#How do i find my documents on mac download
#How do i find my documents on mac mac

#How do i find my documents on mac mac

It's quite ridiculous that when anyone wants to stop syncing the Desktop & Documents to the iCloud Drive that Apple don't provide for some easy means of downloading the whole of the files to the Mac from where they were uploaded in the first instance. The above wasn't too bad but I hate to think how much work there would be in downloading all the Document files from where there are subfolders going down many levels. Having read the excellent article by David Gewurtz about using Dropbox to sync Mac files I'm considering following this route in future to sync at least my Desktop and Documents so they are available in both my Mac and MacBook. To deal with restoring Documents to my Mac I'm going to have to resort to restoring these from my last Time Machine backup before this problem happened - fortunately since then I've not altered any of the Document files. I agree that I have too much on my Desktop!

#How do i find my documents on mac download

Each folder had to be opened in turn and the files then selected for download, and I had to keep changing the default download folder so that the files were downloaded into the correct subfolders. However the major problem was the folders I had on the Desktop. The wasn't too bad as I could change that default folder to be the Desktop. I found that I could only select for download just the files there, and not the folders, and that these files were all downloaded individually into the default Safari download folder. Well yesterday I reset my iCloud Drive options so that Desktop & Documents were not syncing with the Drive and started to download all the Desktop files that were stored in. In that case, they will have to be downloaded. The copy will be relatively instantaneous unless some of the files were 'optimized' and are only available on iCloud Drive (not applicable in your case since you didn't optimize). When you copy the files back over, it doesn't really copy them (or move them), it just creates new hard links in your home folders. When you disable the feature, it makes hard links* to the files in iCloud Drive's local storage location and then deletes the files from the now-visible Desktop and Documents. Finder just makes it look like they are not there and in iCloud Drive instead. Your Desktop & Documents folders still reside where they were with the files in them.

When you attempt to do that, it will warn you that you will be removing the files from iCloud Drive and they will only be available on your Mac.Īll of that moving is just obfuscation.

It will also tell you that you can then move the files from iCloud Drive back into the Folders in your Home.

It will warn you that if you disable it, the files will remain on iCloud Drive, but you will have Empty Desktop and Documents folders in your Home folder.The only way to get your Desktop and Documents folders showing again in your Home folder is to disable Desktop & Documents in iCloud Drive.

If you are not seeing them in the iCloud Drive section in the Sidebar, that is another matter that needs to be investigated (as others are trying to do). The Desktop & Documents folders now 'appear' in iCloud Drive. Method 2: “Go To” Your Library Folder DirectlyĪlternately, if you like making things slightly more complicated, you can also visit your Library folder by switching to Finder and selecting Go > Go to Folder in the menu bar.You've enable Desktop & Documents in iCloud Drive. But if you hold down the Option key when you click “Go,” “Library” will appear.įrom there, you can click on the “Library” option, and you will be taken directly to your Library folder. In Finder, when you click on the Go menu at the top of the screen, “Library” usually isn’t present on the list. If something goes wrong with your replacement, you can delete it and restore the previous file by renaming it back to “ist.” Method 1: Use the Go Menu For example, if you plan to overwrite a file called “ist,” you should rename the existing file “” first. It’s also a good idea to keep a backup copy of files you will be moving or replacing in the Library folder. So, before you dive into Library, make sure you have a current Time Machine backup and a plan for what you’ll be doing. If you accidentally delete or modify those files, you might cause problems serious with your system. Apple hides the Library folder for a good reason: It contains essential configuration files for both macOS and your applications.