First Newbie Error--Help Please

[Howard54]

I just got my first Mac, and while exploring and arranging things a bit I managed to make a few things disappear.

First I was trying to rearrange the default folders on the right side of the Dock. I moved the Applications folder over a bit too far and it hit the trash (I think). In any event it totally disappeared. It is no longer on the Dock and it was not in the trash either when I went to try and put it back. So that is problem #1.

I tried to restore the Dock to its default settings by deleting the com.apple.dockfixup.plist file root ~Library-Preferences folder, but that did not work. After I restarted, the default Applications folder was still missing from the Dock.

Then I tried to drag the Applications folder from my Home folder to the right side of the Dock. Not sure what I did wrong there...but that disappeared too. And to make matters worse, it also disappeared from my Home folder.

So, I finally made an alias of the Applications folder from the root Library folder and put one copy on the right side of the Dock and another in my Home folder.

While this is functional, it is not what I want. The alias on the Dock has a Sidebar, as compared to the default which did not. The default was more of a launcher only. Black background, no sidebar, limited functionality etc.

So, how do I restore the original default Applications launcher folder to the Dock?

Also, how do I restore the original Apps folder to my Home folder? Was it always an alias? Should I copy the Apps folder from the root directory or would that duplicate the install?

Any help fixing my newbie errors would be appreciated.

 

[swiftaw]

There shouldn't be an Applications folder in your user folder. The applications folder is a root folder.

To get it back to the dock. Double click on your Hard Drive Icon on your desktop. This will open a Finder window of your root folder. See the Applications folder in the root folder, click on it and drag it to the right hand side of the dock.

 

[jzuena]

There shouldn't be an Applications folder in your user folder. The applications folder is a root folder.

To get it back to the dock. Double click on your Hard Drive Icon on your desktop. This will open a Finder window of your root folder. See the Applications folder in the root folder, click on it and drag it to the right hand side of the dock.

I'm willing to bet the "user folder" Applications icon is actually the one from the left side bar of a Finder window. It can be restored the same way as the one in the dock, by dragging the Applications icon that shows up in the right side of a finder window into the Places section of the left side bar of that same finder window.

 

[BlueRevolution]

I'm willing to bet the "user folder" Applications icon is actually the one from the left side bar of a Finder window. It can be restored the same way as the one in the dock, by dragging the Applications icon that shows up in the right side of a finder window into the Places section of the left side bar of that same finder window.

I think you're probably right, but I do in fact have an Applications folder inside my home folder, which I didn't create myself. It's used by CrossOver and DOSBox.

 

[Howard54]

OK, so the problem has been fixed and the comments above were generally on the mark.

There was an alias to the Application folder in my Home folder, but that did not do me any good getting it back onto the dock. I am not sure if the default in Snow Leopard is to put it there or if some other program did.

Anyway, the correct way to get the Apps folder back onto the right-hand side of the Dock was to drag it from the root folder. It actually did not drag the exact folder there, instead it placed the original launcher folder there...with no sidebar, a darkened background, and no functionality for the folder's icons other than to launch them or to go to their enclosing folder in the Finder.

I replaced the alias in my Home folder with an alias of the Apps folder from the root directory and that too works as expected. Like a true alias and not the launcher that the same method produced when I dragged it to the righ-hand side of the Dock.

I also dragged the Apps folder from the root directory back to the Sidebar and that also now works as expected.

Thanks all for you comments.

 

[Gregg2]

There shouldn't be an Applications folder in your user folder. The applications folder is a root folder.

Well, I don't think it has to be a root folder. I've seen others discussing having one in each User Account Folder as a way of restricting use of certain applications by certain users. Does that make sense?

 

[BlueRevolution]

Almost all applications can be run from any folder you want, and most files (plists and such) will work equally well in the root library or in the user library. I see no reason why that wouldn't work.

 

[DewGuy1999]

There shouldn't be an Applications folder in your user folder. The applications folder is a root folder.

To get it back to the dock. Double click on your Hard Drive Icon on your desktop. This will open a Finder window of your root folder. See the Applications folder in the root folder, click on it and drag it to the right hand side of the dock.

If software is installed for only a particular user (not all users) it will appear in an Applications folder in the users home folder.