Snow Leopard: What’s Gone Where

When you first take a look around OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), you might think Apple has done away with some of OS X 10.5’s applications and utilities. What, for instance, happened to the Exposé application? It used to be in the Applications folder. Is it really gone?

Fear not: Exposé and some other seemingly-missing programs are still around–they’ve just found new homes in Snow Leopard. Here’s a guide to what’s gone where.

The Applications folder

AppleScript Folder In 10.5, this folder contained four distinct programs: AppleScript Utility, Example Scripts, Folder Actions Setup, and Script Editor. In 10.6, this folder is gone, its pieces scattered elsewhere.

The biggie of the group, Script Editor, can now be found in the Utilities folder, under the new name AppleScript Editor.

In 10.5, AppleScript Utility let you change the default script editor, enable GUI scripting, set up Folder Actions, and enable or disable the Script menu in the main menu bar. In 10.6, you set the default script editor and control the Script menu from the General tab of the new AppleScript Editor’s Preferences panel. Folder Actions Setup is now an entry in the Finder’s contextual menu; Control-click on any folder and select Folder Actions to configure them.

The only scripting piece that seems to have vanished completely is GUI scripting control. GUI scripting is tied in with Universal Access; you enable it by enabling access for assistive devices in the Universal Access System Preferences panel.

Exposé The Exposé application has moved from the Applications folder to Applications -> Utilities. Many users don’t even realize that there is a standalone Exposé application; if you launch it, it just opens Exposé in All Windows mode, as happens when you press the Exposé hot-key.

Spaces Like Exposé, Spaces can now be found in the Utilities subfolder within the Applications folder. Also like Exposé, I don’t think many users will be searching for it.

The Utilities folder

Directory This program–useful if you work on larger networks–is gone in 10.6. Its functionality has been replaced by new features in Address Book and an OS X Server program named iCal Server Utility.

Directory Utility Like Directory, this app is useful for those on large networks. In 10.6, you can find it in the /System -> Library -> CoreServices folder; it’s also accessible via the Accounts System Preferences panel. (Click Join next to Network Account Server, then click Open Directory Utility.)

ODBC Administrator This program helped those who work with databases that support the Open Database Connectivity standard. Unlike the other programs in this list, however, ODBC Administrator doesn’t seem to have a new home–it has simply vanished. At this time, we have no advice on a replacement app for ODBC Administrator.

While things may look somewhat different in Snow Leopard’s Applications and Utilities folders, as you can see, the changes aren’t (except for ODBC Administrator’s disappearance) too dramatic. Snow Leopard just did some housecleaning to rearrange and simplify the Applications folder, hiding less-often-used apps in other places.