You don’t have to buy some expensive DVD burning software just to archive files to disc on Mac OS X; Apple includes this functionality right in the operating system! Although the process isn’t exactly obvious (as in, ahem, Microsoft Windows), it works fine. Here’s how to burn a data DVD without using any third-party software.
- Insert a blank DVD into your SuperDrive
- The Finder will pop up a window asking you to select an action. Choose “Open Finder” in the “Action” menu.
- If this window does not appear and some other application automatically starts, you will have to hold down the “Option” key on insert.
- If no other application launches when you insert a blank disc, you probably selected “Open Finder” as your default action and you can move on to the next step.
- A Finder window will appear, with a new entry called “Untitled DVD” in the “Places” list. This is your workspace, and you will use it to create your DVD image.
- Drag and drop files or folders here and an alias will be created
- You can create folders here as in any normal Finder location and can organize your files in them
- Note the line at the bottom, which lets you know how much space is left for files
- If you are organizing aliases in folders, you must click on another “place” then back to the “Untitled DVD” item under “Places” to force a recalculation of capacity used/available
Drag and drop files or folders from other Finder windows Watch the status bar to keep from over-filling the DVD You can rename the disc by right- or option-clicking the Untitled DVD in Places and selecting “Get Info”. Give it a new name, but leave the “.fpbf” extension.
- When you’re ready, click the “burn” icon under Places or select “Burn” under the “gear” menu.
- You can rename the disc or select burn speed in the next window. Click “Burn” again and wait while your disc is created!
![Screen shot 2010-11-02 at 9.52.46 AM](http://static.fosketts.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Screen-shot-2010-11-02-at-9.52.46-AM-300x169.png)
![Screen shot 2010-11-02 at 9.58.41 AM](http://static.fosketts.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Screen-shot-2010-11-02-at-9.58.41-AM-300x182.png)
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Once you get used to the process, burning a DVD in Mac OS X is a painless and simple matter. But it’s not exactly self-explanatory!
Thanks for sharing this step by step tip. Those images help me easily to create data DVD.
All very well- although my version of Mountain Lion doesn’t have a bar at the bottom telling me how much space is remaining on the DVD, which is rather useless.