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I deleted the applications folder!

A

aehayes421

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I was not paying attention & was trying to open the applications folder & it disappeared! Then I tried to bring it from the finder folder to the dock and POOF! It is gone, AGAIN! I have no idea what to do. How to I recover the applications???

😱
 
If the Applications folder is still visible in the Finder, then nothing is deleted.

It sounds like you had the Applications folder visible in the Dock as a "Stack". Make sure when you are dragging the folder from the Finder to the Dock, that you drag it to the side of the dock near the trash can, on the side of the "dividing line" opposite of your normal applications. This is the only place where a folder, such as the Applications folder, can reside.
 
aehayes421 said:
Then I tried to bring it from the finder folder to the dock and POOF! It is gone, AGAIN!...
Click to expand...

That quote makes it sound like you might have attempted to drag your Applications folder to the dock, but instead dragged it onto the Desktop. Try using Spotlight to find an application (I.e. "Safari"), and then view where that is located.

Good Luck >.<
 
Ah ya, I had this sudden shock too first time I got a Mac. 😀 Click on Finder, go to Macintosh HD (presuming you haven't changed the name), drag and drop the Applications folder onto the right side of the dock and you're good to go.

You can't delete the entire Applications folder without any warning since there are bound to be programs running on background which you can't send to trash while running.
 
slpdLoad said:
If the Applications folder is still visible in the Finder, then nothing is deleted.

It sounds like you had the Applications folder visible in the Dock as a "Stack". Make sure when you are dragging the folder from the Finder to the Dock, that you drag it to the side of the dock near the trash can, on the side of the "dividing line" opposite of your normal applications. This is the only place where a folder, such as the Applications folder, can reside.
Click to expand...

It's not visible in the finder...I tried moving it from the finder back to the dock and again, it deleted itself. There was like a little cloud when it happened both times.

Yay! I found the applications folder...but now how do I get it back into the finder and the dock?
 
I think you just deleted the Alias from Finders Sidebar.

(1a) If your Finder shows your "Macintosh HD" select it and check whether the Application folder exists there or not!
(1b) If your Finder does not show your Harddrives go to Finder > Preferences > Third tab (Sidebar) > Select Harddrives

OR

(2) Try Spotlight: CMD+Space and type the name of one of your Apps?
Does Spotlight find your App? Continue with (1)

If the Folder still exists:
- Drag the Application Folder from MacintoshHD in your Finders Sidebar to get an Alias there!
- Drag the Application Folder from MacintoshHD to your Dock to get an Alias there

If not:
Hopefully you used TimeMachine or backed up manually

And the reason why your Folder disappeared:
Do not Drag your Sidebars Alias to Dock or the other way around, this will only work for Folders, not for an Alias!
 
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