Inside your Home folder is aLibrary folder(~/Library ) , accessible only to you , that ’s used to lay in your personal software - backing files and , in some cases , datum . The files and folders in~/Libraryare broadly meant to be left alone , but if you ’ve been using Mac OS X for a while , chances are you ’ve delved at heart . Perhaps you wanted to pull off something using a tip fromMacworld , Mac OS X Hints , or elsewhere on the Web . Or mayhap a developer asked you to cancel a druthers file , or take hold of a log file , while troubleshooting a program . Whatever the case may have been , you plainly opened your place pamphlet to get at the Library folder .
But if you ’ve justupgraded to Lion , attempt accessing your personal Library brochure that way now . Go forwards … I’ll wait .
What ’s that ? It ’s function ? It seems so , does n’t it ? But rest assure , your personal Library folder is good where it ’s always been , at the solution degree of your Home folder . But in Lion , Apple has made the folder inconspicuous . The reasonableness for this move is presumably that people unfamiliar with the inner working of Mac OS cristal often open~/Libraryand start root around , moving and delete single file , only to get hold later that programme do n’t make for right , practical software preferences are gone , or — worse — data is missing . This is the same reason Apple has always hidden the leaflet containing OS X ’s Unix underpinnings:/bin,/sbin,/usr , and the like .
You can use the Go menu’s Go To Folder command for occasional access to ~/Library.
( Why hide~/Librarybut not / Library , the alike folder located at the ascendant layer of your drive , which support systemwide support single file ? Most likely because only admin users can change / Library , and Apple assumes that a user with admin - stratum privilege will know what he or she is doing . Yes , I realise that ’s a questionable assumption , given that the first user account on a Mac is always set up as an admin account . But that ’s cannon fodder for a different clause . )
While I understand Apple ’s motives here — I’ve had to troubleshoot more than a few Macs on which an inexperienced exploiter had munged the contents of~/Library — there are plenty of valid reasons a user might involve to get at their personal Library booklet . Luckily , as I mention , the folder is just hidden , using a special file property called thehidden fleur-de-lis . You just need to know how to reach the folder or , if you prefer , unhide it . I ’ve descend up with 18 ways to do so ; which one(s ) you prefer will depend on how oft you ’ll ask to get to the pamphlet and which method easily fits your workflow .
Ways to view it occasionally
If you ’re the kind of user who rarely visits~/Library , but you ’d wish to be able-bodied to open it if the need arises , these methods are for you .
you could use the Go menu ’s Go To Folder command for occasional access to ~/Library .
apply Go To FolderThe Go To Folder command , in the Finder ’s Go menu ( also accessible by pressing Shift+Command+G ) , has long been a quick way of life to get at invisible folders such as / Volumesand / usr ; it ’s now utilitarian for accessing your Library folder , as well . Just type~/Libraryand tick Go to view the folder in the current Finder windowpane .
Hold down the Option key while clicking the Go menu, and your Library folder magically appears.
alternative - click the Go menuIn Lion , as in Snow Leopard , the substance abuser - level Library leaflet is not included in the Finder ’s Go menu . But in Lion , if youOption - clickthe Go menu , your Library booklet as if by magic appears in the carte du jour ; choose Library from the menu to spread out the leaflet in the Finder .
Hold down the Option samara while clicking the Go card , and your Library leaflet magically seem .
Use theopencommand in TerminalLaunch Terminal ( in / Applications / Utilities ) from within your own account , typeopen ~/Library , and press Return to reach the leaflet in the Finder .
Once you’ve opened the Library folder, you can drag it to the Finder window’s toolbar (or sidebar).
employ a rocket launcher utilityMost launcher utilities , such as Alfred , Butler , LaunchBar , and Launcher , permit you quickly open folders in the Finder . For example , Launcher will let you assign a keyboard shortcut to~/Library ; press that shortcut at any time to launch the booklet .
Ways to view it frequently but keep it invisible
These procedure are for the the great unwashed who access~/Libraryoften enough that they want quick accession , but they still want to keep the leaflet invisible . In parliamentary procedure to use one of these choice , though , you must first enter the~/Libraryfolder using one of the procedure in the old section — you may’tkeepthe leaflet approachable until you ’ve accessed it at least once .
Use the Recent Folders menuIf you ’ve access your Library folder recently , it will appear in the Recent Folders submenu in the Finder ’s Go menu . Choose it from here to open it in the Finder .
Put it in the DockOnce you ’ve open up the~/Libraryfolder in the Finder , drag its icon from the Finder window ’s statute title saloon into the Dock . ( Alternatively , if you ’re viewing your Library booklet in the Finder ’s newspaper column view , you’re able to drag its icon from the Finder windowpane to the Dock . )
Invisiblix lets you browse invisible files and folders…and make them visible.
Put it in the Finder - windowpane toolbarOnce you ’ve opened the~/Libraryfolder in the Finder , verify Finder - windowpane toolbars are enabled ( View : Show Toolbar ) . Then drag the Library folder ’s picture from the Finder - window title saloon and drop it onto the window ’s toolbar . ( Alternatively , if you ’re view your Library leaflet in the Finder ’s pillar survey , you’re able to embroil its icon from the Finder window to the toolbar . ) take note that you may need to hold the icon over the toolbar for a second or so before you see the green Add ( + ) icon indicating that you may tot up the booklet .
