App: HSD Versions Cleaner
Developer: Dieter Habelitz
Genres: Utilities, Developer Tools

Delete previous file versions either manually or let the app delete them AUTOMATICALLY in the background!

The HSD Versions Cleaner gives you control over previous file versions saved by the 'Auto Save' feature of macOS. 
You can even tell the app to delete certain previous file versions AUTOMATICALLY - depending on criteria you define by yourself.


###   Key features at a glance   ###

• Observe previous file versions saved by document based apps.
• Open current and previous file versions directly from inside the app.
• Revert current file versions to a previous version.
• Delete previous file versions manually.
• Let the app delete previous file versions automatically in the background.


###   Some background information   ###

Auto Save is a macOS feature that makes it unnecessary to explicitly save changes made to a document. Every time a new version of a document is saved, Auto Save takes a snapshot of the previous version and saves it somewhere else on disk. 

Actually only the difference between two versions is saved. But depending on the tasks you usually perform on your Mac, previous file versions can occupy a significant amount of disk space nevertheless. 

There are two main reasons for that: 

1. Even the difference between two versions can result into a lot of data - think of image processing, for instance. 

2. In some cases the difference between two versions tends to be small (files containing plain text, for instance), but it can happen that a lot of previous file versions are created for appropriate files within a relatively short timespan. An example for that is editing source code (and particularly storyboards) in Xcode.


###   And here the HSD Versions Cleaner enters the stage   ###

With the HSD Versions Cleaner you can not only investigate how many previous file versions are saved, but also reduce the number of saved previous file versions. You can delete previous file versions either manually, or you can even let the app do this for you automatically if you want. 

The system doesn't keep previous file versions forever and deletes some of them from time to time. But, of course, the system can't know for sure how important certain previous file versions really are, and therefore deletes them rather defensively. 

With the HSD Versions Cleaner you can decide for yourself which previous file versions shall be kept and which ones are superfluous for your personal needs.
  

###   Automatic Deletion of previous file versions   ###

Automatic deletion of previous file versions is surely one of the app's highlights. You can define criteria like 'Delete previous file versions that are older than a month, but keep at least the newest 100 previous file versions'. With automatic deletion of previous file versions enabled for certain files the HSD Versions Cleaner deletes previous file versions automatically in the background every time the specified criteria are fulfilled.


###   More information   ###

If you want to get more information about the HSD Versions Cleaner, please consult the online documentation at 'http://hsd-versions-cleaner.habelitz.com/en.lproj/'.

Release notes:
• Some minor adaptations to be fully compliant with macOS 13 Ventura.
• Improved security by using more modern system frameworks for both ...
  • persisting imported root directories
  • and displaying the offline app documentation.