When I set up a new account on my Mac laptop only a small number of iCloud folders appear. Only four in total include keynote, pages, numbers and preview. Any help would be appreciated since I have a lot of important other files but cannot access them from this account.
If you set up a new Apple ID/iCloud account, it's basically empty. Your old documents are still under your old account.
Sorry -- I wasn't clear. I have several accounts on the same laptop (trying to keep mine and kids accounts separate.) I used my normal Apple ID in the new account I was trying to use on my laptop. Everything else syncs just fine (notes, contacts, calendars, reminders, etc. Everything but 95%+ of my iCloud files (all that aren't linked to pages, keynote, numbers and preview)!
It must be me, but I'm still confused... You say your "normal" ID, but then you say "in the NEW account."
In any case, how are you viewing the contents of your iCloud account? Via iCloud Disk (enabled in System Preferences > iCloud), in the iCloud.com website, or from within the apps that created these documents?
The "local" Mac account is irrelevant. You could have 10 accounts on your laptop all signed in to the same iCloud Account and the iCloud Drive content would be identical on each.
What Apple ID is being used to sign in to that local account's iCloud preferences?
System Preferences > iCloud?
Exactly as you said I have multiple accounts on a laptop and in both the accounts in question I've used the same Apple ID (sorry for earlier not being clear by accounts I just mean the separate login accounts on the laptop that appear when you first turn it on.) Some of the iCloud files appear in the new account I set up but only ones that appear in the pages, keynote, numbers and preview folder not all the other ones I have in my iCloud Drive. I'll look into the suggestions/questions in the responses to my questions and see if that helps. Thanks.
Try going to System Preferences/iCloud and stop syncing. Wait a couple of minutes, then recheck syncing.
Have you tried signing out of iCloud and then sign back in?
Missing iCloud folders?
