A folder becomes a package

I have a couple of Finder shortcuts linking to subfolders in my Dropbox. Recently one of those folders named Pictures changed itself into a ‘package’ containing mystery folders, named Masters, private, and resources. What has happened, and how can I fix it?

A package is a folder that’s displayed in Finder as if it’s a single item. To do this might only require it to be given a specific extension, such as .rtfd, which is the multi– file equivalent of a Rich Text File, or .photoslibrary for a Photos image library.

In this case, it looks like Photos (or another app capable of editing a Photos library) has taken over this folder. One factor which may have brought about the change is that you named the folder the same as one of the special folders in your user account: Pictures.

Another possible factor is that it relies on a link. In which case, the link may have resulted in misdirection, or your confusion.

Hold Opt and open Photos: in the dialog that appears, check the app is set to open the right library, and that it still contains the images you expect. Then remove the displaced folders from your ‘package’, keeping them in another local folder until you’re sure they’re not needed.

In Finder, select the ‘package’, choose File > Get Info, expand the Name & Extension section and remove any extension from the name, and change that to, say, ‘Pictures (2018)’ to help better distinguish it from your account’s Pictures folder. Finally remove that link to it by trashing it, and then create a fresh one for your folder.

It doesn’t take much to change a regular folder into what the Finder thinks is a Photos library package.