After deletion of those files from "Recents" folder, the same files were also automatically deleted from icloud drive. The usual protocol to restore those deleted files from the iCloud Drive does not work. The iCloud drive "recently deleted tab" is empty. Is there anyway to get these files back?
iMac Pro
Hello hanbin50,
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities! I understand you have a question about recovering deleted files. I'm happy to help you find some information.
"If you delete files from the iCloud Drive folder on one device, they delete on your other devices too. iCloud Drive removes the files from every device that you're signed in to with the same Apple ID." If the files are no longer available in your Recently Deleted folder you will not be able to recover them. Here a link with additional information. Specifically, the section on "Delete Files."
Use the Files app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
If you have any issues after reviewing the link, please let me know.
Have a good day!
See this thread also https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8137012
Your Time Machine backup will only include the iCloud files, if you have not been using the "Optimise Mac Storage" option. Files that are only in iCloud and not mirrored locally on your mac cannot be included in the backup of your Mac. And the expensive data recovery software can also only recover files that have been stored locally. Using the "Optimise" feature of iCloud to save local storage is making it a lot harder to keep regular backups of our documents and data, but we need a rigid backup scheme in place to be able to recover from user errors.
For example: iCloud Photos Library: Keep regular backups - Apple Community
Hello, Bliss: If you have another laptop or iMac which has been using the same iCloud Drive account and has NOT completely synchronized after the deletion. You might want to check if those deleted files are still in that laptop or iMac. If you find those files, immediately save them in the local hard drive. This is a very chancy approach without any out of pocket expenses but with a lot of time consumption. There might be sophisticated commercial software out there. It also puzzles me that Apple has a restoration feature for INTENTIONAL deletion but it doesn't have a restoration feature for UNINTENTIONAL deletion. I am not a technical guy. What makes sense to me may not make sense to an Apple technician.
You are right - it is easy to be trapped by smart folders among regular folders and accidentally delete valuable data.
You may want to send feedback to Apple about this problem.
Here is a form: Feedback - macOS - Apple
See this old thread https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8358182
Hello, Joseph: Thank you very much for your reply and help! The "Recents" folder can be accessed under Apple "Go" pull down menu. I thought this folder would work the same way as "Downloads" folder serving as a temporary holding space for files I accessed from iCloud drive. When I delete the files from "Downloads" simply to tidy up the working space, there is NO impact on where I have saved the downloaded files, ie my saved down loaded files are still there. But I deleted all the files in the "Recents" folder for the first time in my life just to tidy up. I thought my iCloud files would be intact. I was completely wrong. I actually have deleted those files from my iCloud Drive as well. What is even worse, the restoration feature for deleted iCloud Drive files will NOT work for this type of "INDIRECT" deletion. That is to say the iCloud drive files can be deleted DIRECTLY from iCloud Drive itself or can be deleted INDIRECTLY from "Recents" folder under "Go" menu if those files were accessed within a year or so. I hope I would have explained my initially posted question in more details. Does my above further explanation make sense to you? Thanks again.
Thank you, tygb, very much for your authoritative confirmation of what I have been speculating for the past two days. If you allow me to push this query further, what is the purpose for this kind of software design which has led disaster in files loss? Thank you!
Thank you very much, Leonie, for the additional technical knowledge of the differences between a smart and regular folder. I wish Apple could have made this HUGE difference obvious to a regular user. I don't know how hard it is to have a special warning window popped up when someone is going to delete files in a "smart' folder. Obviously I am not a guy making a living by manipulating different files on an iMac. It would be impossible for me to dig deep into this Apply User Community to figure out the difference between a smart and regular folder BEFORE I have lost my files. The Apple Software has to make it obvious to a regular user. Apple can't design its software features based on users' learning from their own mistakes and user's trial and error. Some error will be very consequential such as files loss. Anyway I have learned a lot about smart file from you. Thank you!
I have basically the same question. I was trying to free up space and turned off iCloud and the backup folder showed up on the desktop. It took up more space so I deleted it and immediately the files on my desktop vanished. I've tried to different file recover programs to get them back and they are no where to be found. I need these files - is there anyway to get them back or was the deleting of the folder my doom. I've look in the iCloud archive folder and they are not there. They were not folders - they were files that I don't think were in the iCloud. Could not find them in recents.
Thank you very much, Leonie! I have submitted the warning feature request.
Hanbin,
the confusion is caused by the fact, that "recents" is not a folder like the other folders in the Favorites in the sidebar. All other folders in the sidebar are showing you a place, where you are seeing the files and documents saved there. You are seeing there the folder where the items are stored.
But "Recents" is a different view of documents stored elsewhere, a predefined smart folder, like a saved search. On previous system versions we had a similar smart folder, called "All Photos". It has been a saved search of all photos stored on the Mac. The"All Photos" smart folder caused many users to delete all photos, because they could not tell, that they are viewing a smart folder and not a regular folder with additional photos.
You can see, that Recents is a smart folder, by ctrl-clicking it in the sidebar. The contextual menu does not have the options "Show enclosing folder" and "Get Info", because there is no enclosing folder and it is no folder with an Info. "Recents" is no place.
But the Downloads folder is a proper folder and has an enclosing folder and has an Info:
How to restore deleted files from "Recents" folder, initially stored in iCloud drive?
