My Documents folder has vanished from my mac, but is in iCloud. Help please.

Question

My Documents folder has vanished from my mac, but is in iCloud. Help please.

Why this has happened - I don't know. Whatever the reason, can I keep/save my Documents folder on my mac, or does it just live in the cloud and I access docs this way. It does not live in my home folder, and I'm not sure it should or ever did.

Once you sync to the cloud, do items ever really exist on the mac (as if an item is deleted/amended, it applies to all mac devices anyway).

NB, I have the Desktop and Documents folder ticked in Preferences.

Please advise if you can.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.2

Posted on Feb 17, 2022 11:16 AM

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Answer 1

FoxFifth

Level 10

471,927 points

Feb 17, 2022 11:35 AM in response to barneyhairball

When you have the Desktop and Documents option on, your Documents folder should be in the iCloud section of the Finder Sidebar.

If you don't also turn on Apple menu > System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud (in the Preferences sidebar) > Optimize Mac Storage then you will always have a local copy on your Mac. If you do turn that option on, you may or may not have a local copy. See the description that is right below that option in Preferences.

Other information: Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Feb 17, 2022 11:44 AM in response to FoxFifth

The Desktop and Documents option is on, and it is in the iCloud section of the Finder sidebar.

Optimize Mac Storage is not ticked/turned on (my mac storage does not need it). There is no local copy of the Documents folder in my home folder.

Any ideas?

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Answer 3

FoxFifth

Level 10

471,927 points

Feb 17, 2022 11:52 AM in response to barneyhairball

barneyhairball wrote:

... There is no local copy of the Documents folder in my home folder.

Any ideas?

There isn't supposed to be. When you Turn on Desktop & Documents, the Documents folder is moved to iCloud Drive. There is still a local copy of all of your files, as I described above, but with that option on, you access it from the iCloud section of the Finder sidebar.

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Answer 4

Feb 17, 2022 1:04 PM in response to FoxFifth

A 'local copy of all of your files' sounds to me like it sits in my mac. But with your clarification this answers this question.

Does anything outside of the local/home folder (ie, the folder that does not sync - am I correct ?????) actually 'sit' on the Macs HD? Serious question, honest.

And one more question, I have lots of genealogy docs in my Documents folder - sitting in iCloud. Can I download them for them to live in a (to be created) Documents folder within my home folder? Then I know that they will be safe up the day I do this. Another serious question, honest.

I would be grateful for your reply.

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Answer 5

FoxFifth

Level 10

471,927 points

Feb 17, 2022 1:31 PM in response to barneyhairball

I'm sorry that I'm not making it clear. The following sentence may do it:

If you have not turned on the Optimize Mac Storage option on your Mac, there is and always will be a local copy of all of your files on your Mac.

What may be confusing is that the Documents folder is accessed from the iCloud section of the Finder sidebar. That does NOT indicate that they are not on your Mac. It only indicates that it is a folder that is synced with iCloud.

The files in your Documents folder (the folder that is now shown in the iCloud section of the Finder sidebar) have both a local copy on your Mac and also have a copy on iCloud (assuming that the sync with iCloud has completed and that you don't have the Optimize option on).

The genealogy docs in your Documents folder are on your Mac (and on iCloud). There is no need to download them to another folder on your Mac. If you do, they will be on your Mac twice and will take up twice as much space on your Mac.

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Answer 6

Feb 17, 2022 1:50 PM in response to FoxFifth

Everything in my home folder starts its path off with: Macintosh HD. Therefore, is it correct that everything in my home folder is not synced to iCloud?

The support pages are confusing, they really need to be edited by a 'dummy', ok, like me, but lots of others too.

I get that whilst the Documents folder sits under the iCloud Drive heading in my Finder, it is both on my mac, ie, local, and synced to iCloud (I have optimization turned off). But, and here goes, where on my mac is my local Documents folder saved to? Do I just accept that it can't be seen other than under the iCloud Drive heading? Sorry again.

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Answer 7

FoxFifth

Level 10

471,927 points

Feb 17, 2022 1:58 PM in response to barneyhairball

Correct -- nothing in your Home folder is synced with iCloud Drive (but note that if you have iCloud Photos turned on, your system Photos Library is synced with iCloud Photos but will appear in the Home folder as usual).

"Do I just accept that it can't be seen other than under the iCloud Drive heading?" -- that's correct.

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My Documents folder has vanished from my mac, but is in iCloud. Help please.

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