Once you ’ve opened the Library brochure , you’re able to dredge it to the Finder window ’s toolbar ( or sidebar ) .
Put it in the Finder - windowpane sidebarOnce you ’ve opened the~/Libraryfolder in the Finder , verify Finder - windowpane sidebar are enable ( eyeshot : Show Sidebar ) . Then tangle the Library leaflet ’s ikon from the Finder - window statute title bar and degenerate it in the Favorites section of the window ’s sidebar . ( Again , if you ’re see your Library folder in the Finder ’s column view , you’re able to drag on its icon from the Finder windowpane to the sidebar . )
Make an aliasOnce you ’ve opened the~/Libraryfolder in the Finder , hold down Command+Option and sweep the Library - pamphlet icon from the Finder windowpane ’s title bar to your Desktop . ( If you ’re in the Finder ’s column view , you could Command+Option+drag it from inside the Finder windowpane to your screen background . ) This create an assumed name to your Library folder ; you may order this alias anywhere you like and use it to open up your personal Library leaflet .
Create a symbolical linkA symbolic link is similar to an assumed name ( although it ’s treated more or less differently by some syllabus — for representative , most Unix programs do n’t empathise Mac O aliases ) . To create a symbolic link to~/Library , launch Terminal , typeln -s ~/Library ~/Desktop / Library , and then weigh Return . This creates a symbolical link on your Desktop to your Library folder . you’re able to move this link anywhere on your hard thrust ; double - come home the linkup just like any booklet to open up your Library pamphlet . ( If you ’re end - averse , there are third - political party utility , such asSymbolicLinker , that countenance you create symbolical links . )
utilize a third - party file utilityA number of third - party Indian file browser app and Finder backup man , including Path Finder , include the choice to show unseeable files in their file listing . you may use one of these usefulness to spread out your Library folder whenever you need memory access to it .
Create a keyboard cutoff for opening itMac OS disco biscuit lets you impute a keyboard shortcut to any computer menu instruction . But what you may not bonk is that you’re able to even create a keyboard cutoff for ahiddenmenu token — such as , say , the Go menu ’s Library item . Here ’s how to create a keyboard shortcut that opens your Library brochure :
you’re able to now open your Library leaflet at any time by just pressing your keyboard shortcut . ( Thanks to Macworld reader talmy forreminding me of keyboard crosscut ! )
Ways to make it permanently visible
“ Invisible ? I know what I ’m doing — show me the folderall the time ! ”
alter the booklet ’s “ obscure ” flag using a third - party utilityMany of the third - party data file browsers and Finder substitutes that permit you view invisible Indian file also let you change the visibility of files . So , for example , you could browse to your invisible Library leaflet in Path Finder ( mentioned above ) , use Path Finder ’s own Get Info command , and then uncheck the inconspicuous dimension ; your Library brochure will then be visible in the Finder , as well . Another option is to use the freeInvisiblixutility : Launch it , select File : Browse Hidden Files , and opt your Library folder in the pilotage dialogue ; in the lead Invisiblix window , uncheck conceal to make the leaflet seeable .
Invisiblix lets you surf inconspicuous files and folders … and make them seeable .
Similarly , many third - company “ tweaking ” utility , such as Mac GemTinkerTool System , have in the past few weeks been updated to admit a checkbox specifically for defecate your Library folder visible . ( These utilities are simply change the same setting described in the previous paragraph . )
deepen the hidden sword lily using TerminalLaunch Terminal from within your own account , typechflags nohidden ~/Library , and press Return . Your Library booklet is now permanently visible . To make the folder inconspicuous again , utilize the commandchflags hidden ~/Library .
Show all hidden filesCall this the nuclear option : The Finder has a hidden mise en scene that forces the Finder to showallhidden files , no matter how they ’ve been hide . By enabling this option , the~/Libraryfolder will always be visible … along with the thousands of other data file OS X usually keep hide . To do this :
If you desire to reverse this function , do the same two steps again , replacingtruein the Terminal statement withfalse .
or else , if you ’d prefer not to apply the Finder , there aremany third - company utilitiesthat allow you toggle this setting with a click , includingShowHiddenFilesandUnHidden .
Be safe in there
Whichever of these multitudinous methods you habituate to get at your personal Library folder , recall to be careful . Deleting or moving the wrong file(s ) inside this folder could cause an covering to misbehave ( or , in the case of things like System Preference acid , to vanish altogether ) , to lose its configurations , or even to lose its data point .
Senior editor in chief Dan Frakes personally uses thechflagscommand in Terminal ( via LaunchBar ) or use FastScripts to scat the toggle - visibility AppleScript .
Updated 7/25/2011 , 10:30am , to add backsheesh about creating a keyboard cutoff ; and at 3:50pm to discipline an mistake about the Go menu in Snow Leopard , and to add a note about third - company utilities adding a mount specifically for show the Library leaflet .
