Should I have 2 "Library" directories?

O

OrganLeroy

Registered
I'm running OS X 10.2.6, and I notice that I have two "Library" directories.

One is at mycomputer>Library.

The other is at mycomputer>Users>myusername>Library.

I notice that the two directories have a lot of similar sub-directories, and I'm wondering if this setup is liable to confuse any apps I run.

Since I'm the only user on my computer, should I consolidate everything into
mycomputer>Users>myusername>Library ?
 
No, you most certainly should not. :)
As far as I know, ~/Library is for stuff which is specific to that user, e.g. Preference Panes, Screen Savers, Fonts, etc. that you don't want other users to access. Things like your Mail.app mailboxes are also stored there.
/Library is for things like that that you want to be available for all the users of that computer. I think (though I am not sure of this) that there also may be some OS things in there too.
There is actually a third Library folder, /System/Library. This is where most OS things that are not invisible are stored. You can't even modify this folder without using the root account or the terminal.
In short, they are all the same folder, but ~/Library is for your user, /Library is for the everyone, and /System/Library is for the computer.
 
Yes, there should be at least two library directories.

One applies to all users of the computer, and it resides in the root \Library folder.

There is also a library folder for each user of the machine, and this is kept in the ~/Library folder for each user.

Do not delete or consolidate these folders. There is a reason they are separate.
 
Hmm... Then let me say it again, but in other words. ;-)

Don't mess with a UNIX' system directory structure. Yep, it's very un-Macintosh, but basically, Steve Jobs, by bringing us Mac OS X, told us: "Please keep your fingers in your home folder, or even better: In your Documents folder."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top