How To View Library Folder Mac

Jun 10, 2015 Right click (secondary click) in any blank area and select “Show View Options.” You can also access this by selecting Show View Options in the View menu or by simply pressing “Command + J” on your keyboard. In the second to last section, the last option will be “Show Library Folder.” Make sure this box is checked. Dec 12, 2016 How to Show /Library Folder in MacOS Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra. From the Mac OS Finder, go to the Users home folder. Pull down the “View” menu and choose “View Options”. Choose “Show Library Folder” in the settings options for the User home folder. Dec 13, 2016  The Library folder for the users on a Mac is always hidden as Apple just doesn’t want you to access it as it thinks you don’t need access to it. However, macOS does provide an option to see this folder and access its contents, but you should only do that if you know what you are doing as a single mistake may mess-up everything in there. Mar 29, 2019 How to Find the Library Folder on a Mac - Showing the Library Folder Permanently Make sure that your Mac is up to date. Click a blank space in the Finder window. Right-click the window. Click Show View Options. Check the 'Show Library Folder' box. Still in the Finder, choose View Show View Options (or press Command-J). Near the bottom of the resulting View-Options palette is a setting called Show Library Folder. Enable this option.

Of the many files and folders that make up macOS Sierra, there’s probably none so important to maintaining the “personality” of your Mac than the ~/Library folder. Inside this folder are many subfolders that contain preference lists (“plists”), database files storing a variety of important information, and many other files that maintain the state of macOS and of the individual apps that run on a Mac. Thanks to the importance of this folder, it’s normally hidden from view. Today we’ll show you a few ways to view the ~/Library folder.

Warning: Don’t play with the ~/Library folder if you don’t need to!
Before we go any further, it’s time for a warning. Don’t throw away or change anything in the ~/Library folder unless you know what you’re doing. Deleting individual files or folders found within ~/Library can cause individual applications or the operating system to malfunction.

When would you want to poke around in ~/Library? Perhaps you’re gaining knowledge about macOS as a developer and want to know how the operating system stores information. Maybe you want to clean out the remnants of an app that you haven’t had on your Mac for several years. In any case, it’s best to remember what your parents told you when you were a kid and were in a place filled with expensive and breakable things — “Look, but don’t touch!”

Method One: Our Friend, the Option Key
The first and easiest way is to use a trick that gives many of the items in the macOS menu bar “super powers” — hold down the Option key while clicking on a menu. In this case, Option-clicking the Go menu in the Finder adds a new menu item — Library — that opens the ~/Library folder (see image below):

As you can see from the image above, holding down the Option key while clicking on the Go menu in the Finder adds one item as seen on the right — the Library folder. Select that menu item and a window similar to the one seen below opens on the Mac screen:

Of these folders, Application Support is quite critical as it holds information for the current user’s apps. You’ll see many “.plist” files; these are XML (Extensible Markup Language) files that can be viewed on the Mac by simply highlighting the file and pressing the space bar to bring up a Quick Look. There are also a number of log files (text-based), temporary files, app plugins, and database files (.db or .sqlite) that are critical to storing settings and data in your favorite apps.

Method Two: Command-Shift-Period
The second method works from any open Finder window, and it uses the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-. (that dot indicates the period key). This is a fun command, as it makes any hidden files or folders visible in the Finder. On the left in the image below you see my Home folder. Pressing Command-Shift-. makes hidden folders and files appear as shaded icons, shown on the right:

Pressing Command-Shift-Period makes hidden files and folders visible (right image)

See that Library folder in the center of the list on the right? Even though it is shaded, it can be double-clicked to open and view everything that’s in the folder. What’s more, some of the files that are not visible in the ~/Library folder when using Method One appear when using Method 2.

One other thing to note: Command-Shift-. makes these files and folders visible until the next time you use the command or reboot the Mac. If you’re poking around in the ~/Library folder on a Mac that other people may use without having their own logins, be sure to press Command-Shift-. one more time to set things back to hidden once you’re done. Note that Command-Shift-. also makes Library visible in the Finder Go menu without having to press the Option key…

Just remember, anything you change or delete in the ~/Library folder can affect how your Mac or individual applications work, so use these methods to just view hidden files or folders. Don’t delete the files or folders in ~/Library unless you know what you’re doing.

How To Unhide Library Folder Mac

The Library folder, at the root level of your Mac OS X Lion hard drive, is like a public library; it stores items available to everyone who logs into an account on this Mac. You can find three Library folders on your hard drive: the one at the root level of your OS X disk, a second inside the root-level System folder, and a third in your Home folder.

In earlier versions of Mac OS X, you would have seen a folder named Library between the Downloads and Movies folders in your Home folder. But that was then, and this is now. In Mac OS X Lion, the Home Library folder is hidden from view to protect you from yourself.

Leave the /System/Libraryfolder alone. Don’t move, remove, or rename it, or do anything within it. It’s the nerve center of your Mac. In other words, you should never have to touch this third Library folder.

Dec 20, 2018  Options to Show User Library Click on your Users folder, open it in Column view, and select View Show View Options then check the box for Show Library Folder  If Library isn’t an option, check that you’re in Column View Select your User folder, and press Command+ J. With your Home folder open, go to  View Show View Options from the menu bar, or use the keyboard shortcut  Command-J. At the bottom of the View Options window, check the box labeled  Show Library. Dec 12, 2016  How to Show /Library Folder in MacOS Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra. From the Mac OS Finder, go to the Users home folder. Pull down the “View” menu and choose “View Options”. Choose “Show Library Folder” in the settings options for the User home folder. Jan 12, 2020  Launch Terminal, located in /Applications/Utilities. Enter the following command at the Terminal prompt: Press Return. Once the command executes, you can quit Terminal. The Library folder will now be visible in the Finder. Should you ever wish to set the Library folder. Sep 27, 2016  You can also skip all this clicking by pressing Command+Shift+G on your keyboard to access the Go to Folder menu. Type /Library in the box and hit Enter. The “” is the universal UNIX symbol for the current user’s home folder, and “Library” is the sub-folder you’re trying to open. When you hit enter, you will see the Library folder. Show system library folder mac.

You find a bunch of folders inside the Library folder at root level (the public Library folder). Most of them contain files that you never need to open, move, or delete.

Mac Library Folder

By and large, the public Library subfolder that gets the most use is the Fonts folder, which houses many of the fonts installed on the Mac. For the most part, fonts can be made available in one of two ways:

  • To everyone who uses the Mac: If that’s the case, they’re stored in the Fonts folder.

  • To a single user: In this case, you place the fonts in the user’s Library folder (the one in the user’s Home folder).

Perl library for mac system calls online. Some other public Library subfolders that you might use or add to are the iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto, and iDVD folders (where you put plug-ins for those programs); the Scripts folder (which houses AppleScripts accessible to all users); and the Desktop Pictures folder (where you can place pictures to be used as Desktop backgrounds).

Library Folder On Mac Caspian

How can i see library folder on mac

How To View Library Folder Mac

Leave the “public” Library folder pretty much alone unless you’re using the Fonts folder or know what you’re adding to one of the other folders. Don’t remove, rename, or move any files or folders. Mac OS X uses these items and is very picky about where they’re kept and how they’re named.

If your Mac is set up for multiple users, only users with administrator (admin) privileges can put stuff in the public (root-level) Library folder.