Tips for merging two macs into one (old iMac+MBP into one new MBP)?

[sbn]

In a few days I'll get a 16" MBP M1 Max and I want to make a fresh start on this machine.

I now have a 2015 iMac 5K and a 2018 MBP 15", both running macOS 12.0.1. I also have time machine backups of both.

I also want to get my data from both machnes transferred to the new one. Most of it is just files that can be copied, some stuff is in iCloud etc.

But I'm curious about all the special data that various apps leave on my machine, and how to get this transferred and merged into one.

Do you have any good tips for this process?

What is the smartest way of transferring the files, should I just make network shares on the old machines and drag files over, or use airdrop or will it get any benefits from using a physical USB disk?

How do I merge the "on my mac" section of the Notes app between two machines, into one, without moving these notes to the cloud?

How can I check which apps have locally stored data that I need to move over manually?

 

[Fishrrman]

You can't migrate "settings" from both older Macs.
You'll have to pick one, which will become your "primary" drive from which to migrate.

Which one would you choose?

Do you intend to bring apps over, as well?
Setup assistant can do this, but again, I reckon you could run into problems if you try to migrate the same app from both older Macs.

Data files are much easier.
Just get a USB external drive (a USB flashdrive could work if it was large enough, but an external hard drive would be better), copy what you want to bring over, and copy to the new Mac.

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT
You need to take steps to avoid permissions problems and conflicts when bringing over data from "old accounts" to a newer one. It doesn't matter if the username and password are the same.

(I don't use time machine, I have no idea how it handles permissions conflicts)

How I avoid permissions problems (easy):
1. Connect the drive, let its icon mount on desktop
2. Click ONE TIME on the drive icon to select it
3. Bring up the "get info" box for the drive (command-i)
4. At the bottom of get info, click the lock and enter your password (for the new Mac)
5. Put a checkmark into "ignore ownership on this volume" (sharing and permissions)
6. Close get info.

Now anything you copy from the external drive should "come under the ownership" of your NEW account on the NEW Mac.