Finding stuff in "private" folder?

Hi!
Is there some way to put a folder into "privacy" (Spotlight prefPane), so that usual Spotlight-searches won't search it, but have a way of finding stuff in that folder nevertheless (say, by using Finder's searchbar)?
I have several thousands of articles from my favorite computer mag in html-format on my HD and I don't want Spotlight to search through them all the time because that gets awfully slow.
On the other hand, I'd like to find some article in that folder from time to time.
(re-indexing and de-indexing that folder each time is NOT considered an option)

Leonard,
I agree with John. Complaints about Spotlight are widespread and persistent, and unless this is impressed firmly on Apple, they will probably do nothing since, as John says, they seem to think the concept is great.
The concept of indexing everything (or rather, NOT everything) and then searching in that index (and not finding) seems to be inherently stupid.
Since it is often repeated that no Apple employees with decision-making power ever visit these forums, the only way to get Apple's attention is to write them a firm email directly.
I did this a long time ago and, unfortunately cannot remember to what address I sent the email. Maybe someone else can tell you.

Similar Messages

Private folder (200GB)

Hi,
I was reading about the 'private folder' from other topics, but I still do not know what to do with mine.
Inside it there is a folder called "folders" with 189.5 gb, and a folder called "vm" with 10.6gb.
folders/60/w3cpz6754zb866y3thzz2f2h0000gn/T has 187.9 gb, once there are hundreds hidden folders named .vbfolder_XXXX with .mgz files with up to 402.6mb each. I accessed the hidden folders using Daysi Disk. Some of its names remind me of some files used in the processing of medical imaging I have been doing in the las months, but I would like to be sure that these files are not part of the system / OS X before deleting them (I have every data I need backed up thrice). Any help?
Regards,
Pedro

