Create Multiple Applications folders

[billraynor]

How do I create a secondary Applications folder on a different drive than my boot drive.

I am the proud owner of a SSD as a second drive on my Macbook pro. That is my main boot drive. What with a couple of VM's and other cruft it is getting rather tight. I have already moved /Users to the larger "classic" drive. How do I split /Applications so that some are on the SSD and the remainder are on the larger drive? Ideally, I would like /Applications to span the two folders, but in any event I'd like the second folder to be recognized as an Applications folder.

OS X appears to do this with ~/Applications, so I could use that folder, but I'd rather keep the public applications public for other family members who occasionally use this machine.

Thanks

 

[GGJstudios]

It's generally not a good idea to move apps from the Applications folder. It can create problems with updates. It's better to leave them where they are and create folders with aliases to your favorite apps, dragging those folders to the Dock in place of your Applications folder. That way, you only see the apps you use most, but software updates work without problems. Also remember that moving the apps wouldn't mean moving all the files/folders that get created when the app runs.

 

[maflynn]

How do I create a secondary Applications folder on a different drive than my boot drive.

Just create a folder named Applications on the volume you want. As CGJstudios mentioned there are apps that expect to be in /Applications. I'd not move your apple apps there. Experiment with adobe and microsoft apps. For those you'll probably be better served to run the installer app to uninstall and then install in the location you want.

Personally I'm with CGJstudios in that its not worth the hassle to move your apps but it can be some.

 

[billraynor]

Running out of space on main drive...

Thank you both for your response. I agree its better to to keep everything under /Applications. However I am running out of space on my boot drive. Apple appears to support a second private applications drive under ~/Applications. Does OSX keep a path list somewhere like other Unices do? I'd like to extend that so that updates work, etc...

 

[MisterMe]

... For those you'll probably be better served to run the installer app to uninstall and then install in the location you want.

...

All that ain't necessary. Some applications must be located in the Applications folders. The others may be moved at will to just about any location by drag & drop. There is no need to uninstall them or to reinstall them. If the location-agnostic application is available at the Mac App Store, then the Mac App Store will have no problems locating and updating it wherever it is.