Making Alias folders

[Falisa Rabozzi]

I have made the Alias folders, and I selected the folders I wanted to go to one of my alias folders, I highlighted, dragged and dropped them, but they are still on my desktop as well as in the alias folder.  How do I deal with the ones that are still on my desktop. 2nd question, goes for the attached photo. What do I do here? 

[Brian]

So let's start with this:

Where are the original folders? Can you post a screenshot of your desktop?

Are these folders on the Cloud? I'm wondering if iCloud is complaining because you moved stuff. I'm thinking the answer is "Move" in this case. You might want to post a screenshot of your iCloud folder here in this thread.

[Falisa Rabozzi]

I assume they are in the cloud. This is my desktop screenshot. Do you want me to log into my cloud and post that screenshot?

[Falisa Rabozzi]

Will it not save my Alias folders to the iCloud?

[Brian]

8 hours ago, Falisa Rabozzi said:

Will it not save my Alias folders to the iCloud?

The simple answer is this: No.

The long answer is: I've seen people try to upload all of their data into iCloud Folders and then try to create aliases from these folders. Often, they will try to put these Aliases on the Desktop, but the problem is, it will not sync the way you think it does. Aliases have been around since 1984, and in reality if you want to setup Aliases, you need to create them from the local iCloud Folders stored on your HD. That's right, you can not treat / think your iCloud as an External HD, it's a "Cloud" Service. When you upload images to iCloud, it also stores a file locally on your computer and keeps tabs on that folder. Any changes that happen and it will sync. So this is probably why iCloud is freaking out and asking you if you want to delete photos off of iCloud, since those same files are also stored on your computer and are being moved. Make sense?

iCloud is just a "Save Game" feature in case if something goes horribly wrong. It isn't "Storage," not in the traditional sense. You might have to turn off Syncing with these folders first, before you start moving things. If you haven't already, get an External Hard Drive and MOVE ALL OF THAT CRAP OFF OF YOUR DESKTOP. I see "Weddings" and Soccer Photos, Headshots and the like. Remember, as far as the MacOS is concerned, EACH OF THOSE FILES YOU ARE STORING ON THE DESKTOP ARE CONSIDERED TO BE "OPEN WINDOWS." (For lack of a better term.) So if you have 1000 photos and .psd files from the Smith-Jones Wedding and 3000 photos from the Soccer Tournament, all of those images are being treated as being "Open," even if you aren't using them and they are just sitting on the desktop. This is why your Mac seems so "Slow."

I'd forget about Aliases now. That's the last step. Let's get your data in its new home first and tell iCloud to shut up. (Disable Automatic Syncing.)