[Superchicken]

OK, call me a control freak, but the fact that Apple works put it's user info in the documents folder (bad example Apple!) was enough to make me vow to never use the App again. That said I recently bought FCE. And it insists on putting a Final Cut Express folder in my documents folder, even if you set the scratch disk and everything else to go to a different folder it STILL creates a new one.

So I'm just wondering, is there anything you can do to force apps to not be able to make folders in certain places?

[Big Mac]

Unless the program allows you to change the setting, I suppose you'd have to run it from a different user so that it would not have access to your ~/ folders. But that probably doesn't help.

[Randman]

Don't use the application.

[CharlesS]

You could probably move the folder somewhere else, drop an alias (or a symlink if it's a non-Carbon app) to the folder in the Documents folder, and then set the Invisible flag on the alias.

[Superchicken]

As I said, this is Final Cut Express... I just paid 200 bucks for it. I don't exactly have the option of not using it when I'm working on video projects.

[Randman]

Have you tried locking the folder? Or just living with it?

[pat++]

What I did for Microsoft User Data folder created in Documents is that I set the invisible attribute on the folder so that I don't see it anymore in the Finder.

[MartiNZ]

That's a good idea. With Office v.X you could actually get it to respect your decision to put the folder in Application support or so, but they seem to have gotten rid of that 'bug' (presumably ) with 2004.

[Art Vandelay]

You can safely move the Microsoft User Data folder to ~/Library/Preferences. This works with Office v.X and 2004.

[CharlesS]

I think the default actually changed to ~/Library/Preferences in 2004, because that's where mine is, and I don't remember moving it.

[MartiNZ]

Genius. Mine for 2004 has been in ~/Documents, causing me much annoyance, since conception ... until now! Don't know why I didn't think of trying ~/Library/Preferences, but it seems to be coping with it there. Brilliant .

As for FCE having such an issue, I think it's just another example of Apple not following their own standards – like with requiring Applications to stay in particular folders in order for updates to work! And with the non-standard functionality of the 'toolbar' widget in the Finder, and with the inconsistent and incomprehensible seemingly random application of the growing number of user interfaces to new applications, and ... and ... that'll do for now .

[Superchicken]

Gah this is frustrating. By the way making it invisible doesn't work. And locking it would be fine sept that still leaves it in the folder.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by Superchicken

Gah this is frustrating. By the way making it invisible doesn't work. And locking it would be fine sept that still leaves it in the folder.

Did you try moving it somewhere and leaving an alias/symlink in its place, and making the alias invisible?

I can't guarantee that will work, but it's worth a try.

[Franz]

Originally Posted by pat++

What I did for Microsoft User Data folder created in Documents is that I set the invisible attribute on the folder so that I don't see it anymore in the Finder.

How do you do this? I'm assuming by using the Terminal or something?

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by Franz

How do you do this? I'm assuming by using the Terminal or something?

If you have the Classic environment, you can use ResEdit (I like this, because it makes it easy to select an alias rather than the original file), or you can use one of many OS X utilities designed for this. One such utility that I like is XRay, which you can find on VersionTracker or MacUpdate (it's shareware; I think $10. It's not bad).

[Tee]

Document Crusader

[Franz]

Originally Posted by Tee

Document Crusader

Perfect! That's exactly what I wanted and it works great. Thanks a lot.