Many Folders Not Showing In Finder Sidebar - Simple Solutions Already Tried

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Many Folders Not Showing In Finder Sidebar - Simple Solutions Already Tried

I've checked the boxes, checked this isn't related to the OneDrive gotcha, updated OS (now 11.7.2) even run a terminal command per another thread to unhide the potentially hidden... no dice.

How do I get all these folders that are checked to show up (documents, downloads, etc)? Hopefully it's a simple error on my part, but this feels buggy as can be. Don't want anything to do with iCloud, etc. Simple, simple quality is the desire.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Dec 26, 2022 03:12 PM

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Answer 1

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Duke614 Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 28, 2022 04:02 PM in response to OrigamiFan1

The disappearing carrot (^) next to the Favorites text in the sidebar may be a UX feature contributing to the problem here. I was looking under the "Locations" entry and expecting to see the referenced folders there (originally pasted a screenshot into these messages but the system blocked the post). Point I'm getting at is after hovering next to Favorites, the carrot appearing, and expanding it, the referenced folders are present and functional. Perhaps that's all it was all along, assuming nothing "Locations" isn't supposed to include folders.

So perhaps a happy ending here, thank you all for helping.

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Answer 2

racheals14

Community Specialist

Dec 28, 2022 08:32 AM in response to Duke614

Hello Duke614,

This isn't expected behavior, and we'd like to work with you to isolate the behavior a bit more. First, let's check to see if these items appear in the Finder sidebar when your Mac is in safe mode. When you start up in safe mode, your Mac prevents certain software from loading. How to use safe mode on your Mac will walk you through starting up in safe mode, along with what to do based on the results.

"Intel processor

Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.
Release the key when you see the login window, then log in to your Mac.
You might be asked to log in again. On either the first or second login window, you should see ”Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner of the window."

From there, if the items appear in Finder while your Mac is in safe mode, continue with the steps under the "If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode" section of the link above.

We look forward to hearing the results.

Regards.

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Answer 3

Dec 28, 2022 01:19 PM in response to Duke614

Duke614,

Thanks for the information. When checking the 'Favorites' section are you seeing any folders listed? The 'Add a folder or disk to the sidebar' bullet in the article here has the steps to help: Customize the Finder toolbars on Mac

There's also some helpful information in a different post with a similar issue here: Finder sidebar icons not showing correctly

If you've attempted those steps and the issue remains, reach out to Apple Support directly to further assist.

Contact Apple Support

Contact Apple for support and service

Best.

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Answer 4

Duke614 Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 28, 2022 12:58 PM in response to racheals14

Thank you for the technical reply racheals14.

As an FYI, I also did disk repairs (Disk Utility --> Run First Aid on each drive listed) prior to your message and the issue remains.

Result of your suggestion:

I booted into safe mode, and safe mode was in fact indicated in the upper right corner of the UI.
I opened Finder and observed that the Locations section did not include the expected folders (only an entry with the computer name and the hard drive name).

Ready for next proposed step... and again thank you.

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Answer 5

R_Gabriel

Community Specialist

Dec 28, 2022 04:17 PM in response to Duke614

Hi Duke614,

We are glad to hear it's working now. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to reach out in Apple Support Communities.

Kindest regards!

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Many Folders Not Showing In Finder Sidebar - Simple Solutions Already Tried

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