Please read this whole message carefully, especially the warnings, before doing anything.
1. I can only guess which of the modifications you've made to your system is causing the problem. The changes suggested here should be considered provisional; they may not help, or they may remove functionality that you find useful. If a third-party system modification that you want to keep is at fault, refer to its developer for support.
2. WARNING: Back up all data now if you haven’t already done so. Before proceeding, you must be sure you can restore your system to its present state, even if it becomes unbootable. If you’re not sure you can do that, STOP — DON’T CHANGE ANYTHING. If you’re dissatisfied with the results of the procedure suggested below, restore from your backup. I will not be responsible for the consequences, and I will not be able to help, if you ignore this warning.
3. You should either remove or update the following system modification(s), if an update is available from the developer:
N/A
and definitely remove at least the following:
† Kaspersky
† MacKeeper
† VirusBarrier
4. Whatever you remove must be removed completely, and (unless otherwise specified in this message) the only way to do that is to use the uninstallation tool, if any, provided by the third-party developers, or to follow their instructions. If the software has been incompletely removed, you may have to re-download or even reinstall it in order to finish the job. I can't be more specific, because I don't install such things myself. Please do your own research.
You will generally have to reboot after uninstalling a system modification. Until you do that, the uninstallation may have no effect, or unpredictable effects.
Here are some general guidelines to get you started. Suppose you want to remove something called “BrickYourMac.” First, consult the product's Help menu, if there is one, for instructions. Finding none there, look on the developer's website, say www.brickyourmac.com. (That may not be the actual name of the site; if necessary, search the web for the product name.) If you don’t find anything on the website or in your search, contact the developer. While you're waiting for a response, download BrickYourMac.dmg and open it. There may be an application in there such as “Uninstall BrickYourMac.” If not, open “BrickYourMac.pkg” and look for an Uninstall button.
Again, please don't ask me to do this research for you. You can do it better than I can, because I haven't installed the product and I may not even know what it is.
If you can’t remove software in any other way, you’ll have to erase your boot volume and perform a clean reinstallation of OS X. Never install any third-party software unless you're sure you know how to uninstall it; otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.
WARNING: Trying to remove complex system modifications by hunting for files by name often will not work and may make the problem worse. The same goes for "utilities" that purport to remove software.
5. I recommend that you never reinstall the modifications marked with a dagger (†) above, if any. If your problem is resolved after uninstalling all the above modifications and rebooting, but you still want to use some of those not marked with a dagger, you can experiment with putting them back, one at a time, testing carefully after each step. Keep in mind that system modifications may be incompatible with each other or with future OS X updates, so it may not be clear which one is at fault.
6. If you still have problems after making the suggested changes and rebooting, post again. Remember: if you don’t like the results of this procedure, you can undo it by restoring from the last backup you made before you started.
Remove Kaspersky Security by following the instructions on this page. If you have a different version of the product, the procedure may be different.
Remove Intego "VirusBarrier" by following the instructions on this page. If you have a different version of the product, the procedure may be different.
Remove "MacKeeper" as follows.
"MacKeeper" has only one useful feature: it deletes itself.
Note: These instructions apply to the version of the product that I downloaded and tested in early 2012. I can't be sure that they apply to other versions.
IMPORTANT: "MacKeeper" has what the developer calls an “encryption” feature. In my tests, I didn't try to verify what this feature really does. If you used it to “encrypt” any of your files, “decrypt” them before you uninstall, or (preferably) restore the files from backups made before they were “encrypted.” As the developer is not trustworthy, you should assume that the "decrypted" files are corrupt unless proven otherwise.
In the Finder, select
Go ▹ Applications
from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-A. The "MacKeeper" application is in the folder that opens. Quit it if it's running, then drag it to the Trash. You'll be prompted for your login password. Click the Uninstall MacKeeper button in the dialog that appears. All the functional components of the software will be deleted. Reboot.
Failure to remove MacKeeper will result from neglecting any one of these points:
Quit MacKeeper before dragging it to the Trash.
Don't empty the Trash after dragging the application to it. Let MacKeeper delete itself.
Don't try to drag the MacKeeper icon in the Dock to the Trash.
Here are some general suggestions. If you want your computer to be usable, don't install crapware, such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, this stuff is useless, or worse than useless.
The more actively promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage. The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam.
The only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for — such as creating, communicating, and playing — and does not modify the way other software works. Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it.

How do you access private folder?

I need to access to private folder like you do on PC C:\? I need to copy something to the root directory but I can see it in the search window when I look for the file I need to copy, but when I open my harddisk using the icon on my desktop it shows me only the usuall stuff like application, library, system etc. but the rest is hidden. How can I change that to see my root? Thanks

"Macintosh HD" in Finder is your root.
It's true that Finder doesn't by default display everything in the root directory. If you really want to see everything, check out this thread; but if you just need to move a file to root, you can do that now in Finder.
Powerbook G4 1GHz Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Can't find file in new folder?

