I’m running Leopard (10.5). I need to do some light image editing so I downloaded GIMP, which I’ve had before and deleted since I wasn’t using it. No problem - it’s reputable, I download it and install it. Then I go and eat dinner.
Later I go to open it the way I habitually open programs that aren’t on my dock, by going to my home directory in Finder and opening the Applications folder…which is now empty, as opposed to full of programs. “That’s odd,” I say. “I’ve still got a couple applications open, so clearly they are still on this computer, but where have they gone?”
A few minutes of Google tell me that something odd has happened and what I’ve now got is $User -> Applications, rather than Macintosh HD -> Applications, which is where all my apps live.
My question: I am absolutely 100% certain that the Mac HD -> Applications folder was previously accessible from my home directory. Through the sidebar as well, yes, but also from the main Finder pane as a well, right there along with Documents and Pictures and Downloads, which was very convenient for my neurotic computering habits. Now it is gone, and short of copying the entire folder (and thus duplicating all my programs, which will eat up a bit more hard drive space than I’m willing to part with), I can’t figure out how to get it back. I’d like it back, as a folder I can open within the home directory view (with the little drop-down arrow on the left, you know). Anyone have any clues?
The Applications folder does not go in your user home folder. They never were in your user home directory. All users (if you have more than one user) need to have access to those applications.
If you do want applications accessible from your Home folder, you can create an alias (shortcut) of the Applications folder and put it anywhere you like.
No, the full Applications folder was definitely accessible as an expandable folder, just like Documents etc, from my home directory. I’m not saying the actual programs were stored there, nor do I want them there, but I just want the expandable folder back (and creating an alias won’t do that).
I think you are mis-interpreting something, but I’m not sure what.
The Applications folder is always located under your Hard Drive (HD->Applications). There is another directory called Applications that is in every user’s Home directory, but this is generally empty, and never contains the standard System Applications (eg - Safari).
The sidebar usually has /Applications listed under Desktop, which is under Home. If it’s gone, you can get it back by just dragging it from a Finder window to the sidebar.
Did any of that make sense?
Just after I installed a new program. When I went to open it the way I’ve generally opened things in the past (again, through the expanded Apps folder in my home directory), it was empty.
All I really want is a way to make the folder “expand” (to make sure we’re on the same page: you know the little gray arrow to the left of regular folders in list view in Finder? I want that little arrow back for my apps folder when viewed from my home directory).
Further Googling is increasingly convincing me that my prior two years of using that view have been some sort of hallucination, though. I know that I didn’t have all my programs installed in two places or anything (since there hasn’t been any significant change in free disk space), so I don’t know what the hell at this point.
I’m reasonably certain Leopard does not have this by default, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this as standard for any install of OS X. I think it’s possible that there’s some software that creates it for whatever reason.
Here’s someone from a few years back who had a similar experience to you, NinjaChick :
I don’t think there’s any way to get a disclosure triangle in list view without an actual directory (not a link or alias). You can’t hard link a directory on OS X as far as I know. An alias does show the ‘directory triangle’ on the right, but from what you said, that’s not what you were seeing.
Is it possible there was either some Finder add-on type software or script that you’ve used in the past? Maybe there’s something out there that makes aliased directories behave this way in list view. Or the ~/Applications directory (home folder one) was filled with links to the /Applications directory.
I’m quite sure 10.5 had no Applications folder in the Home dir.
I just updated to Snow Leopard last week. Last night I installed a CS5 Dreamweaver trial and now I notice an empty Applications folder in my Home dir, wondered where it came from, Googled and found this thread.
I logged in another account and found no App dir in that Home dir, so I’m suspecting the Dreamweaver installer of it. Didn’t know this was possible :dubious: but I can’t explain it otherwise.
Also: The home/app dir is empty but has a creation date of 00:13 today and a modification date of 00:19 today and that’s right about the time I ran the CS5 Dreamweaver installer.
You can install a program for all users, or just for the logged-in user. If only for the logged-in user, the program goes in the user’s Applications directory (~/Applications); if for all users, the program goes in the system-wide Applications directory under Macintosh HD/Applications.
I found this description of symlinks interesting… I tried making a symlink to the applications directory in my home directory, using the command in Terminal, and it showed up in Finder as an alias, with the little arrow. There was no flippy triangle.