Application Organizing in OS X?

[MacBandit]

Okay here is a question I've been meaning to ask for a while.

I have always in the past, that is with OS 9 kept my applications organized by function i.e. video apps in the video folder, utilities in the utility folder. When I got to OS X I did the same thing but soon found out that when I updated from I believe it was 10.1 to 10.1.5 that the Apple brand apps that were organized in different folders then what the original system installer put them in were not recognized and not updated.

So here we are now. I am running two users on this mac and I like it this way. But I am currently running in our User folders an OS X application folder filled with Aliases of Apps and Application folders all organized in the fashion that I'm use to and feel is logical. The real problem with this is that every time I install something new I have to make an alias of it or the folder it's in and put it in my User/Application folder and drop one on to the other users desktop so they can organize it in whatever way that they choose.

So my real question is there an easier way? At this point with two users I think I would like to keep separate App folders. Is there a way I can do this but simplify the tasks that I go through. Also can I now organize the system app folder in 10.2 and will an updater recognize the Apple apps if I update even if they are elsewhere on the drive from where they were originally installed.

Maybe I'm overlooking something simple (wouldn't be the first time) but OS X has actually been harder for me to use because of the organization method then OS 9. Though I do find the different view modes and everything nice though even after almost a years it's still gets to me when I open a folder and it opens it in the existing window without resizing and there are other little things that bother me. Hopefully these will be fixed sometime along the way.

What I'm mainly looking for here I guess is people suggestion and ideas on how they go about organizing there drives.

I think all in all OSX is a vast improvement mainly because it's so stable. Though I think it's easier for new user to learn then a die hard OS 9 power user to learn.

 

[MacBandit]

No one out there honestly has any ideas?

 

[FattyMembrane]

when an apple updater runs, i'm fairly sure that it looks for the app it's going to update either in /applications or /applications/utilities, so if you move any apps around to different folders, it's not going to update them when you upgrade. if i understand your setup correctly, you have two users, each of whom has a ~/applications directory (organized as he pleases), in which there are aliases to programs in the main /applications folder.

i believe that creating an alias for each new program and giving it to the user do do as he wishes is the only real way of allowing him to set up his applications folder as he wants (you could just create an alias to the /applications folder, but it would retain the organization of the origional). if the user is just going to re-organize his app aliases anyway, is'nt this necessary?

did classic update programs regardless of their location? i used a performa 6116 with 7.5 from about '96 until last summer, so i'm not very knowledgable about updating in pre-osx, but i would assume that any installer is given a particular location for each file, no ifs ands or buts.

in conclusion...
it seems that because of the way you have your computer set up, you would have to create aliases anyway, so that each user could arrange the applications as he desires. different users have different preferences files, but you cannot change the organization of files on the hd for each user. if i was interpreting what you said incorrectly, please let me knwow.

 

[MacBandit]

Thanks for replying I can't believe no one else has had any suggestions. You have gotten the basic gist of it. It's just that swimming through over a 100 apps doesn't appeal to me and that is why I organize them by function. Also sometimes I don't use an app for a really long time and then I need it. Without know what the apps are used for by some sort of organization I have no way of knowing what each app's purpose is because the name usually doesn't tell you and I don't remember.

I'm mainly looking for suggestions on what other people do.

Yes OS9 and later would update Apple programs no matter where I put them on the drive.

 

[Sun Baked]

Put applications you want everyone to use in the /Applications & /Applications/Utilities folder.

Put applications limited to specific users in /Users/User Name/Applications

If everyone uses the folders inside the /Users folder for saving documents, everything should be backed up and restored by keeping a backup copy of this folder safe - except for the /Applications you'd need to update reload during a clean install.

Unfortunate part is most update programs will probably check a single path /Applications for updating.

 

[sparkleytone]

i'd say..make sure all users have execute permission to all programs you want them to use. keep all apps the way they want to install in the /Applications folder. Then create aliases of all the programs into one folder. Organize the aliases however you want. Give all users execute access to these as well. Then you have many options. Personally, I would put the folder icon for the alias folder in the dock for all users. Or you could have a specific directory for each user. Or you could have it as a publicly accessed directory on your hd which is basically the same as the first without putting it in the dock.

 

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by sparkleytone
i'd say..make sure all users have execute permission to all programs you want them to use. keep all apps the way they want to install in the /Applications folder. Then create aliases of all the programs into one folder. Organize the aliases however you want. Give all users execute access to these as well. Then you have many options. Personally, I would put the folder icon for the alias folder in the dock for all users. Or you could have a specific directory for each user. Or you could have it as a publicly accessed directory on your hd which is basically the same as the first without putting it in the dock.

This is basically what I'm doing now. Each user (including me) has there own application folder with aliases of the app or the folder containing the app. This way they can organize how they wish.

Thank you for the input.