I'm writing a script that exports some data from Excel then opens the file in TextWrangler to do a find & replace. The first part of the script checks to see if there's a Folder called "Output" on the desktop, if not create the folder.
If I run the script and the "output" isn't on the desktop it does create folder but the script errors with: "Can't make <class cfol> "Output" of <class cfol> "Desktop" of <class cfol> "user" of <class cfol> "Users" of <class sdsk> od application "Finder" into type list, record or text.
But if I run the script with the "Output" folder already created it runs as expected.
Any ideas??
Here's my code:
set OutputFolder to "Output"
--set DefaultFolder to (path to documents folder as string) & "My Stuff:User Lists:" as alias
(* Keep exported CSV file? *)
set deleteCSV to true
set targetFolder to (path to desktop folder) & OutputFolder & ":" as string
try
get targetFolder as alias
on error
tell application "Finder"
activate
set targetFolder to make new folder at (path to desktop folder) with properties {name:OutputFolder}
end tell
end try
(* Select Users to Export *)
set ExcelDocument to choose file with prompt "Please choose User List." without invisibles
(* Open Users in Excel *)
tell application "Microsoft Excel"
open ExcelDocument
activate object sheet "PC Information"
set f_path to targetFolder as string
--get sheet name
set Nameofsheet to name of active workbook
-- remove file extension
set Nameofsheet to name of active workbook
if text -4 of Nameofsheet is "." then
set Nameofsheet to (text 1 thru -5 of Nameofsheet)
end if
-- save with new file name as CSV type
save active workbook in f_path & Nameofsheet & " PC" & ".csv" as CSV
-- close the sheet
set CloseSheet to active workbook
set saved of CloseSheet to true
close active workbook
end tell
(* Find and Replace *)
set file3 to alias f_path & Nameofsheet & " PC" & ".csv" as string
tell application "TextWrangler"
open {file file3} with LF translation
replace "\\t" using "," searching in text 1 of text document 1 options {search mode:grep, starting at top:false, wrap around:false, backwards:false, case sensitive:false, match words:false, extend selection:false}
replace "\"" using "" searching in text 1 of text document 1 options {search mode:grep, starting at top:false, wrap around:false, backwards:false, case sensitive:false, match words:false, extend selection:false}
set properties of text window 1 to {show invisibles:true}
set properties of text document 1 to {line breaks:DOS}
--save text document 1
save text document 1 to targetFolder & Nameofsheet & " PC" & ".txt"
close document 1
end tell
(* Delete CSV file? *)
if deleteCSV is true then
do shell script ("rm " & (quoted form of POSIX path of file3))
end if
(* End *)
tell application "Finder"
activate
display dialog "The Group " & Nameofsheet & " has been exported."
end tell
eMac 1.25GHz (Tiger) & G5 Xserve (Tiger) Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Hi Ben
In the case when your script creates a new folder, you're changing the variable targetFolder from a path (as string) to a Finder item. Excel needs the path.
set targetFolder to (path to desktop folder) & outputfolder
-- targetfolder is a string at this point
--snip
--the alias targetfolder doesn't exist, so:
tell app "Finder" to set targetfolder to make new folder at desktop with properties {name:outputfolder} -- targetfolder is now a Finder object, not a string or an alias
-- snip
-- a bit later:
tell app "Excel" to do things to targetFolder
--Excel doesn't speak Finder, you get the error.
As far as I can see you don't need to use the variable targetFolder for anything other than the string, so all you should need to do is:
tell application "Finder" to make new folder at desktop with properties {name:outputfolder}
The variable targetFolder doesn't get changed, and Excel will still understand it.
Hope this helps,
H

Hi.. I have a new apple computer and have no idea how to find stuff on here... Can someone tell me how to find my search history? Thanks

Hi.. I have a new apple computer and have no idea how to find stuff on here... Can someone tell me how to find my search history? Thanks

In addition to Japib's suggestion check out
OS X Yosemite: See your files in the Finder
OS X Yosemite: Finder preferences
OS X Yosemite: Ways to quickly see and open items
OS X Yosemite: Search with Spotlight
OS X Yosemite: Rename files, folders, and disks
OS X Yosemite: Folder basics
OS X Yosemite: Ways to organize files on your desktop
One more thing:
Search history is a term generally referring to what sites you have visited via your browser (e.g. Safari)
To see your Safari search history just open Safari and go to the top menu and select from Show History from the History
See two pics below

Mac OS 10.5 / I deleted the " Private" folder ... and emptied the trash. So the folder and its contents no longer exists on my computer at all !!! I do have the OS dvd that i purchased years ago... But my computer will not start from it on its own. My

Mac OS 10.5 /
I deleted the " Private" folder ... and emptied the trash. So the folder and its contents no longer exists on my computer at all !!!
I do have the OS 10.5 dvd that i purchased years ago...
But my computer will not start from it on its own.
My question is what is the open source or terminal language code used to tell my mac to look in the DVD rom drive for startup info? I know that im not the only person in this world who has deleted the "PRIVATE" folder and emptied the trash so it no longer exists on their machine...
That said theres gotta be a common fix for a Power PC G4 that has the OS X dvd in the rom drive but wont look to it to reinstall the vital contents of the PRIVATE folder.
Once again there is not a copy of this file or its contents in the recycle bin...
Also rebooting the machine , pressing and holding the letter C does not prompt the machine to look to the dvd rom drive.
I was reinstalling pro tools and figured I would make some room by cleaning my computers HD...
Lol It was a bad choice to delete this file ...
Thanks guys

