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Tidy up the Applications folder with symbolic links System
I'm a big fan of Mac OS X's ".app" package format for applications. Under OS 9, all but the simplest applications had their own folder inside the Applications folder, so getting to anything required extra clicks or extra contextual menus. These days, you can open most applications with just a double-click from the Applications folder.

There are a few notable exceptions, however, and interestingly they are mostly Apple spin-offs. AppleWorks, FileMaker Pro and the Microsoft family (we'll count Microsoft as a spin-off because Windows owes a lot to Mac OS) all hide their applications in a sub-folder of the Applications folder. The Macromedia family also follow this pattern.

Ideally, to remedy this one would simply place the application folder in /Library -> Application Support, and drag the application itself back to /Applications. However, many of these applications misplace their templates, plug-ins and support files, and the particularly iconoclastic programs (i.e. Excel, PowerPoint and Word) refuse to even start up when you do this.

To overcome the limitations in these programs, I dragged each folder over to /Library -> Application Support/, and then created symbolic links to the applications in /Applications. One could also use aliases, but if you replace the program with a new version, the symlink will still resolve to the correct file (assuming it has the same name of course).

To create symlinks from the terminal type (as an admin user):

ln -s /Library/Application\ Support/AppleWorks/AppleWorks.app/ /Applications/
ln -s /Library/Application\ Support/FileMaker\ Pro/FileMaker\ Pro.app/ /Applications/
ln -s /Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft\ Office/Microsoft\ Word/ /Applications/
etc...
Also be sure to remove any versioning information in the names before hand (e.g. a sym link to FileMaker Pro 6 won't work when you replace it with an app called FileMaker Pro 7).

[robg adds: If you use this hint, you might also wish to implement this one, which should force installers to follow your symbolic links -- in case they ever update any of these applications.]
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Tidy up the Applications folder with symbolic links
Authored by: Eravau on Nov 27, '03 08:07:29PM

I, on the other hand, would like a hint to make the installer (and Software Update) search sub-folders within the /Applications folder in order to see what needs updated. As much fun as it would be to have all 191 of the applications on my hard drive at the base level of my /Applications folder...I like to be organized (a folder for Graphics tools...one for Internet tools, etc.). I love the "old" days where the OS knew where the apps were...even if they weren't all sitting at the root of the /Applications directory. I like to be organized without the OS getting in a tizzy.



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Tidy up the Applications folder with symbolic links
Authored by: robarmo on Nov 27, '03 10:12:50PM

I agree that the .app idea is a great one and not always used to its full potential.

However, moving all your applications and putting symlinks in their place sounds like more work than necessary, especially if you've be a got a lot off apps, and/or could cause unforseen problems when updating in the future.

Wouldn't it be simpler to just create an alternative Applications (& Utilities) folder, containing aliases of the applications you want to include? I keep it in my Home folder. You can organise the aliases into sub folders until your heart's content. I mix applications installed for my own use with aliases of the ones installed for all users. I've added it to my dock so I can right-click to get a contextual menu of all my applications in categories. (Am I right in thinking that Panther users could also add it to the Finder's sidebar?)

Don't forget that this approach would also allow individual users to organize the applications to their own preferences, and all done through the GUI!

Hope that helps someone.

Rob.



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Tidy up the Applications folder with symbolic links
Authored by: dkulp on Nov 28, '03 12:34:08AM

Yes, in Panther, just put your applications folder in your Sidebar (aka Favorites in OS X.2).



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Tidy up the Applications folder with symbolic links
Authored by: leenoble_uk on Nov 28, '03 10:12:25AM

I have to agree, that sounds like the best approach.
Waaay back in OS9 days I used to organise my applications into subfolders (Graphics, Sound, Video, Utilities, etc) but in the end I gave up and reverted to one folder for all because it just got in the way. If you know you're looking for an application called Foo. You have to think, now what type of application is Foo and then open that folder and find Foo. If I know what something's called I can find it easily within an alphabetical list.
Then again, if I know what it's called I can just do Cmd-Space and type the first few letters and LaunchBar will find it for me.

But if you don't have launchbar, then using the aliases in your own applications folder seems like a good solution. You can also put the same app in a few different categories of course which would make finding Foo a little easier.

---
So, I said ... well, I can't actually remember exactly what I said. But it was one of the most enormously cruel and frighteningly witty put downs ever.



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Tidy up the Applications folder with symbolic links
Authored by: biggyfishy on Nov 28, '03 01:12:21AM

I have submitted a hint about making things invisible to do the same sort of thing. I assume it'll appear soon.

I like to keep everything in subfolders of /Applications/, so I made all of the items that I wanted elsewhere invisible and made aliases in the places I wanted them.



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Tidy up the Applications folder with symbolic links
Authored by: dwt on Nov 28, '03 11:29:34AM

I recommend to use an Alias for the task at hand.

You said that an alias woldn't follow to an replaced app, though this is not correct.

An Alias always tries the path first and only if that fails recovers to the inode information it too stores.

So replacing one app for another works great with an alias too, just try it.

cu Martin

p.s.: To solve the organisational problem I recommend LaunchBar from OBDev though.



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