Mac OS Folder Structure
Understanding
the logic of the Folder System in Mac OS X goes a long way
to understanding the system as a whole. This is due to the
fact that by-and-large, the computer and the way it stores
information are the parts that make up the whole.
Understand these concepts – even a little – and you
understand the logic of the Operating System. And once you
got that nailed, everything else “makes sense.”
The
Basic File System
I’ve
written it down
before, but it
bears repeating: The modern computer interface, and that
especially of the Mac OS, is based on physical
principles of a “desktop world.” This is because that’s
what we’re all used to otherwise. Files are nothing new,
folders are nothing new, but the concept of a folder
system with unlimited sub-folder hierarchy potential is
really a computer age concept. The basic gist is that a
folder on the computer is the same as a physical folder
on your desktop; you have files inside that you’re
keeping organized. Maybe it’s photos, maybe it’s
work-related ledgers (or spreadsheets, get it?), but the
concepts are the same. Where I think there’s a
disconnect for some people is that a lot of the folders
in the system are not viewed as such when you’re looking
at the computer screen. People have grown so accustomed
to the idea of a “My Documents” that they dropped the
“Folder” part, and now everyone forgot that it was
indeed just a folder that was pre-named when they bought
the machine. Not only that, but it was put somewhere for
them, and they can’t navigate to it directly, so there’s
the lost connection to this folder. Where is it? If it’s
just a folder, how come I can’t find it?
In Windows it’s a little more complicated because they try
their darnedest to hide folders from view completely, so
that you only see contents through Microsoft-developed
special views that essentially keep the users dumb. It’s a
little easier on the Mac, though the prevalence of
shortcuts has had the same effect of eroding the mental
connection for people that these are indeed just folders
somewhere on their Hard Disk Drive (HDD). It’s further
complicated by the fact that nowadays, we open our
computers it goes to one of the subfolders – the
Desktop – and it can
seem hard to find a way to navigate to a higher-level
folder than where you started. So to me, it would seem the
best way to get people familiar with their computers is to
show them the “behind the scenes” views of their system,
and also illustrate that it’s not really all that “behind
the scenes” on the Mac.
BASIC
HIERARCHY
Here is a
simplified picture of your system hierarchy.
Click here
to see a
larger copy.
Further, we can see you have your own Documents Folder, Music Folder, Pictures Folder, all created for you by default. That’s where they are relative to the rest of the entire system. See how far down they actually are? This is the basic structure of a simplified system, and there’s good reason that things are where they are.
SECURITY FOR ALL
Each user has their own folder where their own documents are kept. This is just good housekeeping, and we all do the same at home, and as such we should do the same on our computers. My socks are not with my Significant Other’s, they have their own location so they don’t get mixed up. Now because of the potentially sensitive nature of what may (or may not) be on a computer, the system has been designed to keep others from creeping into your user folder, and thus everything you save and leave about anywhere. So, in the example above, Aunt Mae cannot see the pictures of My Little Ponies you left laying around on your desktop that you downloaded illegally from the internet. Good, right? Yes, very good, but it can cause confusion if you are not familiar with the hierarchy to begin with. Such as, how do you share documents between users? Luckily, the system comes with pre-assigned & named Public Folders that are as they insinuate: public, anyone can see them. There’s also a convenient drop-box, that as it’s name implies, allows others to “Drop” files into it, so that you may view but others may not.
And though it wasn’t shown explicitly in the picture above, I’m sure you can guess that each user has their own Documents Folder, Pictures Folder, Desktop Folder, and the like. To each their own, and thus properly organized.
This means that you can compute, download, type, and save as you wish without fear of anyone else encroaching into your digital world. The only caveat is that you make sure you’ve logged out of your account when you leave, and that you have a password that only you know (See Basic Security).
APPLICATIONS FOLDER: IMPORTANCE OF ITS POSITION AT THE TOP
I have been asked a few times why, when people download a piece of software to their desktop, other users can’t seem to find it. Well, using the logic from above, we can deduce that it’s because they are essentially “locked out” of your User Folder. Thus, anything that you want to be available to everyone needs to be either in a public folder, or at a hierarchical level above the User Folders. Enter the Applications Folder.
This special folder was designed specifically to house the applications that are available to each and every user. Its placement in the hierarchy then is not a mistake, and makes perfect sense. It’s above your User Folder, so you have access to it still, and so does everyone else! Now of course with special powers comes special responsibility, and the Applications Folder is no exception here. Since safety and security are of the utmost importance, only Administrators have the privilege of of modifying the contents. Administrators are the super-users, and the computer has to have at least one. They are the ones that OK certain happenings in the system that could potentially cause havoc, such as modifying system folders and adding/removing programs from the Applications Folder. The computer doesn’t know what’s safe or not, it relies on the super-users to OK actions that could be detrimental. This is why if you try to add something to a folder such as the Applications folder or the System Folder, you get prompted to enter an Administrator ID & Password; the system wants assurances that you mean to put it where you are attempting to put it, and also that you understand the potential consequences. It’s a great warning tool, notifying users of where is a good place to put things and where is not.
As a general rule, everything of your own should stay at the Users Folder or below, with applications being the one exception. However, as just mentioned, you’ll have to have the Administrator OK any additions to this folder (or you’ll have to OK it if you are the Administrator – More on that Here).
But having just a mental image of how the file system really is may not be enough. After all, you have to interact with the system as it is, and you probably want to know how to get to these places using the Finder – the window to your system – and how it all relates to what you see.
I can show you how things you see in your system relate to this basic diagram, and I can do even better and show you how to see essentially this same diagram from within the Finder. Hopefully it will all begin to make sense! Click on the link below to go to the next (and last) page...
System Hierarchy and the Finder >>