Okay sorry it took forever to respond... But for a while there I gave up on this computer!!!!
Money's been tight lately , so taking it in to a professional was not yet an option... though I did consider it eventhough.
Anyway long story short im glad I didnt spend any money because I already had all the tools necessary to fix this issue but was going about it in the wrong way. Okay so here is my scenario and the breakdown... Though this may not fix the issue for everyone :( which *****... But I know we all will have different circumstances.
Anyway here we go...
Okay so first things first.... Years ago I purchased the OS 10.5.1 disk ... So that has always been in my possession!!!!
I realize that some may not have a disk to reflash your OS to your hard drive... but if you do your in luck.
2ndly ... I had an external harddrive with all of my itunes downloaded music so it was more than okay with me to delete my primary HD because all the important stuff could either be copied over or repathed to be located.
-------If you dont want to read through the whole story the fix is summed up in the bottom section-------
Okay so now the SOLUTION!!!!
By trial and error , and pure boredom I opened up my computer to clean the inside...
AND
"Disconnected the primary HD"
and just because ....... REBOOTED my computer. Just to see what it would do.
Upon restart and though it looked like it would repeat its usual cycle...
About 1 minute in to that process my computer froze for about 2 seconds and flashed to the OS installation screen.
Mind you I havent seen this screen yet... Probably hasnt been since I installed the OS years ago.
After a bit of trial and error...
I decided to tell my computer to startup from the OS 10.5 disk located in my dvd rom drive and restarted once again...
this setting is under
Utilities / startup disk
After a little more trial and error ... I realized that I could reconnect the primary HD , restart the machine and return to the OS installation menu.
So upon this discovery
I went to the Disk Utility located under Utilities
Highlighted my primary HD located in the left hand column
Once highlighted ...
In the heading section on the right I selected the option
Erase
in which I erased My current OS on my primary HD ...
I used the first option in the list under security... Because it seemed like the least invasive and would take the least amount of time to see if this process would actually work.
I FORGOT to add something...
Another reason why I deleted my primary HD!!!!!
I forgot to say that it WOULD NOT!!!!! Show up in the STARTUP list as an option...Even After multiple reboots....
But like clockwork... Once I deleted its name IT SHOWED UP as an option!!!!
So back to the next step...
I returned to the STARTUP option under utilities ... And was then able to see MY primary HD now as a startup option...
But ofcourse it had no name because it we previously erased it.
So when Clicking my newly erased HD ... I was almost immediately prompted to REINSTALL the OS ...
Which said it would take about 57 minutes ... But I believe was alot less...
My issue was resolved ... My computer then stated the install was SUCCESSFUL!!!!!!! :))))))))))) lol ;)
It was like I was setting up for the first time ;) asking for my registration info...
The dilemma of deleting the private folder and emptying the trash is finally over resolved. Done ... and no extra money spent!!!!!!!!!
Its really crazy that the information for such a simple thing is not readily available. Especially being such a simple fix.
I know im not the only person who's had this issue , because i've seen numerous posts with similar wording.
I also know I wont be the last person to have this issue... So I hope this synopsis makes sense.
-------One more time the fix------
*Insert your OS dvd into your dvd rom drive.
*Unplug your primary HD or corrupted startup disk
*Reboot your machine...
Upon restart your primary HD will not be recognized...
* you will then be prompted to select your language.
Once selected
*Click Utilities/startup... Highlight the the selection that refers to the OS dvd located in the dvd rom drive.
* Click restart...
!!!!!!!!!!Be sure to reconnect your Primary HD Before your computer restarts and you hear the chime!!!!!!!!
If you do not replug your HD before the chime it will not be recognized.
In that case restart again.
Upon restart once again
*Choose your language...
*Click Utilities / disk utility
In the left column select and
*Highlight your HD ...
Then towards the top portion / center of the page
*Click the heading Erase
Then on the page toward the bottom
*Click security options
This will then provide erase options.
I USED THE FIRST OPTION
"Dont erase data"...
*click OK
* click erase...
Once erased which should take a few seconds
*Cancel the disk utility...
* Click Utilities / startup
And your newly erased HD should now appear in the list.
* Select your drive from the list by highlighting
It should no longer have a name.
*Once selected, you will then be prompted to restart and install the OS to your newly erased HD...
Thats it!!!!
Once everything reinstalls re-add your personal info or registration info and you are up and running.
Goodluck ;)

