phone was updated to iOS 11.3. I could not run my Xcode project from my mac to my iPhone with the new iOS. I quickly found out the reason I have to update my mac to High Sierra.

Anyway, the update is very smooth. It is a long process of about 40 minutes. I did late in the night and saw the update completed early in the morning.

Here is the space difference before and after the update.

Before:



After:



It is not surprise that I get more space after the update. Nice job, Apple!