Time Machine is nice because it Just Works and it does its magic in the background. But left to itself, it can really swell up due to either large files that you don't really need backed up slipping in and frequently-changing files you don't really need every version of.
How can I
- Remove files from backups?
- Find and exclude files that I don't want backed up (e.g. frequently changing ones)
Best Answer
Remove backups
You can remove files from backups by viewing the enclosing folder in the Finder, then enter Time Machine. Find the file or folder, right/control-click and choose either delete that backup, or delete all backups (versions) of the file. (See this answer)
Find and exclude files
The best way I've found to hunt down and remove files from backups is this:
Backup Drive/Backups.backupdb/Yourcomputername
What to exclude
This answer suggests some stuff you might want to exclude. Some more good stuff to exclude that I found using GrandPerspective:
~/.dropbox
(this is where dropbox keeps its internal DB, which can get HUGE if it caches versions of old files)Downloads
folder (mine's in dropbox anyway)Music/Podcasts
(these eat up a lot of space and for most I can get back-episodes if I need, plus I never want to :P)/Library/Updates
the OS likes to keep copies of the packages from automatic updates. Why? who knows but you don't need 'em UAYOR: there's probably a reason Apple doesn't exclude them, so a full restore might be more of a pain if you do this