How to find out when a folder or a file has been renamed?

I need to find out when a folder and some files have been renamed.
This happened when Mac OS X was 10.6 (Leopard Snow), now the Max OS X is Lion.
I use standard HFS+ filesystem format.
In Lion apparently there is a file property "Date Added" that change if a file is renamed, but the same property seems to be unused (e.g. -/-) before Lion.
I have Time Machine backups that help me to know that rename happened within a certain week, but I was looking for something more accurate (at least day accuracy).
If file system metadata can't help, I'm wondering if there is some log that track the first time spotlight indexed a specific file.
Thank you
/Andrea

Maybe you could keep tabs of the file size. If the file size grows (which it will do each time the writing process flushes that files output buffer), then the file was written to.
What I'd like to know is if there is some way to monitor the entire drive for changes and respond to stuff like that. I know that the Win32 API provides services that monitor the file system for changes, but I don't know if other OS's do... or if Java provides an interface to those features.

Private Folder Help (Again...)

Yes, I did it and now I am trying to recover my private folder from the trash. I have read several posts on here and other sites about how to move it from terminal and I can't seem to make it work. VK's help seems good and logical, but I am not sure why it is not working for me. I have verified that the private folder is in the trash via terminal and tried to move it with this command:
cp -rf /volumes/"mac hd"/users/arron/.trash/private /volumes/"mac hd"
"mac hd" is the name of my drive and arron is my user folder. This should work but all I keep getting is:
cp: /volumes/mac hd/private/var/vm/swapfile2: no such file or directory
Why is that? I can look into volumes/"mac hd"/users/arron/trash, so why can't I seem to move it?
Thanks for your help all!

