Make Library Folder Visible In Mac Os X

May 15, 2014  Did your /Users root folder disappear after updating OS X 10.9.3? It turns out the /Users folder is still there, it has not been deleted, it's just invisible now by default causing it to become. If you’re still with us, here’s how to make it happen: 1. Open a new Finder window. Navigate to your Home directory by selecting the Go menu and clicking Home (⌘-Shift-H). Select the View menu and click Show View Options or by using ⌘-J. Check the box next to Show Library Folder. Mar 21, 2018  If you want to keep /Library visible but don’t want it clogging up the sidebar in Finder windows, do this: Click on the Finder in the Dock. Click on the View menu and choose Show View Options. Check the box labelled Show Library Folder at the bottom of the window. Dec 04, 2017 To make the Library folder appear, press the “Alt” key (also known as the Option key) at the bottom left of your keyboard. The Library folder will now appear.

Just like the Windows operating system, the MacOS operating system has a hidden Library folder full of settings you shouldn’t really touch. Deleting some or all of these settings will at best force you to reinstall certain apps, and at worst, cause the whole system to collapse and require a complete reinstall.

But there may be times when accessing the Library folder is necessary. For example, many apps put backups in the Library folder and you may want to back up the backup. Or you might be customising your Mac, which will need access to certain library folders.

Here is how to get there and not cause your Mac to collapse in a cloud of dust in the process.

What Is The Library Folder On MacOS?

The library folder is the area of your MacOS computer where app settings are stored. When you install a program, a folder is created in the Library for all of the essential settings. This can be anything from plugins, preference files and log files.

It’s hidden because basically some people are just plain clumsy and quite often don’t know what they are deleting. It’s only when it’s too late when they realise that something they just deleted should have been kept.

So you could say that Apple is protecting you against your own worst impulses!

How To Find The Hidden Library Folder On MacOS

There are two ways to get to the hidden Library folder if you are confident enough of not triggering a nuclear apocalypse. But the second way is only really feasible when you know where to look.

First Method (The Easiest)

Go to Finder and drop down the “Go” menu. You’ll see that the Library folder is not listed.

To make the Library folder appear, press the “Alt” key (also known as the Option key) at the bottom left of your keyboard. The Library folder will now appear.

Click on the Library folder option to be taken straight to the folder.

Show library folder mac el capitan. May 24, 2016  Support Communities / Mac OS & System Software / OS X El Capitan. DJNippa's were all in Column view, Dialabrain's were in Column then Icon view. In mine, once I turned Show Library Folder on in List view, it then was available in Column view, but not in Icon view, but then it appeared in Icon view. Where is my Home Library Folder in El. Jul 18, 2015  Changing any single part of this folder without deep knowledge about Mac Operating System obviously causes unexpected troubles. The 2 ways to access and open Library folder in OS X – El Capitan, Yosemite or any other OS X versions? Show the Library Folder constantly in OS X El Capitan or other OS X versions. Dec 12, 2016  The above tricks also work to reveal and show the same user /Library folder in Mac OS X versions El Capitan and Yosemite (10.11.x and 10.10.x), and presumably forward beyond macOS 10.14.x, 10.13.x, and 10.12.x.

The problem though with this method is that this is very temporary. As soon as you take your finger off the alt key, the Library folder will disappear again.

Second Method (Not Difficult)

Once you know the path to the folder (by following the previous method), you can then use the path to go directly to the Library folder.

At the top of the Library folder, you will see the exact path (location) of the folder on your computer.

I have covered over my username in the screenshot, but the path is :

With that in mind, go back to Finder’s Go menu and at the bottom, you’ll see this option :

Choosing “Go to Folder” will bring up a box where you can type the path to the Library folder. Hitting the “enter” key will then take you straight there.

Make Library Folder Visible In Mac Os X Download

Even better, until you input the path to a different folder, the path to the Library will remain in the “Go to Folder” box.

Photos in your System Photo Library are available in apps like iMovie, Pages, and Keynote. How can i merge 2 photo libraries on mac software. You can also sync them to iOS devices and view them on Apple TV. And if you want to use your own images as your desktop picture or screen saver, the images need to be in your System Photo Library before you can select them in System Preferences.If you have only one photo library, then it's the System Photo Library. If you choose a different library in Photos without designating it as the System Photo Library, the iCloud tab in Photos preferences is disabled:If you designate a new library as the System Photo Library and then turn on iCloud Photos, the photos and videos in the new library will merge with those already in your iCloud Photos. If you want to keep the contents of your photo libraries separate, don’t turn on iCloud Photos for more than one library in Photos. You can use iCloud Photos, Shared Albums, and My Photo Stream only with the System Photo Library.

When it is gone, dropping down the menu arrow on the right hand side will show you a list of previous folders you went to, and the Library one will be there too.

Conclusion

There used to be a way to keep the Library folder showing permanently. But as of High Sierra, the Terminal command no longer seems to work.

However, keeping the folder permanently visible isn’t a good idea since you might delete a system-critical file. Besides, as you have just seen, it is not difficult at all to go to the folder when you need it.

From OSX 10.9 Mavericks, 10.8 Mountain Lion and 10.7 Lion, the /Library and ~/Library are hidden from the Finder – to show these directories in the GUI, launch Terminal from Applications/Utilities and run the command below with sudo and enter your admin password when requested:

to hide again:

Sync Folders Mac Os X

You can apply this to any directories in the filing system – so to see the hidden contents of the private folder including /etc you would apply:

But you cannot hide/show defined invisible files/folders that are preceded by a “.” with chflags

To show all hidden files and folders, that start with a ‘.’ , back to Terminal in OSX 10.9 Mavericks:

Getting back to cleanliness:

Make Library Folder Visible In Mac Os X 10 13 Download

To show all hidden files and folders, that start with a ‘.’ , back to Terminal for earlier versions of OSX 10.8 and prior:

How To Make Library Folder Visible On Mac

Getting back to cleanliness:

Mac Os Make Library Folder Visible

Related