How To Use The Library Folder Mac

11.04.2020
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The Library folder for the users on a Mac is always hidden as Apple just doesn’t want you to access it as it thinks you don’t need access to it. However, macOS does provide an option to see this folder and access its contents, but you should only do that if you know what you are doing as a single mistake may mess-up everything in there.

  1. How To Use The Library Folder Machine
  2. How To Open Library In Mac
  3. No Library Folder On Mac
  4. Show Library Folder Mac Os

We already have a guide that shows how you can quickly access the Library folder on your Mac, but what it doesn’t do is it doesn’t let you unhide the folder. That way, you can access the folder, but it will not always be visible in the file explorer – the Finder app – on your Mac.

So, if you really want to open the Library folder using the Finder quickly, you can’t do as the folder is not visible anywhere in the app. If you happen to access the folder occasionally, you should not have any issues as you can just use any temporary method to get access to the folder, however, if you happen to use the folder now and then, you will need a permanent solution to quickly accessing the folder.

Oct 18, 2019  The Finder is the first thing that you see when your Mac finishes starting up. It opens automatically and stays open as you use other apps. It includes the Finder menu bar at the top of the screen and the desktop below that. It uses windows and icons to show you the contents of your Mac, iCloud Drive, and other storage devices. It's called the. Hold down the Alt (Option) key when using the Go menu. The user Library folder is listed below the current user's home directory. Note: After you open the Library folder, you can drag the Library icon from the top of that window to the Dock, sidebar, or toolbar to make it readily accessible. You can access the Library folder with the Go To Folder command or from the Terminal app. Access the Library folder in Finder: In Finder, choose Go Go To Folder In the Go To The Folder field, enter /library/. I am a new to mac osx. One thing confusing me is what does /Library or /System/Library folders store? As its name meaning, I thought is should be something like /lib or /usr/lib in Linux. However, it does not. Inside it, it looks more similar to application bundles.

In the guide below, we’re going to show you how you can unhide the Library folder on your Mac. That way, the folder will start to appear in the Finder beside the other folders, and you should be able to access it with a single click.

If that’s what you would like to do, here’s all you need to do to get that:

Using the Shift key to Launch the Folder

One of the ways to access the Library folder is to use the Shift key. When you hold down Shift on your keyboard, some extra options appear in your regular menus that let you access to some special content such as the Library folder.

Here’s how to use this method:

Get inside a Finder window so that you can access its options. Going to your Mac’s desktop is the best way to do that.

How To Use The Library Folder Machine

Once you are on the desktop of your Mac, you should see the Finder options on the top of your screen. What you need to do is find the menu labeled as “Go” and click on it.

As you can see above, the Library folder just doesn’t exist there although it does exist on your system. To enable it in this menu, hold down the “Shift” key on your keyboard, and the folder will appear in the menu. Clicking on the folder will take you to the current user account’s Library folder.

So, that was a nice way of accessing the Library folder as all it needed was a press on the Shift key and you were ready to go.

Unhiding the Library Folder Permanently on Your Mac

While the method above lets you access the Library folder for your user account, the option for the folder will go away as soon as let go of the Shift key. If you would like for the option to continue to be there, you need to do the following procedure to make it stick there:

Go to the desktop area of your Mac so that you are inside a Finder window.

Click on the “Go” menu at the top and select the option that says “Go to Folder.” This option allows you to jump to any directory on your Mac and you just have to input the path to the directory.

Enter in the following path into the box on your screen and hit “Go” to go there. Make sure to replace Mahesh with the username of your Mac’s account.

/Users/Mahesh/

When the user folder opens, and you can see your files, click on the “View” menu at the top of your screen and it will reveal the Finder’s view options. Click on the option that says “Show View Options” to see the settings that control what should be shown in the Finder windows. Alternatively, you can press the “Command + J” key combination to access the option.

The view options will appear on your screen, and you can now modify them however you want. What we’re interested in is the option that says “Show Library Folder.” You need to checkmark this option and it will make the Library folder to appear in the regular menu of the Finder app. Just checkmark the box and close the panel.

From now on, you should be able to access the Library folder from any window of the Finder app. To do that, you just have to pull down the Go menu and click on “Library,” and you should be inside the Library folder for your user account.

So, that was a permanent method to enable the Library folder in the Finder menu on your Mac. The option for accessing the folder should now always be visible in the Finder, and you are just a click away from getting to that folder on your machine.

How To Open Library In Mac

Unhiding the Library Folder Using Terminal on Your Mac

Another way to enable the Library folder in the Finder is to use a command in the Terminal app. The command does exactly what you did in the above section, but this uses fewer steps as you just have to enter the command in the Terminal app and hit Enter and you are all set. Here’s how to do that:

Launch the Terminal app on your Mac by clicking on Launchpad in the Dock and searching for and clicking on “Terminal.” The app should launch.

When Terminal launches, type in the following command and press Enter.

chflags nohidden ~/Library/

As soon as you press Enter, the command will get executed, and it will unhide the Library folder in the Finder menus on your Mac.

You are all set.

So, above were some of the ways to access the Library folder on your Mac. The last two methods let you permanently enable the folder in the Finder, so you don’t need to hold down Shift key or do anything else to access the folder as the folder is now always visible in the Finder menus.

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The Library folder, at the root level of your Mac OS X Lion hard drive, is like a public library; it stores items available to everyone who logs into an account on this Mac. You can find three Library folders on your hard drive: the one at the root level of your OS X disk, a second inside the root-level System folder, and a third in your Home folder.

In earlier versions of Mac OS X, you would have seen a folder named Library between the Downloads and Movies folders in your Home folder. But that was then, and this is now. Mac library folder missing download. In Mac OS X Lion, the Home Library folder is hidden from view to protect you from yourself.

Leave the /System/Libraryfolder alone. Don’t move, remove, or rename it, or do anything within it. It’s the nerve center of your Mac. In other words, you should never have to touch this third Library folder.

You find a bunch of folders inside the Library folder at root level (the public Library folder). Most of them contain files that you never need to open, move, or delete.

By and large, the public Library subfolder that gets the most use is the Fonts folder, which houses many of the fonts installed on the Mac. For the most part, fonts can be made available in one of two ways:

  • To everyone who uses the Mac: If that’s the case, they’re stored in the Fonts folder.

  • To a single user: In this case, you place the fonts in the user’s Library folder (the one in the user’s Home folder).

Some other public Library subfolders that you might use or add to are the iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto, and iDVD folders (where you put plug-ins for those programs); the Scripts folder (which houses AppleScripts accessible to all users); and the Desktop Pictures folder (where you can place pictures to be used as Desktop backgrounds).

No Library Folder On Mac

Leave the “public” Library folder pretty much alone unless you’re using the Fonts folder or know what you’re adding to one of the other folders. Don’t remove, rename, or move any files or folders. Mac OS X uses these items and is very picky about where they’re kept and how they’re named.

Show Library Folder Mac Os

If your Mac is set up for multiple users, only users with administrator (admin) privileges can put stuff in the public (root-level) Library folder.