P: Creating Directories in Inappropriate Locations ~/Documents

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Adobe Lightroom 4 is annoyingly creating a directory in ~/Documents on Mac OS X. For example: /Users/smith/Documents/Adobe. Contained within this Adobe directory is an empty directory named "dynamiclinkmediaserver". This is an inappropriate place to create files or directories of this nature. OS X has other directories that can and should be used for settings, preferences, temporary files, and others of similar nature.These two directories are created every time that Lightroom 4 is launched, even after deletion. Please avoid creating these directories in ~/Documents and put them somewhere else in future patches and versions of Lightroom. I look forward to this annoyance being squashed. Thanks, and keep up the good work otherwise.

[LRuser24]

Same for Windows 7: C:\Users\_username_\Documents\Adobe\dynamiclinkmediaserver.

This is strange because normally LR puts everything correctly in C:\Users\_username_\AppData\Local\Adobe (temporary things like caches) or C:\Users\_username_\AppData\Roaming\Adobe (configuration, preferences, templates, etc.).

Is there a specific reason that dynamiclinkmediaserver is in the user's documents area?

P.S. You created a duplicate problem - you should perhaps delete it.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

i'm far less concerned with the creation of harmless folders in stupid places than i am with the dynamiclinkmediaserver process eating all my CPU cycles. i neither shoot nor edit video, yet this process, which i've read is a video rendering thing that only runs when you try to edit video, seems to start sometimes when i'm using Lightroom and proceeds to consume 95% of my MacBook Pro (Retina)'s CPU cycles (typical Adobe to-he**-with-the-end-user-and-especially-if-they're-running-a-Macintosh behavior). erroneous folders bother me a lot less than my computer being slowed to a crawl by a process i don't want and don't use.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

read more attentively and you'll see Jon said he's running Mac OS X. there is no "C:" on the Mac. our hard drives are called cryptic things like "Macintosh HD."

[LRuser24]

Be assured that I read Jons problem attentively. Yes, I understood that he was writing about Mac OS X. And I know that Mac OS has no drive letters.

I simply added that LR is doing something very similar on Windows 7, i.e. placing some temporary and/or configuration files (not clear what it is) in a directory which has a) a similar subdirectory structure ("Adobe/dynamiclinkmediaserver") and b) is in the wrong place for such things.

I made that post to point out that something basic may not be right here independent of the operating system LR is running on.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

ah so. i guess *i* read too fast and didn't understand the significance of your first sentence. apologies. mea culpa.

[s0ma7]

Apple's guidance on this topic (referenced here):

It is important to remember that the user domain (/Users) is intended for files created by the user. With the exception of the ~/Library directory, your application should never install files into the user's home directory. In particular, you should never install files into a user's Documents directory or into the /Users/Shared directory. These directories should only be modified by the user.

Even if your application provides clip art or sample files that the user would normally manipulate, you should place those files in either the local or user's Library/Application Support directory by default. The user can move or copy files from this directory as desired. If you are concerned about the user finding these files, you should include a way for the user to browse or access them directly from your application's user interface.

[Viktor Edholm]

Lightroom behaves similarly with the Adobe/dynamiclinkmediaserver/ folder. Could this be passed along as well?

[davemoz-zBjC8b]

This is a problem that has been around for what seems like forever, with not so much as a "we hear you" or a "we're working on it" from Adobe, as always. The same thing happens with Premiere and all of it's "sub-"programs/plugins (Lumetri, Media Encoder) as well as Audition, and After Effects.

It's a real problem when the largest author of such ubiquitous apps as these has such a blatant disregard for the file structure recommendations of the largest and most ubiquitous operating system company.

Something needs to change.

[387345]

As soon I open Lightroom on my MacBook there is an “Adobe” folder appearing in my “Documents” folder with some “dynamiclinkmediaserver” stuff in it. The Documents folder is obviously the wrong place to put things like that so my question is how to stop it?

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Lightroom Creates Folder Adobe in Documents folder, which is not correct because it user space and now it syncs with iCloud. I don't want 3rd-party application consumes my cloud storage which is not free.

I think it is a serious bug.

[JohanElzenga]

A bug is when a program does something that it is not intended to do, so this is not a bug. You may not like it, but that is another matter. And how serious is it really? That folder is a whopping 52 KB on my system...

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

You set your iCloud settings to  sync your entire Documents folder with iCloud? I don't use iCloud except for a few of the Apple products that are listed in its settings folder.

