I'm using iCloud drive. I have some HEIC files on my Desktop that I converted to jpg using a simple automator script. After the conversion, the jpgs are nowhere to be found in Finder or on the Desktop. In Finder, I see the .HEIC files still sitting there in the Desktop folder in the iCloud drive.
However, when I go to ~/Desktop, there are no HEIC files. I do see the converted JPGs, however.
From the command line, if I do touch test.txt the file does not show up in Finder but it does in the shell. However, if I create a new folder using Finder, the new folder does show up in the shell's directory as well as on the Desktop.
What is going on? This is maddening.
UPDATE: If I close out the Finder window and then reopen, the jpg files appear. The HEIC files are still there even though they don't show in the shell. Adding to the weirdness, I cannot open the HEIC files in Preview; nothing happens when I try. I can open the jpg files.
UPDATE 2: And actually, only 3 of 5 expected jpg images were visible in the Finder window. The other 2 only popped in after I deleted an unneeded folder on the desktop. It was then the HEIC photos finally got removed from the listing.
Best Answer
Moving ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist file fixed things up for me, at least for now.