Mac 101: The two Applications folders
Mac users quickly come to know the /Applications/ directory, where you will find all of the default applications that come with OS X (Safari, Mail, iChat, Preview, iCal and so on), as well as the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities/), where more advanced users get to know Activity Monitor, Terminal, Network Utility, Airport Utility, Spaces and more.
If you have run an installer -- such as for iLife, iWork, Microsoft Office and so on‚ more than likely that installer has added programs to the /Applications/ folder. The /Applications/ folder is also usually linked to when you mount a disk image (those files that end with .dmg), encouraging you to drag applications to the /Applications/ directory. The Applications folder is also in the sidebar of the Finder.
But some other users use a second Applications directory in their Home folder: ~/Applications/. Why keep two separate sets of Applications?
Maybe it would help to think of /Applications/ like a public library: everyone gets to use what's in there; whereas apps stored in ~/Applications/ are just for you. Some people prefer to keep their /Applications/ directory as clean as possible, and having a separate directory for your personal apps lets you do that easily.
Now, of course you don't need to store all your applications in /Applications/ or in ~/Applications/. You can keep them anywhere you want, but just like it's easier to keep all your pictures in ~/Pictures/ and all your music in ~/Music/, it's easier to keep all your applications in one (or two) places. It helps to make sure that you don't end up with two versions of the same application. Not to mention that when you need to find an app, you'll know where it is.
Finally, here's a tip that falls a little bit outside the Mac 101 purview, but that you might find useful anyway. Personally, I use /Applications only for the default applications, apps which come with installers and Dropbox. My ~/Applications/ folder is actually a link to ~/Dropbox/Applications/ where I keep all my other applications, which don't require installers. That way I have all of my apps on all of my folders, and when an application needs to be updated, I only have to update it once. I've been doing this for more than six months and have not had any problems. That said, if you decide to do that, do so at your own risk. When you are done working on one computer, quit all apps, logout or shut down the computer to minimize the chance of running the same app at the same time on different computers.
The Applications folder is a powerful element of the OS X interface -- there's a lot of benefit and possibility in keeping all of the Applications on your Mac in just one or two places.
Below: the ~/Applications/ directory, which is in the Home directory for your user account.
And here, below, we see the /Applications/ directory, nestled just inside your Macintosh HD itself, or at the "top" of the hierarchy. These are applications available to all users.
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Mac users quickly come to know the /Applications/ directory, where you will find all of the default applications that come with OS X...
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I've used the ~/Applications folder for years. Makes it really easy on portable profiles; fewer Apps to download and add after moving to a new system or reinstalling an OS.
I'd really like to see Apple move to a unioned Applications folder system in the 10.7 Finder. Basically, when I click on Applications in the Sidebar or hit Command-Shift-A, the result would be a union of both ~/Applications and /Applications. By default, when I copy an app to that folder it would be added to ~/Applications. This seems to me to be a more "unixy" way of doing things.
Then again, I'd also like them to adopt the Libraries feature of Windows 7. Not holding my breath for that tho.
Actually, syncing your Applications folder in Dropbox is not recommended. The .apps each consist of a number of files, and large Applications folders add up to a very large number of files which can cause performance issues, especially on older hardware.
December 04 2010 at 12:45 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI keep my personal application separate from Apple’s because more than once an OS update has hosed third-party applications, including one upgrade which completely wiped the folder clean of anything BUT 1st party apps. So I’d rather have them in my home folder where Apple has decided never to meddle.
December 04 2010 at 12:45 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyFrank, I couldn't have said it better...or funnier. LOL!
December 03 2010 at 11:00 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply("despite", not "delayed")
December 03 2010 at 4:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySee: Mac App Store.
This convoluted mish-mosh of installations:
Installers
Apps coded poorly that expect to be in an Applications folder
Drag and drop from a mounted dmg
Unzip then drag into Applications
I'm sure there are others I'm neglecting...This is one of the fundamental problems the App store is designed to address. Because you're right: a novice just doesn't get it.
Josh, I agree completely. Having multiple Applications folders is fine for tech geeks (which is most of the people on this forum), but for the average consumer, it's a bad idea. I've helped many clients who have moved apps out of the default location, and suddenly their apps don't work or update properly.
I also HATE that Skype and Firefox and others don't have an installer. The vast majority of clients we serve do not have any idea how to move those apps to the Applications folder, delayed the giant arrow Skype and Firefox present them with. Developers are not in touch with the average user, and don't realize this.
Any Apple IT person would tell you that storing applications "anywhere you want" is a really bad idea. Some applications specifically want to be put into the the/an Application folder to function properly.
Side note -- I still find it humorous when I see a dmg mount itself on the desktop when I click on my customers' firefox shortcut in the dock. (that and skype)
Only poorly designed apps will require residence in a specific filesystem location. The whole point of bundles (such as applications) is to be path agnostic; code and resources can be accessed from a path relative to the bundle without needing to know (or care about) the actual absolute location of the app.
December 03 2010 at 9:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyJesse, it is not so much issues with accessing the app, but rather when it come time to update/upgrade the app to a new version. Many installers, and Software Update itself, require that the older app be in a specific place for the update to proceed. Otherwise, you are correct if you never expect to update the app.
December 04 2010 at 5:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWeird timing for this article. I got tired of double-clicking on the ~/Applications/ folder and seeing nothing inside, then going to the sidebar instead. I deleted the empty folder.
Mistake?
No, not a mistake. You can safely delete that 2nd Applications folder if there is nothing inside of it. It is easily recreated when needed later (See my comment above).
December 04 2010 at 5:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAnother point not mentioned is that if you don't have admin rights on the computer, you cannot install apps into /Applications/ but you can still install them to ~/Applications/
December 03 2010 at 1:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI have a Mac Mini running Leopard but it doesn't have the second Applications folder (the one within my Home folder). This is the only computer I have without it and I can't figure out how to get it or what happened to it. I created a folder that serves the same purpose, but I'd like to have the fancy Applications icon (silly, I know). Any suggestions on how to either 1) make the folder I created look like the actual Applications folder or 2) get the actual Applications folder back?
Thanks!
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