Deleted downloads, documents and desktop folder

maximus153:

Since you haven’t responded to my enquiries about what you see when you create a new user, on your system, without an Apple ID, I’ve done some testing on my own system:

1. Both Users with and without Apple IDs get the «downloads, documents and desktop folder[s]». The only difference is whether those folders are on the Local hard-drive, or on the iCloud Drive.
2. Only the Users without Apple IDs will actually see their Desktop and Documents directories in the Finder, when they Go -> Home!
3. Both sorts of Users will see a Downloads folder, but, for Apple ID users, this will be a separate folder from their iCloud Drive:Downloads folder.
4. Even though the Finder does not show the Desktop and Documents directories in the Finder, for Apple ID Users, those folders actually exist, there, and can be seen using a Terminal window, running the ls (that’s lower case ‘ell’ and ‘ess’, short for ‘list’) command.

Does any of this help?

maximus153:

Of course you can create such folders, without iCloud.

(There may be some folder settings that the Finder would normally expect to find, such as Folder icons, etc.)

A way to make sure of how such should be setup is to create a new user, on your system, that doesn’t use iCloud, as you say your user has always been.

Did you turn off iCloud Drive, recently, maximus153.

I ask because all those folders are iCloud Folders, when iCloud Drive is turned on, for a user.

Truly odd, maximus153.

Do you have those folders if you create a new user (also with no iCloud)?

You are most entirely welcome, maximus153!