I personally don't think it's a serious bug, although it agree it might be preferable to use one of the Libraries for this sort of file. Other apps, not just Adobe, also use Documents for similar resources, and again, a Library might be a better place for it, but I still don't think it's a serious bug, which would affect our use of the product itself significantly, but a decision they might revisit. It isn't something that would, or ought to, imo, take on a high priority.

LR has enough problems without them spending a lot of limited resources on a folder that, in my case, is 6Kb with 3 versions covered by it. My whole Adobe folder in Documents for all the video apps isn't even very large. A few MB.  Maybe if I did a LOT of video, but then I'd also go in and scrape out all the stuff relating to versions I no longer use, the way I frequently go to the Common folder in my Library and remove all those video files.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

"A bug is when a program does something that it is not intended to do" - Oh really? It is not a bug it is a feature, some developers say when don't want accept errors.

It is not correct behavior because it violates macOS architecture then it is a bug. It store system files in the Cloud. Why don't choose Desktop folder, then? You may trash my desktop and cloud with your system files. If you don't understand that, I have nothing to say then. 

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

It just violates macOs architecture. Why don't save system files on Desktop then?

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I genuinely don't know why they and so many other companies violate Apple's preferences for these things, though perhaps it's simply because Apple changes its mind and they haven't found it worth the resources to change what was once accepted practice??? I find a fairly noticeable percentage of apps I've had for several years use the Documents folder, so at one time, it must have been thought by many to be the right place.

I just looked and I've got Adobe, Foto Magico, DXO, Kaleidoscopes, MagicSquire, MacGourmet, MysticalSuite, etc. All put their folders in Documents with no option during install to put them somewhere else. And they all do have files in other, more expected, locations. But they're in Documents as well.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I think it is due to need to support multiple platforms. I agree that Adobe case is not critical to space just annoyances and pollution. Yesterday I tried to install World Of Tanks and it installs 2.5GB into Documents, that was a huge problem.

I hope this case is rudiment which will be eliminated in the future.

[JohanElzenga]

Yes, the definition of a bug is that an application crashes or does something faulty, that the programmer clearly did not intended. Bug Definition - The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary . Adobe clearly intended to do this, so it's not a bug.  That doesn't mean it can't be a wrong decision by Adobe, but it's not a bug.

I don't think it violates MacOS architecture. Can you give me a link where Apple says that applications aren't supposed to write to the Document folder? Also remember that Lightroom did this long before Apple suddenly decided to sync the Documents folder with iCloud, so at that time they didn't know that this folder would get synched to iCloud. 

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Your understanding of programming error is primitive. 

Can you give me a link where Apple says that applications aren't supposed to write to the Document folder?
https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/FileManagement/Conceptual/FileSystemProgra...

See part About the OS X File System

The preceding directories are for storing user documents and media only. Apps must not write files to the preceding directories unless explicitly directed to do so by the user. The sole exception to this rule is the <i><b>Library</b> </i>directory, which apps may use to store data files needed to support the current user.

[J453]

I've asked out engineers to look into this issue. Thanks.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Awesome,
Thanks a lot.

[wtremmel1966]

Well - it *is* a bug. 

• on a Mac, rename your Documents folder into something else
• create an empty file named Documents (on the commandline you can do that with "touch Documents"
• now Lightroom no longer starts. Bug. Bad one.

Very sloppy programming!

Now - do I get some months free on my subscription for finding this? Any other goodies will also be appreciated...

best regards
Wolfgang

[kittysimages]

Adobe CC 2015.9 version has created a folder inside my Documents folder called Adobe/Dynamiclinkmediaserver. This is my personal Docs folder and no software should create anything in there.

The odd thing is, in 2014 i installed lightroom for the first time and it created that folder with a folder inside called 7.0 and only when i updated my LR CC 2015 from .7 to .9 was a folder created inside of that dynamiclinkcmediaserver folder (called 10). So it had been gone (i can open lr5 without the folder being recreated), nothting was created when i installed lr CC 2015 and only with a version after 2015.7 (never been on .8) did it make it again. Why? and how can i get rid of it? Or have Adobe create it elsewehere

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

7 years later and this junk still appears in the Documents folder. This is for MY files, not Adobe's. Super sloppy. 

[DESIGNmule]

I finally found this thread as this has been happening to me since the new Photoshop update about three weeks ago. Im am hunting for answers at this point and I can't believe that this has been going on for 8 years. Now that it is affecting their more popular programs (like Photoshop), maybe finally this problem will be fixed.

[DESIGNmule]

Hi there, Can you please update this chat on what the engineers have learned about this issue? Thanks!