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I like how the system files are hidden to the average user

J

Jamie0003

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 17, 2009
1,448
1,401
Norfolk, UK
It's a small thing, but I like that in Lion's default finder settings, you can't access any of the system folders. I think this is very good as it means the average user won't be messing around with the operating system.

What I mean is, you can't access anything beyond your user folder and applications without changing some settings first. (Macintosh HD is hidden by default).

The whole layout of finder is much better done this time around in my opinion as well, seems much less cluttered and easier to get around. and Airdrop is VERY useful.
 
Jamie0003 said:
It's a small thing, but I like that in Lion's default finder settings, you can't access any of the system folders. I think this is very good as it means the average user won't be messing around with the operating system.

What I mean is, you can't access anything beyond your user folder and applications without changing some settings first. (Macintosh HD is hidden by default).

The whole layout of finder is much better done this time around in my opinion as well, seems much less cluttered and easier to get around. and Airdrop is VERY useful.
Click to expand...

Good point. I kinda noticed but never gave it much attention. Now that I'm thinking about it, it's a good idea.
 
Jamie0003 said:
It's a small thing, but I like that in Lion's default finder settings, you can't access any of the system folders. I think this is very good as it means the average user won't be messing around with the operating system.

What I mean is, you can't access anything beyond your user folder and applications without changing some settings first. (Macintosh HD is hidden by default).

The whole layout of finder is much better done this time around in my opinion as well, seems much less cluttered and easier to get around. and Airdrop is VERY useful.
Click to expand...

Your Macintosh HD is hidden by default? I was only aware of /user/Library being hidden now.
 
mrapplegate said:
Your Macintosh HD is hidden by default? I was only aware of /user/Library being hidden now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, hold on . . . you can hide/show it via the Finder preferences anyway. You were always able to do this.

I did notice that the Library folder is gone from the user folder. That part's for sure.
 
I think he just means not on your desktop. That's been the default for a while now, dunno if it was 10.6.0 or earlier.
 
Hansr said:
I think he just means not on your desktop. That's been the default for a while now, dunno if it was 10.6.0 or earlier.
Click to expand...

Ah, ok. I usually enable all drives to show on the desktop in Finder prefs upon a clean install. No wonder.
 
*LTD* said:
Yeah, hold on . . . you can hide/show it via the Finder preferences anyway. You were always able to do this.

I did notice that the Library folder is gone from the user folder. That part's for sure.
Click to expand...

Your user Library folder was the only folder now hidden by default. I was not aware of Macintosh HD being hidden as mine has been visible in all DP releases up to the current GM.
 
I frequently go into my ~/Library folder for various reasons but I just use Finder's "Go to Folder..." command anyways.
 
Hansr said:
I think he just means not on your desktop. That's been the default for a while now, dunno if it was 10.6.0 or earlier.
Click to expand...

No I mean in the finder, you can't access the system files at all unless you change a few settings which is good as it stops grandma deleting system folders :p
 
Jamie0003 said:
No I mean in the finder, you can't access the system files at all unless you change a few settings which is good as it stops grandma deleting system folders :p
Click to expand...

Now I'm curious, what is locked down on your system? You never could delete or move items from the system folders without being prompted for a username/password. In Lion they took an additional step of hiding the user's Library folder, but I can still view any system files from the finder.
 
mrapplegate said:
Now I'm curious, what is locked down on your system? You never could delete or move items from the system folders without being prompted for a username/password. In Lion they took an additional step of hiding the user's Library folder, but I can still view any system files from the finder.
Click to expand...

Nothing, i'm just saying that it's now hidden by default so it's less likely to happen.
 
To be honest I think they need to be a little careful with what exactly they dumb down and how much they do it. By dumbing down I do of course mean such things as hiding the Library folder and Macintosh HD by default, among other minor things in Lion. I think Snow Leopard had a nice middle ground, it still had the simplicity without making things difficult for those of us who actually like to use our computers :p

One of Microsoft's biggest mistakes with Windows was the dumbing down of the UI, Windows XP for example had that new default view for explorer which dumbed down almost everything, which actually had the effect of making things very difficult indeed for almost anyone who wanted to use the computer.. even finding things in Control Panel became a cumbersome mess. I just hope Apple doesnt make the same mistake with their UI.
 
stewacide said:
Why hide the user's library folder but not the system library?
Click to expand...

Because the system library is already protected. You can't delete or move without your username/password. The user Library was not hidden and the casual user can cause just as much harm deleting those files. Make it just a little difficult to view, i.e. holding the option key as you choose Go in the finder protects most.
 
Jamie0003 said:
Are you sure? Maybe it's just me but I can't access any library files in the finder unless I specifically enable them.
Click to expand...

I'm positive, /Library or /System/Library are all accessible. I have not made any changes to unhide them in the terminal. The only hidden system folder is ~/Library.
 
Is the library accessible even though it's hidden? I like to manually move of some preferences of some apps I run so I don't have to start from scratch. Only apps that I know I can do this with though.

Hugh
 
This won't affect many users because if you don't know enough to know about the Library directories in the first place, you are afraid to "break something" on the computer anyway, so hiding a directory that the user is afraid to touch is pointless. Also, if a user knows enough to access these files in Finder, they would probably choose Terminal anyway.
 
mrapplegate said:
I'm positive, /Library or /System/Library are all accessible. I have not made any changes to unhide them in the terminal. The only hidden system folder is ~/Library.
Click to expand...

Oh I get it, what I mean is with the default icons on the sidebar, you can't access it because Macintosh HD isn't there. Turning that on, you can still access it.
 
Hugh said:
Is the library accessible even though it's hidden? I like to manually move of some preferences of some apps I run so I don't have to start from scratch. Only apps that I know I can do this with though.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is. In the finder hold the option key down, choose Go and it appears or go to folder and type in ~/Library either way works. Or you can unhide it perminantly from terminal.
 
Jamie0003 said:
Oh I get it, what I mean is with the default icons on the sidebar, you can't access it because Macintosh HD isn't there. Turning that on, you can still access it.
Click to expand...

I see now what you are saying. We were using different terminology. When you say system files are hidden, most would take that to mean the chflags hidden flag was set for the file. You meant that it was just not visible :D
 
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