Where is the Library and Application Support folder in Mac OS X Lion?Update: OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) was just released, this guide still works!

Apple just released their new operating system, Mac OS X Lion, but they have made the Library folder invisible to Mac users. The Library folder for each user was found at Macintosh HD/Users/Name/Library/ — it’s still there, but you just have work to find it!

Users who did a clean install of OS X Lion (or Mountain Lion), and backed-up their Skype conversation history folder will find that… well, they won’t find where to put it.

But fear not, here is how to restore your Skype chat history from Snow Leopard (Leopard and Tiger too, probably) to OS X Mountain/Lion.

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  1. Quit Skype (press Command+Q or look in Skype’s menu bar):Quit Skype before proceeding
  2. Open Finder (go to your Dock and click it):Find Finder in your Lion Dock
  3. In the menu bar, click Go and then Go to Folder… (alternatively, you can press Shift+Command+G):Select Go and then Go to Folder... in Finder's menu bar
  4. In the space that appears, type ~/Library/ and click Go (or press enter; alternatively, you could have typed /Users/Example/Library/ and replaced ‘Example’ with your Mac user):Go to the Library folder in Lion OS X
  5. Your library folder has now become temporarily visible to you. Navigate to the folder Library > Application Support > Skype and you’ll see a folder there with your Skype username (alternatively, in the Go function of Step 3, type ~/Library/Application Support/Skype and do the same):Find Skype folder in Library of Mac OS X Lion
  6. Replace the folder with your Skype username that appears there with the one you backed upfrom your previous OS X and Skype; if a dialog asks you, click to Replace everything:Replace the Skype conversation history folder in Lion OS X
  7. Give yourself a round of applause, because you are done — Start Skype and enjoy! Now you have all your conversation history from your previous Skype in your new Lion OS X.

As I mentioned in Step 5, these steps make the Library in your home folder visible only temporarily. For a permanent solution — have the Library folder visible forever, follow these steps:

  1. Open Terminal (search in Spotlight or go to your Applications folder).
  2. Copy and paste the following text and press enter:
    chflags nohidden ~/Library/
  3. Start from Step 5 in the previous instructions as normal.

Leave a comment if this worked for you, or if you’re having any problems and have suggestions for anyone else.