I click open my Macintosh HD - open users folder-thank open user name folder - there are many folders a few with a red button with an minus sign ! I try to open one of these folder wiht minus sign only to get the following message: "The folder Documents can't be open because you don't have permission to see its contents."
What gives? There are a few other folders that give me this same message!
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.2
You are only permitted to access the items in your own home user folder. You are not permitted to access another user's home folder, although if you are an admin user it is technically possible to access those folders, but not easily without using some tricks.
If you want to share files between users on a Mac, then place the items you want shared into the "/Users/Shared" folder. However, those files will still retain the original user's permissions unless you change their permissions or move them to your own user folder. Here is an Apple article showing how to share files between multiple macOS user accounts on the same computer:
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/share-files-with-others-who-use-your-mac-mchlp1122/mac
You are only permitted to access the items in your own home user folder. You are not permitted to access another user's home folder, although if you are an admin user it is technically possible to access those folders, but not easily without using some tricks.
If you want to share files between users on a Mac, then place the items you want shared into the "/Users/Shared" folder. However, those files will still retain the original user's permissions unless you change their permissions or move them to your own user folder. Here is an Apple article showing how to share files between multiple macOS user accounts on the same computer:
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/share-files-with-others-who-use-your-mac-mchlp1122/mac
2 Apple suggest:
"The folder can't be open because you don't have permission to see it?
