sidebar got messed up! How to get it back as it was?

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Level 1

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sidebar got messed up! How to get it back as it was?

I am working happily away, when I discover that my sidebar on the finder window has been messed up roayally. I had a list of folders etc. in the sidebar - where I work, topics, extreme drives, etc.

Now, without warning, I find that it has made a list of favorites (which aren't always frequently used), followed by things on the iCloud, & locations of drives. What happened to my long list of folders -- places I really want handy?

More important: how do I get them back?

Background info: I know how to hide & show the sidebar. I know how to add/subtract things to it. What I don't know is how to restore it.

Mac Pro, macOS 12.6

Posted on Jun 30, 2023 6:07 PM

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Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,044 points

Jul 1, 2023 5:48 AM in response to Metal_bender

From several posts on StackExchange, the sidebar items are stored in a SharedFileList in this folder, ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/

I don't know for sure this would work, but restoring those files from a backup might restore your sidebar to what it was. The names of each are fairly self-explanatory. I don't believe the "Recent" shared file lists have anything to do with the Sidebar items.

After replacing them, you would probably need to log out and back in or Relaunch the Finder.

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sidebar got messed up! How to get it back as it was?

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