What would happens when you signed out iCould from System Preferences on Yosemite?

Ideally you should have signed out of everything before changing the password; however you should sign out of everything now and then back in with the new password. When you sign out all of your synced data will disappear from your Mac, but it will still be on the server. When you sign back in it will reappear (give it time to download - this may take some time if you have a lot).

Save the data by either copying it to another folder or downloading it from iCloud to that folder. (If you move local synced data rather than copying it it will be removed from iCloud.)

When you sign back in all your data will be restored to where it was before signing out, but you will still have the data in the separate folder as a backup.

I don't use iCloud so my version isn't relevant (though it's Mavericks).

When you sign out of iCloud, synced data is removed from your Mac but is not deleted from the server (and thus is available to other devices which haven't signed out yet or by checking on the website.)

Keeping a separate backups is always a good idea. Never keep important data in only one place.

As Roger has posted, the iCloud contents will remain on the server and will be downloaded again when you sign back in. That is true for all OS versions.

Archive or make copies of your iCloud data

Hi,

iMessages is not part of iCloud.

Nor is FaceTime, iTunes, the App Store, iBooks, Games Center.

Those apps are a bit like logging in here.

It might be the same ID and Password you use in those apps but they are not part of the iCloud services.

They are not in System Preferences > iCloud.

If you click the Mail option in the System Preferences > iCloud then the emails are on the server - the app just reads them and shows them to you.

iMessages is a completely different server. Once you have received them then they are deleted from the server (never to be retrieved again).

Then can be flagged to be sent to several devices but even if a second device has not received it yet the first device cannot access that info.

going back to iCloud. If the Contacts option is ticked and it is the first device then your Contacts List is copied to the cloud.

All devices using the ID and the Contacts sync option can see the Addresses.

You can see them here https://www.icloud.com/ in the Contacts section (as similar with Mail)

If you Unsync the Contacts option in the System Preferences > iCloud then you are sometimes asked if you want to keep a local copy.

If it is already in the cloud then there is no real point.

These are the options on the iCloud web site after you login.

You can check them first if you wish.

iMessages once delivered are kept on your Mac in ~/Library/Messages in three databases.

If you also Save on Close all (types) of messages within the Messages app they are stored in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Messages/Archive

The "~/" bit is short for Hard Drive Name/Users/youraccountshortname

As Eric says make copies before hand if you are not sure.

9:31 pm Saturday; October 29, 2016

for the Points and then the Points.

(The green Solved overrides th Orange Helpful but I get emails about both).

10:12 pm Saturday; October 29, 2016