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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Operating System
iCloud versus iCloud Drive Confusion
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<blockquote data-quote="Rod" data-source="post: 1951421" data-attributes="member: 204485"><p>Sorry, but what you turned on is iCloud Drive Sync. Turning it off again will return the Desktop and Documents folders to the Finder sidebar but they will be empty.</p><p>Ensure in Finder Settings that iCloud Drive is displaying (ticked).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]40369[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Select iCloud drive and you will find a Desktop and Documents folder within. Thats where all your files are now.</p><p></p><p>You can have iCloud Drive on without the above happening if you don't use Sync but, with Sync on the same contents will be available to all your devices eg. in the Files app on iPhone and iPad. Sync means any changes made to any file on any device will be mirrored on all devices.</p><p></p><p>There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods it's up to you to choose which works best for your needs.</p><p></p><p>If you want to return the system to the way it was;</p><p></p><p>So, this is basically just a drag an drop process. I will assume that iCloud Drive appears in the sidebar of the computer in question, if not make it so.</p><p></p><p>First you need to turn off sync Documents & Desktop Folders in System settings.</p><p></p><p>This as Apple explains recreates those folders in the Finder sidebar but they are empty.</p><p></p><p>Now open a second Finder window and in that window open iCloud Drive.</p><p></p><p>Locate either the Documents or Desktop Folder, you have to do this to both so let's say you open the Documents folder first.</p><p></p><p>Select all of the contents in that folder and drag them to the empty Documents folder in the first (local) Finder window, you may want to open it so you can see what's happening, it may take a little time, some of the files will be greyed out until they have downloaded.</p><p></p><p>Now your local Documents folder is populated with the contents of the Documents folder in iCloud Drive.</p><p></p><p>Now do the same thing for the Desktop folder.</p><p></p><p>Once that is done and it could take a little while because you may be downloading a lot of data, (I advise you compare the folders to ensure that all of the files in each of the Documents and Desktop folders are the same as the iCloud Drive versions), you can go ahead and delete the iCloud Drive versions of the Documents and Desktop folders or at least their contents.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rod, post: 1951421, member: 204485"] Sorry, but what you turned on is iCloud Drive Sync. Turning it off again will return the Desktop and Documents folders to the Finder sidebar but they will be empty. Ensure in Finder Settings that iCloud Drive is displaying (ticked). [ATTACH alt="Screenshot 2025-05-22 at 15.43.05.png"]40369[/ATTACH] Select iCloud drive and you will find a Desktop and Documents folder within. Thats where all your files are now. You can have iCloud Drive on without the above happening if you don't use Sync but, with Sync on the same contents will be available to all your devices eg. in the Files app on iPhone and iPad. Sync means any changes made to any file on any device will be mirrored on all devices. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods it's up to you to choose which works best for your needs. If you want to return the system to the way it was; So, this is basically just a drag an drop process. I will assume that iCloud Drive appears in the sidebar of the computer in question, if not make it so. First you need to turn off sync Documents & Desktop Folders in System settings. This as Apple explains recreates those folders in the Finder sidebar but they are empty. Now open a second Finder window and in that window open iCloud Drive. Locate either the Documents or Desktop Folder, you have to do this to both so let's say you open the Documents folder first. Select all of the contents in that folder and drag them to the empty Documents folder in the first (local) Finder window, you may want to open it so you can see what's happening, it may take a little time, some of the files will be greyed out until they have downloaded. Now your local Documents folder is populated with the contents of the Documents folder in iCloud Drive. Now do the same thing for the Desktop folder. Once that is done and it could take a little while because you may be downloading a lot of data, (I advise you compare the folders to ensure that all of the files in each of the Documents and Desktop folders are the same as the iCloud Drive versions), you can go ahead and delete the iCloud Drive versions of the Documents and Desktop folders or at least their contents. [/QUOTE]
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Apple Computing Products:
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iCloud versus iCloud Drive Confusion
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