cp: /volumes/mac hd/private/var/vm/swapfile2: no such file or directory
This doesn't make sense to me. I suggest you use *disk utility* to verify the file system. Perhaps the disk has become corrupted.
Why don't you do this from the finder? You can see hidden file in the finder.
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
*Show hidden files & folders in finder*
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE ;killall Finder
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
*Normal display. Hide hidden files & folders in finder*
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE ;killall Finder
Here is how to simply typing of names.
Do you know about tabing? Type in a few letters of a name then press the tab key. The computer will type out the rest of the name if it is unique.
Press the up arrow(s) key to see the previous command(s).
history
to see many previous commands.
cp -rf /volumes/"mac hd"/users/arron/.trash/private /volumes/"mac hd"
It's upcase -R
Why the f? Make sure you are not overlaying an existing directory.
/volumes/"mac hd"/newName
I like the ditto command for copying files.
*Here is an overview of the commands.*
Lets assume that the problem account has a short user name of mac.
#Copy directory "/Applications/Applescript files" to
# directory "/Volumes/Spotless/Applescript files".
# "Spotless" is my flash drive.
ditto -X -rsrc /Applications/Applescript\ files /Volumes/Spotless/Applescript\ files
#cd is change directory
cd /Volumes/COPYIT/answers/
# pwd is print working directory
pwd
#the ls command is for list
# l is long
# F is type of file where / is directory
sh-2.05b# # Please note ls is the list command. l is a lower case L
sh-2.05b# ls -lF
Here is what these commands mean:
cd is change directory
pwd is a print working directory
ls is list
sudo is Super user do
cp is copy
copy a file example:
sh-2.05b#
sh-2.05b# cd /Volumes/Macintosh-HD/Users/mac/desktop
sh-2.05b# pwd
/Volumes/Macintosh-HD/Users/mac/desktop
sh-2.05b# cp -i answers.txt /Volumes/SpotMore
Will copy the file answers.txt in the directory SpotMore.
Some files have a space in the name. You need to escape. see example:
mac $ ls -l ~/"see it"
-rw-r--r-- 1 mac staff 3171 Oct 26 23:38 /Users/mac/see it
mac $
mac $ cd /Users/mac/Desktop/ttt\ html\ copy/
Do you know about tabing? Type in a few letters of a name then press the tab key. The computer will type out the rest of the name if it is unique.
The up arrow key will retrive the previous command. You the left arror and right arror keys to move around. Use the delete key to delete a character to the left.
<eol>
*More examples and moving around*
sh-2.05b# pwd
sh-2.05b# ls /Volumes
.Trashes Classic Macintosh-HD
._.Trashes Mac OS X Install DVD SpotMore
sh-2.05b#
sh-2.05b# df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/disk4s3 2.6G 2.5G 89M 97% /
devfs 121K 121K 0B 100% /dev
fdesc 1.0K 1.0K 0B 100% /dev
<volfs> 512K 512K 0B 100% /.vol
/dev/disk5 467K 9.0K 435K 2% /Volumes
/dev/disk6 95K 64K 27K 70% /private/var/tmp
/dev/disk7 95K 14K 77K 15% /private/var/run
/dev/disk3s1 3.7G 1.3G 2.5G 34% /Volumes/SpotMore
/dev/disk0s10 1.1G 1.1G 3.4M 100% /Volumes/Classic
/dev/disk0s12 70G 45G 25G 65% /Volumes/Macintosh-HD
sh-2.05b#
sh-2.05b# cd /Volumes/SpotMore/
sh-2.05b# pwd
/Volumes/SpotMore
sh-2.05b# # Please note ls is the list command. l is a lower case L
sh-2.05b# ls -l
total 880
-rw-r--r-- 1 unknown unknown 6148 Sep 10 2010 .DS_Store
drw------- 4 unknown unknown 136 Aug 25 2010 .Spotlight-V100
drwxrwxrwt 3 unknown unknown 102 Sep 3 2010 .TemporaryItems
d-wx-wx-wt 3 unknown unknown 102 Sep 10 2010 .Trashes
drwx------ 3 unknown unknown 102 Sep 3 2010 Desktop
-rw-r--r-- 1 unknown unknown 18944 Aug 27 2010 Desktop DB
-rw-r--r-- 1 unknown unknown 2 Jul 29 2010 Desktop DF
-rwxrwxrwx 1 unknown unknown 26281 Oct 27 2009 Warranty Information.PDF
drwxr-xr-x 13 unknown unknown 442 Aug 4 2010 backup
drwxr-xr-x 13 unknown unknown 442 Aug 4 2010 backupPrior
drwxr-xr-x 7 unknown unknown 238 Aug 27 2010 cons
drwxr-xr-x 65 unknown unknown 2210 Sep 4 2010 iMac-back
... clipped ...
sh-2.05b#
sh-2.05b# cd /Volumes/Macintosh-HD/Users/mac/desktop
sh-2.05b# pwd
/Volumes/Macintosh-HD/Users/mac/desktop
sh-2.05b# # Please note ls is the list command. l is a lower case L
sh-2.05b# ls
Z2300 iMac
.DS_Store move
.FBCIndex new Belward
.FBCLockFolder primary-comments-new copy.doc
Consolidate-rc primary-comments-new.doc
Downloads psc 1200
... clipped ...
sh-2.05b# ditto -X -rsrc iMac /Volumes/SpotMore/iMac-back
sh-2.05b#
sh-2.05b# # Please note ls is the list command. l is a lower case L
sh-2.05b# ls -h /Volumes/SpotMore/iMac-back/
total 2800
-rw-r--r-- 1 unknown unknown 24K Sep 12 2010 .DS_Store
-rw-r--r-- 1 unknown unknown 2K Apr 18 2010 Differentiate Between Models .html
... clipped ...
sh-2.05b# pwd
/Volumes/Macintosh-HD/Users/mac/desktop
sh-2.05b# ls
Z2300 iMac
.DS_Store move
.FBCIndex new Belward
.FBCLockFolder primary-comments-new copy.doc
... clipped ...
sh-2.05b#

