Resolving Unexpected Behavior on a Mac by Redirecting the Data Folder

What might cause these symptoms?

Keeping the Data folder downloaded

The following steps apply to systems running macOS Sequoia (15) and newer.

1. Open the Finder app or click once in an open area on the Desktop to make Finder the active application.
   
   
   
2. From the menu bar, click Go> iCloud Drive.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Open the Documents folder in iCloud Drive.
   
   
   
4. Right-click on the Data folder, then click Keep Downloaded.
   
   

   Hold down the Control key while clicking to initiate a right-click command. More information about right-click commands on Apple input devices can be found in the following Apple resource: Right-click on Mac.
   

   Note: Depending on the size of the Data folder and your internet speed, it may take some time for its contents to finish downloading.
   
   
   
   
   

Creating a local Data folder

In macOS Sonoma (14) and prior, files synced to iCloud Drive don't have the option to stay downloaded. Instead, you will need to create a Data folder outside of Documents and iCloud Drive to prevent the behavior and issues mentioned above from occurring. In this example, we will be using the Home/User folder. The new folder must then be mapped within the Chief Architect program's Preferences, which is discussed in the next section.

1. Open the Finder app or click once in an open area on the Desktop to make Finder the active application.
   
   
   
2. From the menu bar, click Go> Home.
   
   
   
   
   
3. From the menu bar, click File> New Folder.
    
   The name of the new folder will be your program version with the first letter of each word capitalized, followed by the word "Data". In this example, a Data folder is created for Chief Architect Premier X16, so the folder name is: Chief Architect Premier X16 Data
   
   
   
   

Specifying the location of the Data folder in Preferences

1. Open Chief Architect or Home Designer. From the menu bar, click Chief Architect/Home Designer> Preferences .
   
   
   
2. On the Folders panel of the Preferences dialog:
   
   
   
   
   
   • Click Browse to the right of the My Data Folder file path and select the new Data folder that was created in the section above.
     
     If the Data folder was placed in the Home/User folder, the file path after selecting the new Data folder will be: /Users/username/Chief Architect Premier X16 Data/
     
     
   • After specifying the correct folder location, click OK.
   
   
   
3. In Chief Architect X14, Home Designer 2023, and newer versions, a message will display asking: "Do you want to copy library files from the old User Library Folder to the new folder? Any files of the same name in the newly selected folder will be overwritten." This message refers to the  contents of the User Catalog folder in the Library Browser, so if you want to copy those files to the new Data folder, click Yes. Otherwise, click No.
   
   
   
4. A message will display stating: "Changing the user data folder requires a relaunch in order for all the changes to take effect. The data from your old user data folder will not be copied to the new location, the new folder will be reset to factory defaults." Click OK, then quit and reopen the application.
   
   
   Note: If you notice that you're now missing your templates, toolbars, or other data that you had previously customized, please see the "Backing up Chief Architect Content" and "Restoring Chief Architect Content" resources located in the Related Articles section below to learn how to copy and paste these particular files into the new Data folder.
   
   Additionally, if you had previously changed the plan and layout template file paths located on the New Plans panel of the Preferences dialog, you may need to revisit this panel and use the Browse button next to each option to reference the template file(s) that are located in the local Data folder.