Noodlesoft has recently released Hazel 2.2, a nice update to their rules based file organizer. Hazel 2.2 adds a number of interesting AppleScript improvements. You can now add scripts directly in rules, no need to create seperate files for your scripts. There are also some new Hazel specific AppleScript keys that allow you to pass values from a script to Hazel, which really lets you make some imaginative rules. You can check out the full release notes to marvel at all the updates Noodlesoft managed to cram into this point release.

Hazel is one of those applications that is tough to describe, but once you get it you'll be amazed you managed to keep your Mac organized without. Hazel costs $21.95 and version 2.2 is a free upgrade.

This time around in Mac 101 I thought it would be good to talk about uninstalling applications on the Mac, especially for the recent switchers out there. Unlike Windows, Mac OS X does not have a native utility for uninstalling applications. Most (though not all) applications are installed just by dragging and dropping them into the Applications folder, and most are similarly got rid of by dragging them to the trash. However, when you do that you often leave behind preference and support files, especially in your user Library folder hierarchy (/Users/yourname/Library, as distinct from /Library which is "owned" by Mac OS X).

While you can root these files out yourself, it's sometimes far from obvious where they are. To resolve this, a new class of uninstallers have appeared on the scene to address the problem. One of the first was AppZapper ($12.95), but many more have arisen like AppDelete (donations requested), SuperPop ($15), and CleanApp ($10). With most of these you choose the application you want deleted by dropping it on the uninstaller (or choosing it from a list); hit a button and the application plus its support files are sent to the trash. Taking a slightly different approach, Yank ($19.95) actually monitors your system while you are installing applications and creates a "Yank File" that records the location of everything created by the application. You then uninstall by running the Yank File.

Finally, there are uninstallers that integrate with the Trash itself, requiring no separate interface. Into this class fall Hazel ($21.95), which also does other automatic file management tasks, and AppTrap (donations requested). What's great about these last two is that you can just drag an application to the trash and they will automatically look for and offer to delete the support files. Indeed, this seems to me to be the most Mac-like and elegant approach. For my own part I mostly just use Hazel, though I still throw things at AppZapper now and again.

Many of us here around the TUAW home office love Hazel ($21.95), the great folder-based automation utility that you can set up to run various rules to process (e.g. move, copy, sort) your files. However, we also like free, and so I was intrigued by a new application called File Action that is basically a kind of Hazel-light.

File Action concentrates on only one task -- moving files -- but like Hazel you can set it up to move those files on the basis of various rules. While less sophisticated than Hazel it can definitely handle useful tasks like sorting your downloads folder on the basis of file extensions, etc.

While I wouldn't give up the power of Hazel, if your file sorting needs are basic (and your wallet light), File Action is worth a look. It's a free download from Tom Hancocks.

Hazel is a TUAW favorite, and we have been anxiously awaiting the day when Hazel 2 exits beta. Well, folks, today is that day. Hazel 2 is now available for purchase (a free upgrade for current users, and $21.95 for a single user license).

Hazel is an automation tool that makes organizing your files a snap. You can create a number of sophisticated rules based on everything from file age to location, and then have Hazel act on those rules. Hazel will delete files for you, archive things, add labels, and much more.

New in Hazel 2 are:

• App Sweep: Hazel keeps an eye out for when you delete an app. When you do, it offers to throw away all the other associated files with that app (support files that is, not files that you created with the app itself).
• Growl support
• New actions including rename file, sort into subfolders, and more.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Read the release notes for the fully skinny.

Hazel is one of those truly clever, useful apps that I think could make the Mac computing world a better place if everyone bought a license (and used it, of course). If you haven't seen our previous coverage, Hazel is - in a nutshell - your "personal housecleaner," allowing you to specify rules for moving and organizing your files just like you would with Mail messages. For a basic example, you could create a rule that watches your Desktop for downloaded files types like .ZIP, .DMG, .SIT, etc., and automatically move them to a Software folder once they're a day old. Hazel's abilities don't stop there, however; not by a long shot. Hazel can automatically import image files into iPhoto, music into iTunes, add Spotlight comments, organize files into folders and even subfolders, add Finder color labels to files, run AppleScripts and so much more. Hazel can even manage your Trash for you by setting a specific time frame after which older (but not all) files should be deleted, or even a size limit that the Trash should be kept under (say, 2 GB). All this is done completely and transparently in the background, allowing you to get things done while Hazel works its magic.

Have I piqued your interest? Good, because Paul Kim at Noodlesoft has just released a much-anticipated Hazel 2.0 update in beta with some significant new features. At the top of my personal list is full-blown support for uninstalling an application and the ability to preview rule matches so you can polish your criteria before flipping the switch. Read on for details on these killer new features and more.

Ethan Schoonover is the creator of Kinkless GTD, the series of AppleScripts for OmniOutliner that was one of the first serious GTD implementations on the Mac. He has since contributed to the development of the forthcoming OmniFocus. Ethan's productivity tips go beyind kGTD, however, and he has a five-part series of articles and screencasts called Kinkless Desktop, which explain his methods for keeping your Desktop orderly and productive. He has a number of nice tips including aesthetic customization and using TUAW favorite Hazel for automated filing. Check out the series at Kinkless.com.

[via MacDevCenter]

This week's Ask TUAW takes us into questions about Bluetooth File Exchange, 5.1 audio, VNC, getting Adium and Quicksilver working together, EVDO, automated file management based on label color, and more. As always, please leave your own comments, and ask more questions for next week either in the comments to this post or using the tip form. Now let's get to it

I instantly fell in love with Hazel from Noodlesoft the first time I found it back in September '06, and since then it has received a literal landslide of new features that make it even more indispensable to any heavy file trafficker. For those just tuning in, Hazel is fundamentally a file organization utility; it allows you to set up a series of rules that watch files in directories of your choosing, and then it carries out various actions based on your criteria. For example: I download a lot of videos, particularly motion pieces I find from studios all over the web. I also download a lot of DMGs and ZIPs in the name of TUAW, and as you might guess, after just a busy morning of all this watching and downloading, my desktop is about as messy as the typical freshman dormroom.

Enter Hazel, the background file management ninja. For these two scenarios, I have a couple of rules that watch my Desktop for files of type Movie, DMG or ZIP which were added more than 1 day ago. These rules will then move said files into their respective directories (Movies and Software, as one might guess) and apply a blue label to them, just to make sure I know what was moved how.

Hazel is one of those rare pieces of software (with a strange name) that feels like it's filling a gaping feature void I didn't even know Apple left in Mac OS X: it's a powerful, rule-based file and folder management app that brings a little bit of Automator, AppleScript and Folder Actions to the table in a way that none of those apps and features do well on their own. Hazel installs as a System Preferences Pane and, as you can see, allows you to build a list of folders on the left with a list of toggle-able rules on the right. The on/off switch on these rules is key, as they make it easy to switch between running certain kinds of rules on a folder for different workflows, jobs, times of the day or week.