Folder Structure & Moving Things Around

Folder Structure

In OS X, when you first double-click to open your hard drive icon, you come face to face with something totally new to Mac users. That is, a collection of folders that were never there before — Applications, Library, Users. So what is that all about?

OS X imposes a certain folder structure on your hard drive. Although it will take some getting used to, there is a fundamental way to look at it that may make it easier for you — in earlier versions of the operating system, you could open you hard drive and find what file you were looking for. Now, because OS X is based on particular USERS and computer sharing (a UNIX thing), you have your very own HOME folder in which to keep all of your files and documents. Since your whole hard drive is now much like the older OS version System Folder (the storage area for the operating system), you should not move or rename any of the OS X folders located in the hard drive window.

So, what folders are there and what are they for?

Applications ⇒ This folder contains the array of Mac OS X software. Anytime you install new OS X software, this is where you should put it!
Library ⇒ This folder stores all the components for the operating system and applications.
System Folder ⇒ This is the 'old' OS 9.x folder which allows your OS X Mac to run Classic.
System ⇒ THE one folder which makes your Mac smile at you when you turn it on and allows you to do all your work. The files here are so crucial to functioning that Apple made most of the contents invisible!
Users ⇒ This folder contains the Home folder for all users of your computer. If you are the only user, then you have two folders inside your Users folder. One is entitled with your name, and the other entitled Shared (more on that later).

You should use your own HOME folder — the one with the name you used when OS X was installed — to store all of your documents, files, or aliases. If you find all of this a bit frustrating, you are not alone. It does take some getting used to but there is a big advantage. If you follow these conventions, backing up your files and file sharing become very simple tasks.

To locate your HOME folder, at the Finder level, double-click to open your hard drive.

Locate and then double-click on the USERS folder.

Now locate the folder with your name (this is your HOME folder) and double-click to open.

There are several other ways to access your Home folder besides taking that pathway:

In a Finder window on the Toolbar, click once on the HOME button (the one which looks like a house).
At the Finder level, from the GO menu, select HOME.
At the Finder level, press OPTION/COMMAND/H and a window appears with the contents of your Home folder.

So now, we move on to what folders are in your Home folder:

Desktop ⇒ Whenever you place something on your desktop, it only appears as if you have placed it there. In reality, you are actually placing it into this folder. It is through the use of this folder that OS X is able to keep track of what you would like stored on your desktop, as opposed to another user of the same computer and what they want on their desktop. Keep in mind that OS X will not allow you to delete or rename this folder.
Documents ⇒ This is where Apple recommends that you store all of your data. In many applications, when you save a new document, the SAVE pane automatically defaults to this Documents folder.
Library ⇒ This folder is where OS X stores your preferences, help files, fonts, etc. These items are specific to you, and not accessible by other users of the same computer. Through the use of this folder, OS X keeps track of the way you work. Whenever you change a preference or option in an application, it is stored here. Also, your browser favorites or bookmarks are stored here as well.
Movies, Music, Pictures ⇒ These folders are designed for multimedia storage. It is to these folders that the OS X programs (like iTunes, or iMovie) automatically default when you save a document.
Public ⇒ Anything that you place into this folder is available to all users of your computer, and to all users on the network if you have file sharing turned on.
Sites ⇒ OS X has a built in web server, which you have to turn on for it to work. The default setting uses this folder as the web site. If you have no intention of setting your Mac up as a web server, you can simply delete this folder.

Moving Things Around

To move things around, you first need to select them.

To select a single icon, click once on that icon.

To select all icons in a window, go to the EDIT menu and choose SELECT ALL. The keyboard equivalent is COMMAND/A.

To highlight several icons at one time, click and hold down the mouse button, then drag across the desired icons.

To highlight consecutive icons in a list, click and hold down the mouse button, then drag down to select the desired group of icons. You can also click once on the first item, hold down the SHIFT key and click on the last item. All items in between are selected.

To highlight icons which are not consecutive, click once on the first icon, hold down the COMMAND key, then click once on all the rest of the desired icons.

If you have highlighted too many icons and want to deselect one, hold down the COMMAND key and click once on the desired icon.

Once you have your files selected, you can then manipulate all of them at the same time:

To move the files to a new location, simply drag them to the desired location.
If you want to make a copy of the files rather than just moving them, hold down the OPTION key as you drag to the new location.
If you drag your files to another disk (like a zip disk or server), copies of the files are made in the new location.
Once you have your files selected, you can also use the EDIT menu's COPY, and PASTE commands.
Something new in OS X is the EDIT menu's UNDO command. Many tasks that you perform on the desktop can be undone IF it was the most recent action — this includes dragging a file to a different folder or to the TRASH.

Aliases

An alias is a duplicate ICON of a file or folder, and is a reference to that file or folder; it is NOT a copy of the file contents. When you double-click on an alias icon, the original file actually opens.

You can create an alias of any file, folder, or application and place it on your desktop, or in any folder on your hard drive. To do so, select the desired icon or filename, then go to the FILE menu and select MAKE ALIAS. The keyboard equivalent is COMMAND/L. An alias appears with the same filename plus the word alias at the end.

One cool trick to make an alias without the word alias appended to the end of the filename: hold down the COMMAND and OPTIONS keys then drag the icon to another location on your hard drive.

Now, you can move the alias to any location on your hard drive. You can rename it anything that you would like, and it will still open the original file or folder.

To identify an alias, look at the bottom left corner of the icon. If there is a tiny arrow, then it is an alias.

An alias can come in handy when you want to organize your information and to make access to anything quicker. For example, if you have a document that you work on frequently but is buried four or five folders deep, you could create an alias to this document, place it on your desktop, and simply double-click on the alias icon to open the file.

Some other ideas for aliases:

Place an alias of your Documents folder (in your Home folder) on your desktop.
Make an alias of your OS 9 applications and place them into your Applications folder.
Make an alias of a server, and place it on your desktop. The next time you need to access the server, simply double-click the alias.

Favorites

Another way to access things quickly is to use your FAVORITES. You can access your FAVORITES several ways:

At the Finder, use the GO menu, select FAVORITES, and use the sub-menu to select one of the listed FAVORITES.
On any Finder window, click once on the Toolbar FAVORITES button. Your FAVORITES appear in the window.
Whenever you are viewing the OPEN or SAVE pane, the FAVORITES list appears.

To add an item to your FAVORITES, click once to select the item, then use the FILE menu and choose ADD TO FAVORITES. That item now appears in your FAVORITES list.

Additionally, in the OPEN and SAVE panes you will find an ADD TO FAVORITES button.

Os X uses a special folder inside your Home folder, Library folder for keeping track of your Favorites. Every time you select Add to Favorites from a menu, or click on an Add to Favorites button, OS X places an alias of that item into your Favorites folder.

If you ever decide to get rid of, or need to rename, any FAVORITES ⇒ from the GO menu, select FAVORITES, and use the sub-menu to select GO TO FAVORITES. The keyboard equivalent is COMMAND/OPTION/F.

Your FAVORITES window appears and contains all the aliases. You can rename or delete anything in this folder.

Written by Teresa Hagan

Here are links to more OS X tutorials:

Mac OS X Basics
Windows & How They Work
The Dock
The Finder Toolbar
OS X System Preferences