How To Show Library Folder In Time Machine Backup
All the mail currently residing in the Mail app is stored in the Library Mail folder. Time Machine copies this Mail folder’s content each time it backs up your computer. This means that my client’s missing email messages existed in a past Time Machine backup. The trouble was that the Users Library folder is also invisible on the backup drive. Method 3: A Keyboard Shortcut that Shows Hidden Files. If you are browsing your user account’s home folder in Finder and Library is hidden, press Command+Shift+. (that’s a period) on the keyboard. All the hidden files in the folder will appear as translucent icons, including the Library folder. Time Machine automatically excludes some things, mostly temporary files and things that are rebuilt at startup or after a full restore. This includes system work files, most caches and logs, trash, etc., so you don't need to worry about those (see the tan box below for the gory details).
Show Hidden Library Folder Time Machine Software
What’s excluded from backups:
• Anything listed in the exclusion box in Time Machine Preferences > Options. That's mostly things specifically excluded by the user (per Question 10); but also your backup drive if it's an internal or directly-connected external HD; and any drives/partitions that aren't formatted for a Mac (since Time Machine can't back them up). Those are shown in gray and can't be removed.
•Changes to your iPhoto and/or Aperture libraries may not be backed-up if those apps are open.
•If you use Xcode, the 'build' folders are excluded.
•If you use the original File Vault (not File Vault 2 on Lion and later), your encrypted home folder is only backed-up when you log out. See question #25 for details.
•Mounted disk images (they're backed up anytime they're not mounted).
•Most other things omitted are listed in a system file. Some are omitted entirely; for others, the actual folder is backed-up, but the contents are omitted, to preserve the folder structure. Mostly, these will be rebuilt after a restore. The main ones are:
•System work files, including the sleepimage file on a laptop (same size as the RAM).
•Spotlight index, trash, the Guest user account.
•The Volumes, Network, tmp, dev, home, and net top-level folders (on any drive).
•/Library/Caches, System/Library/Caches and /System/Library/Extensions/Caches.
•In the /private folder: /var/log (most logs), /var/vm (system work files), /var/tmp.
•In the Library folder of each user home folder: Caches, Logs, Mail/Envelope Index, Mail/AvailableFeeds, Safari/Icons.db, and Safari/WebpageIcons.db.
•On Lion and later, the hidden /.MobileBackups folder (Time Machine Local Snapshots)
•On Lion only, the /.DocumentRevisions-V100 folder (the Versions database).
•For full details, see this file (do not be tempted to alter it):
/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd.bundle/Contents/Resources/StdExclusions.plistThese exclusions do not appear on the Time Machine Preferences window.
•Some optional Apple and 3rd-party apps either exclude certain of their files automatically, such as caches that change often and shouldn't be backed-up every hour; or allow the user to do so.
Things excluded this way do not appear on the Time Machine Preferences window.
Some of these exclusions, called Sticky Exclusions, 'follow the file' -- that is, if the file or folder is moved to a different location, it will still be excluded. Those can be seen via the procedure in the yellow box below.
Others, called Fixed Path Exclusions, don't follow the file, and cannot be seen without a special app called a Plist Editor. There's a rather technical explanation in the gray box of How Time Machine Works its Magic.