Changing the default folder for Apple Mail...
In 2007 on this forum, D. Gimeno wrote the following helpful post about changing the default directory for Apple Mail. Would this still be valid in Lion? I want to keep OS and programs on 1 partition of my MiniMac's hard drive, and all content (including mail, contacts, calendars, and documents) on another and back it up using Time Machine. If this is still the way to do it - basically moving the stuff and changing the path accordingly - can I also do it with iCal and the Address book? Thanks y'all!
"Although I mostly agree with what the other participants have said, for completeness let me say that you can accomplish what you want using a symbolic link (‘symlink’):
1. Quit Mail.
2. Move the Mail folder from ~/Library/ to anywhere you wish, say to the root level of a disk called “External HD” (in which case the path to the Mail folder would be /Volumes/External HD/Mail).
3. Make sure the Mail folder is no longer in ~/Library/. If it’s still there, and you don’t want to delete it yet, just move it to the Desktop.
4. Open /Applications/Utilites/Terminal, type the following command and press <Return> (you can copy the command from this post, paste it in a text editor, edit the path there, copy it again, and paste it in Terminal):
ln -s "/Volumes/External HD/Mail" ~/Library/
This shall create in ~/Library/ a symbolic link called Mail that points to/Volumes/External HD/Mail. Alternatively, a 3rd party utility can be used to create the symbolic link instead of using Terminal.
This will work as long as the volume is mounted and the path to the actual Mail folder doesn’t change. If the path to the folder changes (because the disk is renamed or the folder is moved, for example), just quit Mail if it’s running, get rid of the symlink in ~/Library/, and create it again using the new path.
Note: For those not familiarized with the ~/ notation, it refers to the user’s home folder, i.e. ~/Library is the Library folder within the user’s home folder."