What is the Macintosh HD/private/ folder?

Hi all, lots of strange stings are happening on my Mac lately, but this may not be related.
However this folder:
I have never seen before. Can anyone elaborate on what it is, and if it's nothing to worry about - or is

There are a number of important folders used by the system that are normally hidden, and the /private folder is one of them. In your case, that folder has now become visible. This does not in itself affect its function.
There are two ways that a normally-hidden item can become visible-
1) A global change in Finder's behavior ("show all files"), such that all hidden items are now visible.
2) A specific change only to the item in question, such that it it loses its "hidden" flag and is now visible even when Finder is behaving normally.
Your screenshot of the top level of Macintosh HD shows a "normal-appearing" /private folder, and doesn't show a number of other essential items that are always there but normally hidden. I therefore think in this case we are dealing with the second issue above. This "sometimes happens" for unclear reasons.
By example, one of my own bootable disks normally looks like this in Finder's list view:
One can make all hidden items visible to Finder , as per the first case above, by using a Terminal command or by using a 3rd-party utility program. If I do this, I see:
There are many previously hidden items now visible, and they all have a dim, ghosted look, including /private.
If I reverse that global change in Finder, and instead remove the specific "hidden" flag only on the /private folder as per the second case, I instead see this:
Of the normally invisible items, only the /private folder is now visible, and it is not "ghosted" - it appears normal, as did yours. So your situation evidently corresponds to this second case, where the Finder is functioning normally but the /private folder has lost its hidden flag. As mentioned, the reason is usually unclear.
You should be able to restore the invisibility of the /private folder with this Terminal command:
sudo chflags hidden /private
However as long as you remember not to go poking around inside the /private folder, it's also OK just to leave it alone.

Find and delete private browsing history

trying to find and delete private browsing history in safari. info suggests data in safari folder, file "WebpageIcons.db". Unable to locate. any assistance appreciated.
using IMac
Mac OS X, version 10.5.8
Processaor: 2.4 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo
memory: 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

I don't have Safari 5.0.6 to test.
I haven't read the article you refer to.
You can check the home library.
~/Library/Safari/Webpageicons.db.
Finder
Click your account name in the Finder sidebar. Then open "Library".
Open Safari folder.
You will find "Webpageicons.db" there

Spotlight won't find files in user folder

i have spoken to apple tech support on this and they continue to try to find a solution but.....
i have files that spotlight doesn't find. they are in my user folder. in fact, it won't find the folder (s) one is on my desktop, one in documents. (these are just the ones i've tested). when i take the folder and just put it on the hard drive (root level), spotlight finds it. also, apparently, it can be found when i put it in the user folder of another user. i would like to avoid reinstalling the system. any thoughts??

Start with http://www.pinkmutant.com/articles/Leopard/leospot.html and my mod to Finder's Find at http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6725932 for what you can change so you can find stuff.

OS10.6 search erratic, does'nt find LIBRARY or SYSTEM folder info

I just upgraded to Snow Leopard and it generally works fine. However, when using FIND (or Spotlite) it is erratic, and skips files and folders in both Libraries and System. For example, I was seaching for 'Photosmart 3200 series' and couldn't find it. I located it, manually, in 'user/Library/Printers'.
If I moved it to another folder, other than Library, I could locate it in FIND.
The same is true for the two folders Library and System in 'This Mac" folder.
Can anyone help to solve this problem?

