Glossary

APFS

APFS (Apple File System) is the format Macs use for their disks. It is the recommended format for the external drive you use with Storage Studio.

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APFS (Apple File System) is the format — the way files are organised on a disk — that Macs use for their built-in disks. It's what makes features such as local snapshots possible.

APFS comes in two flavours. The usual one treats capital and small letters in names as the same (Photo.jpg and photo.jpg are one file); a case-sensitive variant treats them as different.

In Storage Studio:

  • APFS is the recommended format for your external drive. Mac OS Extended is accepted too; exFAT needs you to confirm a warning.
  • When you move an app, Storage Studio checks whether the drive and your Mac treat capital letters the same way. If the app holds files whose names would collide on the drive, it stops the move rather than lose one of them.

See also: Drive formats: APFS, Mac OS Extended and exFAT · Choosing an external drive

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How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them?
Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click.
How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook?
Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive.
Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive?
Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,…
Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight?
Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible.

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