How to move documents from icloud back to mac

I have tried like this, System Preferences- iCloud - click options infront of iCloud Drive - deselect desktop and documents folders . Then it will prompt whether to have the copy on local, if you click that it will take you to finder showing the documents folder in iCloud . Just select all using Ctrl A, Copy all, click documents shown under favourites in the side bar, paste all items there. Then we can delete the documents from iCloud. I have all my files on Mac now.

How do I copy my documents back to my MacBook, I tried unchecking the options box, but my documents have not been released. They were added to the iCloud drive again.

I need to access them from my desktop, when working on documents, possibly add them to the cloud drive later when completed and need to share.

Similar situation with my father. He didn't realize he was turning on iCloud synchronization, and after turning it off, discovered that his Desktop was empty (probably Documents too, but that wasn't in the worried E-mail message I got this morning).

This seems to be the opposite of what one should expect; when turning off this feature, you should at least be given the option of restoring your files to the Desktop and Documents folders.

I'm doing "remote tech support" for an octogenarian who isn't very comfortable making any changes to his computer. Hopefully there is a simple solution that I can talk him through.

i think that many on this thread are not looking at things in the correct manner...

i say this with all due respect

i was looking at it the same way when i first setup icloud drive...

i want 1 copy in the cloud and a second local copy ..."just in case"

it makes sense because for many years we think about it that way...local copy + backup copy (in cloud or on an external device, etc)

but this is how things are moving (businesses for several years + services like google drive/google docs which are used ubiquitously by high school and college kids)

1. even though the documents folder says icloud drive in your finder...there are local copies on your machine (if you have room)...turn off the internet and you can still edit the document

2. you don't have two visible documents folders...one locally and one in icloud drive...

because icloud drive is managing all the syncing ..,making sure all copies are of the same version...

it matters less where it's stored and more that it is the correct version...

3. the days of each user manually backing up and sending documents to different devices are ending (or have ended)...google, apple, microsoft, amazon all do this for the customers (yes it's not free...but external hard drives were not either...)

yes there are glitches...but there always were when the user did it manually...

I'm still trying to get my docs back to my Mac from iCloud but will continue with these instructions. Thank you!

Could this also be why I cannot rearrange the icons on my doc? Are the desktop and dock/icon settings stored in the iCloud now and preventing me from rearranging or anything? Oy ve...this is giving me a headache.

IF YOU USE MUSIC PLUGINS, NEVER TURN ICLOUD DRIVE ON FOR DOCUMENTS FOLDER TO MIGRATE.

Seriously, these days, windows 10 seems way easier to use, I did the same mistake, turned that thing on, but I got my music plugin that stores samples in documents sent in icloud drive, so everytime I open a project with my DAW, with a third party plugin on, it can't reach the samples it needs, making the operation taking forever.
Now i did untick documents and desktop to be saved in icloud drive, but it says everytime, that it will store it in the cloud. Anyway I tried to drag the document folder from icloud to user, it prompt me to authenticate, so what I do, and then nothing happen. The only way is to copy and paste, but now its telling me, that there is not enough storage on my hard drive, nothing happened since I have upgraded to sierra, I have saved nothing new. So the only explanation I can find is, maybe the sierra OS backup boot, is taking the few extra GB I need to put back my documents folder, but it doesnt seem logical considering the chronological order the actions were made.
Anyway Apple, Apple, Apple, you are giving me headache, between your non logical improving (just marketing based), and the bad quality of you battery that did expand in two of my macs, and two of my iphones. Fortunately, my lovely ipad havn't experienced that yet (ipad being the only thing I got no complaint about). Has all good old Apple engineers and designers moved to microsoft, cos they didnt get pay rise? Anyway that is just sad.

I Know what you meant, but unfortunately, some third party music plugin uses documents to store their sample library as default, and when you want to load a patch that uses these library samples, the third party plugin won't detect anymore the document, meaning, depending of the plugin, you might have to point out, to the plugin, where each of the se samples are located! So if you use a few of these plugins, you got, first, to find the precise name of the sample , then enter it in finder search, and once you have found the sample location, you got to point it out to the plugin for it to be used, and you might have to do that for each plugin, Not such a ease of use! If they had run a beta before, they should had encounter that kind of issues, and somewhat warn you before to use this option, in case you use third party plugins!

Apple are making working on their machines so idiotic that I am thinking my reliable pen and ink is fast becoming a viable alternative.

Ditto internet.

Ridiculous the way our working lives are thus totally dictated to and dominated by - faulty technology.

peace, Susanne

screw you apple. stop doing **** without asking me. i don't want icloud. it *****. let me just keep all my documents on my computer and use dropbox. i have to sync all my **** from the cloud back to my computer to restore my desktop files etc

In your OS, go to Settings, go to iCloud and select options at the right hand side of iCloud Drive.

There, de-select Desktop & Document Folders. It then gives you a message warning you that the documents will remain on your iCloud but no longer on your mac which is fine. It also 'releases' your Documents folder again, which you can then clean re-install/redefine (new folder) on your Mac. Next then copy or move the documents files from iCloud back to your Mac in your documents folder and you ought to be good to go.

best of luck

Maurice

You are welcome.

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

Have you tried dragging the documents to your Desktop to make a copy? When they are all copied to the Desktop, turn off documents syncing and then create a new Documents folder in your user. Then copy the data to that folder.

It minimizes everything and shows me the desktop picture. In the center is a small message that reads "No available windows". I can right click and get the usual options, but cannot rearrange them or even pull them off to delete them. It is weird. I'm betting it is a setting somewhere but even Apple Tech Support could not help me on Friday....

Might be a corrupt .plist.

Do a backup, preferably 2 backups on 2 separate drives.

Quit the application.

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.

Restart the computer, open the application, and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.

If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer one.

Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.