Stalwart followers of MobileMe were a little dismayed at the advent of Apple’s iCloud service which launched in October of 2011. One of the main reasons I was so distressed at the transition from MobileMe to iCloud was the loss of iDisk, MobileMe’s online storage file syncing service. While there are many great third-party file syncing services available to Mac and PC users, nothing was quite as easy to use and maintain as iDisk.

One of the biggest problems with iCloud’s file syncing is that it lacks the ability to be accessed directly from a Computer in the form of a folder. The way iCloud works is very “hands off” compared to MobileMe. This is both a good and a bad thing. This mitigates frustration from users from inadvertently deleting important data, creating duplicate contacts and calendar events, and keeps iCloud free of costs with the basic 5GB storage plan. The downside of keeping things so simple is that many services have been removed or completely changed to accommodate all users. Thankfully, there is a simple way to get access to iCloud’s files so you can use it more like iDisk.

Step one is to make sure that “Documents & Data” is checked within the iCloud settings of System Preferences. Now we need to make sure that you can access your user Library folder. When Apple introduced Lion, they made the user Library folder “hidden” to stop Mac users from messing with it. The Library folder is where many support and preference settings are stored. Think of it as a safety deposit box in a bank. You typically don’t need to change much, if anything, that goes into it. In this case, we need to get in.

To access the Library, click on the Finder icon in your dock. Next, hold down the “option” key on your keyboard while clicking on “Go” from the menu bar.

There it is! Library will be visible as long as you keep the option key held down. After you click on Library, scroll down until you see “Mobile Documents.” This is the folder that contains all the documents that are being synced with iCloud.

Remember to NOT delete, rename, or move any of the folders that are already present. However, you can add as many new folders to the Mobile Documents folder as you want, provided you have enough iCloud storage. While being able to use iCloud is all well and good, it’s a hassle to have to repeat these steps every time you want to access the Mobile Documents folder.

That’s why it’s a good idea to make an alias. An alias, in a nutshell, is a shortcut to a file, folder or application. Right click on the Mobile Documents folder and select “Make Alias.” You can move the alias anywhere on your computer you’d like, I have mine in my normal Documents folder, just to keep things simple. Now you have instant access to your iCloud storage to do with what you will.