Relocate a folder to an external drive

[tomg35]

Is it possible, on MacOS to move a folder ( for example pictures or music) from its normal location to an external hard drive?

I know you can do it in Windows, but unsure about Mac's.

Thanks

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[ferrarr]

It may depend on which macOS you are using.

I do know it was possible previously, but haven't needed to do it recently.

See if this article helps,

Move or Manage the Music, Apple TV, and Podcasts Libraries

Move and manage the library files used by the Music, Apple TV, and Podcasts apps. With these tips, you can move your media libraries to just about anywhere.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[tomg35]

Sorry, Big Sur

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[toMACsh]

It also depends on the folder. If it's one you created, there should be no problem.

 

[tomg35]

It'd probably be music and or pictures

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[IWT]

In that case, Bob's Link will deal with the Music side of things (Post #2) and this Link will deal with your Photos Library: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201517

Ian

 

[tomg35]

Thank you

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[MacInWin]

For a generic folder, not associated with Music or Photos, all you need to do is right click on the folder, select Copy, then navigate to the desired location and Right click and select Paste and wait for the move to be made. The reason moving Music and Photos is a bit more tricky is that the two Apps have databases that either store the music and pictures, or store the location of the music and pictures when they were imported into the App. So if you move the music or picture files, the databases won't know where you put them. To keep it working, you have to tell the App where you moved the files and folders.

 

[MarkAllread]

I can't say that this works on Big Sur but it does on Mojave and earlier versions of OSX. If it can be done using the above recommendations, I'd do it that way, but this info may be useful for other folders.

I have used Symbolic links for years. My Documents, Pictures, Downloads and many large DAW and audio files are stored on a hard drive, while my OS is on an SSD. My OS SSD drive has only about 150 GB (It also has all my apps on it), while the other hard drive has about 300GB of files. The reason I did this was to create my own "Fusion" drive without really having to create an "official" one and use a small SSD. Bear in mind that if you are using an external drive, it will be slower than internal.

I probably should have used aliases as these are more robust, but when I started doing this years ago, I got advice to use Symbolic links and I've stuck to them so far but have plans to try aliases instead.
Aliases are much easier to create than Symbolic Links and don't need the terminal (or special app) to create so I'd avoid them and give this a try with aliases.

Preference of course is to use the other input above and use the app to re-locate first if that will give you the result you need. You won't need to change any apps though if the alias method works, because the alias behaves just like it was the original folder.

It takes a while to set it all up but after that it has worked well for me.
If you are going to try it, make sure you have a backup and try it on one folder only first, preferably one with not much in it. I find that renaming the folder you want to move instead of deleting it is a safe method, you can delete it later, and remember that the alias should be of your TARGET folder, not the one you are replacing.

caveats:
- I don't use Big Sur so someone else can advise whether or not it has reasons why this won't work.
- Make backups of the folder you are moving before deleting the original
- If you are not comfortable with this, just stick to the advice given above.
- edit: Not sure about this but if the external drive with your stuff on it is not connected, the alias has nothing to point to and your system may just re-create the folder if it needs it, putting you back to square one.

?I thought twice about posting this, but I've written it now...please take it FWIW.

 

[tomg35]

Thank you.

I'll keep it as a backup plan in case the other options prove an issue.

I can't say that this works on Big Sur but it does on Mojave and earlier versions of OSX. If it can be done using the above recommendations, I'd do it that way, but this info may be useful for other folders.

I have used Symbolic links for years. My Documents, Pictures, Downloads and many large DAW and audio files are stored on a hard drive, while my OS is on an SSD. My OS SSD drive has only about 150 GB (It also has all my apps on it), while the other hard drive has about 300GB of files. The reason I did this was to create my own "Fusion" drive without really having to create an "official" one and use a small SSD. Bear in mind that if you are using an external drive, it will be slower than internal.

I probably should have used aliases as these are more robust, but when I started doing this years ago, I got advice to use Symbolic links and I've stuck to them so far but have plans to try aliases instead.
Aliases are much easier to create than Symbolic Links and don't need the terminal (or special app) to create so I'd avoid them and give this a try with aliases.

Preference of course is to use the other input above and use the app to re-locate first if that will give you the result you need. You won't need to change any apps though if the alias method works, because the alias behaves just like it was the original folder.

It takes a while to set it all up but after that it has worked well for me.
If you are going to try it, make sure you have a backup and try it on one folder only first, preferably one with not much in it. I find that renaming the folder you want to move instead of deleting it is a safe method, you can delete it later, and remember that the alias should be of your TARGET folder, not the one you are replacing.

caveats:
- I don't use Big Sur so someone else can advise whether or not it has reasons why this won't work.
- Make backups of the folder you are moving before deleting the original
- If you are not comfortable with this, just stick to the advice given above.
- edit: Not sure about this but if the external drive with your stuff on it is not connected, the alias has nothing to point to and your system may just re-create the folder if it needs it, putting you back to square one.

I thought twice about posting this, but I've written it now...please take it FWIW.

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