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iCloud Drive, Preview & TextEdit Folders...

Hi,


I would just like to know why these folders are created within iCloud Drive?


I have just started using iCloud Drive today and am primary using it to store my home filing. I have a Mac Book also so the theory was that I would store all of my home filing in iCloud Drive thus avoiding the need to have it copied in both locations, it is working perfectly, the only query was that when I view a file or edit a file it shows in either the Preview or TextEdit folders...does iCloud Drive use these folder just to keep a record/reference of actions within?


Thanks,


Marc

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014), iOS 8.1.2

Posted on Jan 10, 2015 7:00 AM

Reply
8 replies

Jul 26, 2017 3:09 AM in response to rickatk

The problem is that if I create a document on iPad with Pages or Numbers then the ONLY place I can save it is to the Pages or Numbers folder and then I can NEVER move it. It means that if I were to use iCloud and the native apps then my projects would be scattered across the app directories, making management a nightmare. This is another case of apps being developed by people who have never done anything else. There's no good reason why a document's location should be locked down like this.

Jan 10, 2015 7:19 AM in response to marcdav

The application specific folders TextEdit, Preview, Pages, Numbers, etc are created to give easy access to your iCloud documents from iOS 8 devices.


if you store documents that can be opened Preview or TextEdit outside these folders, Cloud will create an alias to this document and add it to the app specific folders. You can see, that is an alias below the preview of the document:

So these extra entries do not need much space.

User uploaded file

Jan 10, 2015 8:13 AM in response to marcdav

PS. I can if I wanted to delete these folders without deleting the original files?

The system will recreate them. Just ignore these folders. if you do not want to be bothered by them, create an alias to the root folder of your own iCloud Drive documents and drag that to the Favorites in the Finder sidebar.

For example: I created a folder "_My iCloud Drive" on iCloud Drive and put all my own folders and documents there. Then I created an alias to that folder and dragged it to the Favorites like this: Now I can view my documents without seeing the standard folders on iCloud Drive.

User uploaded file

Feb 12, 2016 9:11 PM in response to marcdav

That does seem to be odd behaviour. I just took all of my folders from Dropbox and ported them over to iCloud Drive by dropping the folders containing my documents directly into the iCloud Drive folder. I didn't create an additional folder, as you did, to hold my personal folders in iCloud Drive..... No extra aliases. Nice and clean.

Feb 12, 2016 9:27 PM in response to léonie

léonie wrote:


The application specific folders TextEdit, Preview, Pages, Numbers, etc are created to give easy access to your iCloud documents from iOS 8 devices.


if you store documents that can be opened Preview or TextEdit outside these folders, Cloud will create an alias to this document and add it to the app specific folders. You can see, that is an alias below the preview of the document:

So these extra entries do not need much space.

User uploaded file

This seems to be a good explanation. I have been hunting around for an answer to this questIon. I was advised by an Apple Genius the creation of the Alias facilitates the on the fly synchronization, another explanation was the Alias is created as a place holder for the original document stored outside the app folder.

Thus far nothing in the Apple literature as to why an alias is created in iCloud Drive compliant app folders when a document is stored elsewhere in iCloud Drive.

iCloud Drive, Preview & TextEdit Folders...

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