why folders disappear from finder sidebar in mavericks?

I'm adding my 2 cents as well.

I thought the problem had to do with losing a network connection but recently I've found that some of the favorite folders from a network drive are staying while others from the same network drive are deleted. The last couple of days this has happened way too frequently.

COMMON APPLE - IT'S A PAIN WHEN IT SHOULD BE MAKING COMPUTING EASIER.

Apple doesn’t routinely monitor the discussions. These are mostly user to user discussions.

Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem or a suggestion for change. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem/suggested change solved sooner.

Feedback

The issue is with the additional folders that the user adds later to the sidebar as shortcuts. They periodically disappear and it requires a restart to bring them back. It is a bug - and I notice that it's still present in Sierra 10.12.2.

i've found that there are two "flavours" of this bug. One in Finder itself, and the other in the file selector within apps, as you describe here. I've seen both versions, not necessarily at the same time.

I've sent Apple feedback about this and I urge others to do the same. Some of the posts reporting this problem (in this and other forums) are 4 YEARS old! I cannot believe this bug still hasn't been resolved. What on earth is Apple playing at?

No, I'm not running any software of that kind.

The favourites I've created (which periodically disappear) link to files on an external drive. Would be interested to know if this is the case for others reporting the problem?

I think our issue is also related to external drives and SMB connections. The only work around I have is create a folder of aliases on my desktop and add this to the side bar. A shabby fix for an annoying issue. Just leave the short cuts where they are apple.

Thanks camakin73, but that doesn't allow for copying / moving into the sidebar. This is the main reason I want favourites.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it seems inconceivable that Apple haven't fixed this simple and widely reported bug for several years.

Yes, I do have that issue with network drives and I've used the same workaround (folder of aliases). However, the sidebar list disappearance also affects local favourites. Actually, come to think of it, it hasn't happened for quite a while - maybe it was quietly fixed in a recent release? I'm running 10.12.3.

But how are the SBS ones managed? We use SBS protocol but it's not a Windows-managed network. Also, I had other problems with SBS and I resolved them by using CIF instead - the servers can usually accommodate that.

Might be a corrupt .plist file. Have you tried:

From the Finder Go Menu (holding down option) select Library and locate this file:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.sidebarlists.plist

Delete it then restart (you'll have to re-add your favorites)

Might be worth doing a back up before you try this.

Worked for me (well, two weeks on and my favourites are still there!).

When I hold down the option key, Library does not appear in the Finder Go Menu list.

When I found the file by looking in my preferences folder and deleted it, I restarted and the behavior is still the same.

When I drag a sharepoint into Favorites it just makes a blank folder with a question mark.

Everything was fine until an update a couple of weeks ago.

Does anybody test this stuff before they issue updates?

I don't want to tempt fate but I no longer have this problem since 10.12.4 OS X update. It may just be a coincidence but it used to happen to me a lot and since this update quite a while ago my sidebar has been well-behaved. You may want to check you have this latest update. Just a thought.

I'm on 10.12.5

I'm pretty sure it wasn't working in 10.12.4 either.

My server is also running 10.12.5 so everything is up to date.

I've seen this happen off and on over the years and it's sure nice when it works. Then I get spoiled and now this.

So it continues to be an annoying part of the OS.

So is more. Apple cannot handle SMB, too. For decades. And now it is even worse.

I think the SMB-problem has a 100% connection with the disappear-problem.

Think different. Maybe we have to leave the Apple OS ... and start to use what most of the world uses. Without problems 😟