"Relocated Items" folder - Whaaaat?

Anything not stored inside your home folder gets moved to /Users/Shared/Relocated Items. There should have been an alias to that folder on your Desktop.

You can't store anything on the root level of the startup drive at all. Keep your files in your home folder.

As mentioned, you can move the files from Relocated Items into your home folder.

Has Apple ruled that customers now can't put anything at the root level of one's hard drive?

Yes.

The only place you can put files is buried 5 layers deep in this obscure (and inaccurately named) folder "Security"?

No, you can put them in the place you were always supposed to put them, in your home folder. You should move anything you want from that folder into your home folder.

longtimemacuser666 wrote:

I just upgraded my iMac from Mojave to Catalina

Has Apple ruled that customers now can't put anything at the root level of one's hard drive?

About the read-only system volume in macOS Catalina - Apple ...

I'd take issue with their folder naming convention, too: "Previously Relocated Items". There's nothing that was "Previously" relocated.

If it says "Previously," then you had another install of either Catalina or Big Sur prior to the one you completed.

The relocated items are put in a folder called "Relocated Items." If you reinstall the OS, "Relocated Items" becomes "Previously Relocated Items" and a new "Relocated Items" folder is created.

I'm gobsmacked and disgusted. Mostly disgusted.

That won't change a thing. Either get accustomed to it or revert back to Mojave or previous.

I've been using Macs every day both professionally and personally since my first Mac SE.

I've been using Macs since the original Macintosh. I don't have any problem with the changes. I can't imagine how long you've used a Mac has any bearing on the situation.

I've spent many years organizing and tweaking how I store, well, everything, and my organizing structure works well for me.

…

To get to anything I have to drill down 2 or 3 additional levels in the file hierarchy, before I can get to my existing (and perfectly functional) organizing structure?

Move that meticulous organizational system into your home folder. When I open a new Finder window, it opens right to my home folder. I don't have to double-click "Macintosh HD" to get to anything I need. You could set Finder to always open the top-level folder of your grand and glorious organizational structure and reduce the extra step of double-clicking on "Macintosh HD."

That's just awful, and makes the prospect of just using my Windows machine a lot more attractive.

You're not supposed to store anything on C:\, either. Microsoft has an almost identical home folder located at the same level.

Even though the Disk is split in two Volumes it appears as one in Finder windows

and on the Desktop and behaves the same as in earlier macOS's.

If you open them you will see the System folder (Macintosh HD)

You can look at the items in the System folder but you can't add or remove anything.

Double-click the "Macintosh HD" icon sitting on your desktop in the upper right corner.

"Macintosh HD" doesn't sit on my desktop at all.

But, since when I open Finder it opens my home folder, there is no point in my double-clicking on Macintosh HD. Seems like a complete waste of time.

longtimemacuser666 wrote:

Close every window, quit out of every app. Start at the beginning.

Double-click the "Macintosh HD" icon sitting on your desktop in the upper right corner.

A Finder window opens, showing the contents of your boot drive. Do you see all your stuff, organized in a hierarchy of folders?

If you're running Catalina, I assume you see: Applications, Library, System, Users...and nothing else.

No?

Nope. I have my settings arranged so that I don't have the hard drive icon displayed on my desktop as I don't find it necessary. If I open a new folder (command -n) in the Finder, it seems to default to "Recent". I don't have the time right now to quit every app but I think the results won't be much different. I have the folders I regularly use in the sidebar but as I don't have very many, I keep most of them on the desktop, too, most importantly my Documents folder. I do have my use account home folder <username> in the sidebar as well so that I can easily access anything there. My other favorite way of navigating back up a tree is to command-click on the name of a window.

I launch most applications that aren't permanently in the dock by invoking spotlight and typing in the first few letters of the application name. I don't recall the last time I actually opened the Application folder.

I'm not saying that my way is "right" or your way is "wrong". What I am suggesting is that you're not taking advantage of all the options of the current macOS.

But Apple clearly is saying "your way of doing things is wrong and we're not going to allow you to keep doing it. Don't like it, pound sand." Message received.

But that has always been the Apple way. I try not to get overly attached to any one way of doing things as things will change. And, realistically, it's not just Apple who changes things.

Yeah it only shows as one icon on the Desktop and in the Finder Sidebar.

I am going to boot to Catalina, I'll get back to you.

Hmm. I don't have that problem. Everything is at the top level when I log in. I double click on "Documents" in Finder and everything is there. I keep other frequently used in the sidebar.

I understand. "You're holding it wrong."

Then you are finally understanding correctly.