Written by
Amanda Wong
Users Folder on Mac Explained: What Is It & How to Find It?
Summary: This post is going to explain the Users folder on Mac, a folder that comes with your Mac. After reading, you will know what the Users folder is, what it contains, how to find it, and whether you can delete a user folder on Mac.
Some folders come with your Mac by default to make the Mac function well, including the Home folder, System folder, macOS Library folder, Applications folder, and the Users folder. Each of them contains different kinds of files that are needed for the Mac to perform correctly. Here, we will walk you through every aspect of the Users folder on Mac.
Table of Contents:
- 1. What is the Users folder on Mac?
- 2. How to find the Users folder on Mac?
- 3. FAQs about the Users folder on Mac
What is the Users folder on Mac?
macOS is a multiuser system that allows creating several user accounts on the same Mac computer. There are different types of user accounts such as admin account, root user, guest user, standard user, and sharing-only account.
When a new user account is added on Mac, it will generate a corresponding user folder, named similarly to the user account, it is what we called the home folder. And the Users folder is where to keep the home folders of all the people set up as users on your Mac.
Besides, the Users folder on Mac also contains a Shared folder, it can be accessed by anyone who uses the Mac. Every user on the Mac can add certain files/folders into the Shared folder to make them available for all other users. Such a feature is convenient for different Mac user accounts to share files.
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How to find the Users folder on Mac?
Some of the folders that come with your Mac such as Applications, Documents, Desktop, and Downloads provide you direct entries in Finder, while some are not. Apple hides some system folders for the sake of the security of the OS, preventing them from haphazardly changing. And you can reveal the Users folder on Mac by following the steps below:
- In Finder, click Go on the top menu bar and choose Go to Folder.
- Type /users/ in the search box and press the Enter key.
All the files and folders are stored on your startup disk, namely Macintosh HD by default, you can also find the Users folder there.
- In Finder's left sidebar, find and select Macintosh HD.
- Tap on the Users folder to open it.
After you get into the User folder, you can see all the user folders there with their usernames. And the folder with a house icon is your user folder(home folder), you can access it and edit the files contained. As for other user folders, they are protected by their own passwords, if you try to open the folders, it prompts an error message "The folder 'xx' can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents."
In addition to your own user folder, there is another folder you can access, the Shared folder, as we have mentioned above. If you want to share files with other users on the Mac, you can add them to this Shared folder, just directly drag and drop the files to the Shared folder, then other users can access them when logged in to the Mac.
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FAQs about the Users folder on Mac
A
After you go to the user folder on Mac, you can add your own user folder(home folder) to the Favorites section of the Finder's left sidebar, so that you can easily access and manage it if necessary. Just drag and drop the user folder under the Favorites. Also, you can go ahead to Finder > Preferences > Sidebar, and check the box of your user name to always show the user folder in Finder.
A
It contains to part to change the name of a user folder on a Mac. Firstly, you should find your own user folder with your user name, then rename the folder. Secondly, follow the steps below to rename the user account:
1. Log out of the user account you will rename and then log in to another account.
2. Select the Apple menu > System Preferences > Users & Groups.
3. Click the lock icon and enter the admin account to unlock to make changes.
4. Right-click the user you are going to rename and then click Advanced Options.
5. Rename the user name to match it the same as the name of the home folder.
6. Click OK to save your changes and reboot your Mac.
7. Log in to the renamed user account with the unchanged password.
A
You can delete a user folder if you are logged in as an admin user. And you should certainly make sure you know what you are doing. Deleting a user folder will remove all the contents under the name of the user, in this way, it can free up more space on your Mac. Or, you can navigate to the Apple menu > Users & Groups, then use the - button to delete a certain user, and choose to delete the home folder when it asks.
