MobileMe: You can't change some files and folders in your iDisk
Summary
Some files and folders in your iDisk are meant for system use, you can't change or edit them (if you try to delete or rename these folders, you may see a "-36 error" message). There are other files and folders that you can edit, but you should exercise caution when doing so.
You may have folders on your iDisk that you have created. This article does not apply to those folders, and you can manage them however you wish.
Note: If you sync your iDisk, some of these folders will appear as aliases.
Products Affected
MobileMe
Some folders on your iDisk are created by MobileMe. These folders and their content help MobileMe services work. MobileMe-integrated applications such as iWeb, iPhoto, iMovie, iCal and others write data to these folders when you publish webpages, Web Galleries, calendars and other MobileMe content. Others services such as MobileMe Sync also use your iDisk to store important data on. In most cases you should not be able to rename or delete these folders because the MobileMe applications which depend on them may not work correctly.
MobileMe-created iDisk folders whose content you can modify
- Documents
- Movies
- Music
- Public
Content can be added and removed from the Documents, Movies, Music and Public folders without issue. Some third-party applications may write data to some of these folders, but in general, these folders contain your content.
MobileMe-created iDisk folders whose content you can modify with caution
- Backup
- Pictures
- Sites
- Web
iPhoto, iWeb, iMovie, Aperture, Backup, or HomePage may save files in the Pictures, Web, Backup or Sites folders. You should not delete or change these folders or their contents. If you wish to delete or change them, use the application that you originally used to add the content. iWeb, iPhoto, iMovie, Backup and HomePage all offer methods for managing the data that was published or otherwise written to iDisk. For more information, consult the built-in Help of the application you used to put the data on iDisk.
If you have added custom content via the Finder to any of these folders, you can manage that content as you wish. If you aren't sure how a file got into one of these folders, don't move or delete the file.
- Library
- Software
The Library folder is created and modified by MobileMe-integrated applications and backend services, such as MobileMe Sync. The data in this folder uses only a small amount of space and is essential for the operation of integrated MobileMe services. An example of this is MobileMe Sync, which updates the Library folder every time you sync with MobileMe. It shouldn't be necessary to interact with these files from the Finder, however, if for some reason you wish to remove your Sync Data, you can do so by using a computer running Mac OS X 10.5 or later to unregister all your computers from the MobileMe Sync Servers, then choosing to remove unused Sync data.
Important: Removing all your MobileMe Sync Data will remove the data from MobileMe Calendar, MobileMe Contacts, and from any iPhones or iPod touches you are synchronizing via MobileMe over-the-air syncing.
If you are using a third-party application that has written data to the Library folder on iDisk, and you have questions about modifying or removing that data, contact the application's vendor for additional assistance with managing its data.
The Software folder includes applications Apple makes available as a service to all MobileMe members. You can copy the contents of this folder to your computer, but you cannot modify the folder contents. This folder is not counted as part of your iDisk space allotment.