You have been through many problems while working on your Mac, like files getting deleted accidentally, formatting a partition by mistake, losing files while transferring them to another storage drive, and so on. But you are stuck with a new problem now! Some of the folders and files on Mac have grayed out, and you are not able to access them. You don’t know how to fix the issue.
Fix Grayed out data files and folders in Mac OS. To fix greyed out.jpg files for example, you need the xattr command. Xattr is part of X-code Tools.
Usually, files and folders are displayed in Mac Finder app in the regular black font. But when the folders and files are grayed out in Mac finder, then you cannot move/delete those files and folders. They cannot be accessed either. Why does this happen?
Grayed out folders and files occur when copying files/folders from one location to another, especially when copying them from network drives or to network drives. Grayed out files and folders will be dated as ’24 January 1984′. This indicates that the files and folders have been grayed out. So the next question us how to fix grayed out folders and files on Mac? We tell you how. Just follow the steps below to easily fix grayed out files and folder on Mac –
- Open Mac Finder, go to the grayed out folder/file. If the file or folder is dated as 24 Jan, 1984 i.e. ’24 January 1984 error’. If yes, then go to the next step.
- Go to Applications, open Terminal app
- Now type “SetFile -d 27/07/2012 /path/to/your/grayed/out/folder_or_file” and tap on return
The date of the folder or the file will now change to 27/07/2012 (or the date which you have chosen). That is it. Your folder or file is not gray anymore. It turns black.
Alright, so you have fixed the issue. Here is another method which we bring to you to recover inaccessible files and folders on your Mac. Yodot Mac File Recovery is an efficient tool to recover files and folders which have become inaccessible, deleted, or lost. This Mac File Recovery tool helps to restore files from Trash on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, and other Mac desktops and laptops.
The software scans the entire drive of the storage medium to find and recover deleted or missing files from it. It will get back your files and folders in just a few steps. Be it your important documents, Spreadsheets, archived files, and so on, this tool retrieves them all on Mac in an easy and safe manner.
If all or most of your music is grayed out
Sync Library might be turned off or unable to connect to the Internet on one of your devices. Check the following:
- If your music library is stored on a computer, make sure that Sync Library is turned on. Then check that Sync Library is turned on for all of your other devices.
- Make sure that all of your devices are connected to the Internet.
If it's taking a long time to upload your music library
If most of your music was imported from sources other than Apple Music, or you have a large music library, it might take more time for your music library to upload.
Make sure that your computer is authorized so any music that you previously purchased from the iTunes Store can be uploaded. Then follow these steps:
- Connect your Mac or PC to the Internet.
- On your Mac, open the Music app. On your PC, open iTunes for Windows.
- Make sure that Sync Library is turned on.
- Keep the Music app or iTunes for Windows open until your music library is finished uploading.
If a song can't be uploaded with Apple Music or iTunes Match
If you see next to a song, then that song might be ineligible for upload. Learn why.
Mac File In Download Folder Appears Grayed Out Of Office
If a song isn't available in Apple Music
Mac File In Download Folder Appears Grayed Outlook
Some songs or albums might be grayed out because they're not currently available in Apple Music. Here are some reasons why:
- Artists and content providers might release some songs from an album in advance, but not all of them. If you add the entire album to your library, the songs will become available as they're released.
- Artists and content providers might change or remove music from the Apple Music catalog. Search Apple Music to see if that song is available under a different name or file. If it is, add the song to your library so it's no longer grayed out.
- The song might not be available in your country or region and will appear in gray text when you search for it in Apple Music.
- If an explicit song is grayed out, you might have restrictions turned on for your device. You can use Screen Time on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, or Screen Time on your Mac to turn off restrictions. You can also add the clean version from Apple Music to your library.
Learn more
- Learn what the different cloud icons next to your songs mean.
- Learn how to delete songs from your music library.
- Learn what to do if you can't find or listen to songs after you turn on Sync Library.