Hey RC-R,
I found the answers to my reply above. First, I forgot that I had put the Home Library folder in the 'Prevent' box of the Privacy panel. I deleted it and all was fine. UNTIL - I closed, then reopened the FIND function, and then could not find stuff in the three system folders. I looked carefully at the search window and realized that the the 'system files' was turned off. Apparently, I'll have to turn that item on each time when conducting searches.
Thanks alot. Even tho my name is MacIntosh, and I've had Macs since they came out, it's hard to catch up. I'm a retired engineer, and I can emphasize with those less technical.

Error in Creation of Private folder in Easy DMS

Dear Friends,
I got the following error while creating private folder for a new user.
Folder Creation failed; check the logs under SLG1 Tx for more information.
While checking SLG1 transaction in SAP I found the following info for the user:
Identification
Object________________ CIF (Core Interface Application Log Object)
Subobject_____________ T_CLAF (Classification)
External ID___________
Log number____________ 00000000000003867077
Created:
Date__________________ 20100628
Time__________________ 095056
User__________________ DMS_USER4
Transaction code______
Program_______________ SAPLCIFG
Operating mode________ D (Dialog processing)
Status:
Expiry date___________ 20100705
Keep until expiry_____
Processing status_____
Regards,
Sai Krishna

Hi Sai,
I hope that the documentation of the authorization object C_STUE_BER could be useful for you.
This authorization object allows you to restrict maintenance of bills of material.
The system checks this authorization when you call a transaction for maintaining bills of material. If the authorization group is changed while the BOM is being maintained, the system checks the authorization again.
Defined fields
The table below shows the fields and values of the authorization object.
Fields          Possible         Description
ACTVT            01               Create
(Activity)        02               Change
                        03               Display
                        06               Delete
                        24               Create archive file
                        41               Delete from database
STLTY              M              Material BOM
(BOM cat.)        E              Equipment BOM
                          D              Document structure
                          K              Sales order BOM
                          S              Standard BOM
                          T              Functional location BOM
STLAN   These values are defined in Customizing.
(BOM usage)
BEGRU        0000-ZZZZ      Used to make additional
(Authorization                     restrictions on authorizations
group)                                for maintaining individual BOMs
                                           (BOM header).
In transaction SU56 you can also display the whole authorization of an user regarding its authorizations.
Best regards,
Christoph

I have installed Adobe packages and cannot find the Acrobat extension folder please advise how can I get these applications to load onto my computer?

I have installed Adobe Creative Cloud for teams CC Packages which says that Acrobat XI Pro is installed. Your support page says it does not install Acrobat and I have to look in the Extensions folder for an MSI file. I have run a number of searches and cannot find the Acrobat extension folder please advise how can I get these applications to load onto my computer?
Also I now administer the teams and have accepted the invitation to I received to be a team member and download the apps. The admin page shows that I have been sent an invitation but does not show my account as "ACtive" unlike my other team members. I tried to use the link in the invite to accept it become active but the link displayed an error saying I had already accepted the invite... why is no account not active?
Finally what other product downloads in Creative Cloud do not actually download as part of the Creative cloud Packager for downloading the apps? e.g. acrobat and what else?

My apologies Eadeszoo I believe our support agents are unavailable on January 1.
Are you able to copy the contents of the DVD to your computer? Are you receiving any particular error messages when you are trying to install? Finally which operating system are you using?

How do I drag files in Finder to a different folder?

How do I drag files in Finder to a different folder?

First, open one Finder window, and then, open another one pressing Command and N keys.
On one window, go to the folder where the files are, and on the other one, go to the folder where you want to put your files. Choose them with the Command key (or select all if you want to transfer all of them, with Command and A keys) and drag them to the other Finder window

Finding stuff in "private" folder?

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