1

I'm on 10.6.2, all patched up and pretty. I am an admin user. I put all my applications in /Applications.

Yet, every now and then an empty ~/Applications folder pops up. (Well, not strictly empty, it has a .localized file.)

Why why why?

Please make it stop.

7
  • 1
    Why not go with the friendly suggestion and start putting your apps in ~/Applications ? That's what I do.
    – Thilo
    Dec 10, 2009 at 6:18
  • I'm guessing a specific application is putting it there. Can you gather any more information from the .localized file or anything?
    – jtbandes
    Dec 10, 2009 at 8:13
  • Man, Mac users have to suffer this annoyance too? It's my filesystem, stupid applications, I'll decide whether I want to call the folder I put production work in “My Videos” (tip: no).
    – bobince
    Dec 10, 2009 at 12:36
  • 1
    Do you have CrossOver installed? When I install some window apps with CrossOver it puts them in ~/Applications Dec 10, 2009 at 15:05
  • .localized is standard in system folders. They names appear localized in the Finder if you use another language. (Double annoying, that)
    – kch
    Dec 11, 2009 at 14:00

3 Answers 3

2

What I'd try is emptying ~/Applications completely by deleting and re-creating the folder, then attaching a folder action to it that pops an alert whenever something is added to it (there's one already in /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/). That, and perhaps checking the Console when an item is added (/Applications/Utilities/Console), should tell you whodunnit.

2
  • Nice idea! Care to add an answer about the folder action to "Find out which app created a file?" at superuser.com/questions/69682/find-out-which-app-created-a-file as well?
    – Arjan
    Jan 11, 2010 at 9:42
  • Sounds good, but nothing ever gets added to ~/Applications, so what I should do instead is remove it, and add the Folder Action to my home folder, waiting for the Applications folder to be created.
    – kch
    Feb 12, 2010 at 17:05
1

Have you installed Adobe Air on your computer? If you have that is most likely the cause of the newly created folder.

1
  • I don't think so. But Adobe is sneaky. Do they force it on you with CS? What traces of it can I look for? I might have run an Air-based application. (And immediately deleted it because of TEH UGLY, but I digress.)
    – kch
    Dec 11, 2009 at 14:03
0

If it is created quite often, then maybe fseventer can help finding what creates it?

(See also Find out which app created a file? for other hints, like sudo opensnoop)

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .