Deleted EA folder, now I can't install any new custom content through launcher?!

@mayi0715  You clearly do have a Sims 3 user data folder, it's just not where you're looking.  When you have iCloud enabled, there's a Documents folder locally on your computer, and a second one in cloud storage.  Whichever one you're looking in now, try the other.

It's usually better not to have iCloud set to automatically sync Documents with cloud storage, as it complicates things for games that store their data in Documents.  So please don't enable that feature.  But you can get a better idea of how iCloud works and your options here:

https://bluebellflora.com/2017/02/06/sims-3-and-sims-4-not-loading-save-games/

The Electronic Arts folder and its contents are hidden from Finder searches.

I don't believe that's the issue. It doesn't appear as if I have iCloud enabled. Look:

Note: I have been doing extra searching, and I managed to find an "Electronic Arts" folder somewhere else 
Desktop > The Sims 3 > The Sims 3 (Show Package contents) > Contents > Resources > translating > c-drive> Program Files > Electronic Arts.
However, this "Electronic Arts" folder doesn't have what I remember the one under Documents had. 

@mayi0715  That's not the Electronic Arts folder you want; it's for the game's program files.  Try searching in Terminal instead.  Open Applications > Utilities, launch Terminal, and enter this:

find / -type d -name "*Electronic Arts*" 2>/dev/null

The command will take a while to run (let it go to completion), but in the end you'll get a long list of folders with the words "Electronic Arts" in the name.  Please post the full file path of any that are specifically in Documents, as in, the file path contains Documents\Electronic Arts.  You can write [username] instead of your username, but otherwise keep the file path intact.

Okay I really don't know if I did what you said correctly, but here's what the Terminal spit out:

/Users/User/Documents/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/AddOns/The Sims 3 Ambitions.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Program Files/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/AddOns/The Sims 3 Pets.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Program Files/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/AddOns/The Sims 3 Pets.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Documents/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/AddOns/The Sims 3 Island Paradise.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Program Files/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/AddOns/The Sims 3 Island Paradise.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Documents/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/AddOns/The Sims 3 World Adventures.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Program Files/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/AddOns/The Sims 3 Late Night.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Program Files/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/AddOns/The Sims 3 Generations.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Program Files/Electronic Arts

/Applications/The Sims 3.localized/The Sims3.app/Contents/Resources/transgaming/c_drive/Program Files/Electronic Arts

I find it confusing that it says Electronic Arts after Documents because its definitely not there...

Okay so I recently decided to get back into the Sims 3, but since I tried to install it through Origin for the first time, I've had nothing but problems. I've had to install and uninstall the Sims 3 base game as well as multiple expansion packs to get it to work.  I'm at a point where finally the game and the expansion packs are launching normally. But now I can no longer use the launcher to download anything from the Sims 3 store or to install any CC or other content I already had saved in my Mac but hadn't installed. Yes, I'm talking about sims3pack files. No, I've never had any issues with this same content before. If I double click one of these sims3pack files that haven't been installed, its supposed to open the launcher and the extra tab thingie with the installation progress bar. Now, when I double click it, it opens up the launcher, but not the extra tab that actually installs it. It also doesn't show anything in the "downloads" tab in the launcher. It's not just CC either. I went to the Sims 3 store to download official store content, and it did the exact same thing. All the previously installed CC and store stuff still show up under the "installed" tab of the launcher, they appear in the game like normal, and the launcher allows me to uninstall anything already installed. JUST CAN'T ADD NEW THINGS! Please help. EA's reps are useless. 

@mayi0715  Please make sure you don't have iCloud drive set to sync the contents of Documents with cloud storage.  While it doesn't usually cause this particular problem, it's better to keep iCloud from interfering.  You can simply disable automatic syncing without turning off iCloud entirely.  Here's a guide:

https://bluebellflora.com/2017/02/06/sims-3-and-sims-4-not-loading-save-games/

Once you've disabled syncing, or if this isn't the issue, try manually moving one Sims3Pack to Downloads inside your Sims 3 user data folder, then instead of double-clicking, using the launcher to manually select and install it.  And also try downloading one store item, then checking it off in the launcher and clicking Install.

Let me know whether these work, and if they don't, whether it would be a hassle to reinstall your store and custom content.  (I don't mean the game files themselves; those can stay and don't have anything to do with installing cc or store stuff.)  There are a couple different approaches to take, depending on whether it's easier to move a bunch of files around or just start from scratch.

@mayi0715  Terminal is saying there's a Sims 3 folder in the Documents directory of the user just labeled User.  Are you in that user account, or in a different one?  Have you enabled sharing so that files get moved around between users or to the Shared folder?

You also somehow have a couple of Documents folders within the game's package contents, which is strange.  You could go in and root out those folders manually—Terminal lists where to find them—but those are definitely not the folders where you'd need to add content.  (If you do want to go looking, you nee to right-click and select Show Package Contents on any entry listed as [something].localized or .app.)

There's only one User account. I just changed the name to 'user' in the paragraph I posted. Otherwise everything is intact. So here's what else I did. I typed "documents" in the search bar of the Finder and it popped up like 50 random "documents" folders that I didn't know existed. I really don't understand why it seems like 90% of the folders in Macs are hidden folders... Anyway, one of these random Documents folders has a symbol in it, and when I clicked on it, voila, there was the Electronic Arts folder. I checked it and it has my currently saved games which I created after this whole mess started, so I figure that is the right EA folder. So I then copied and pasted it in the "Documents" section that appears in the left hand side of the Finder. So I guess that's cool. Buuuut, I still can't install any new content through the launcher. What did I do wrong?  

Thank you for your help, by the way. I really appreciate it!

Hello! Thank you for trying to help me with this issue too. I see now that you are also the person replying to my original thread about the EA folder: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/Deleted-EA-folder-now-I-can-t-install-any-new-custom-content/m-p/9336908#M7811

In regards to that other thread, I don't know if put the EA folder in the right spot, or that if that is even related to this problem of not being able to install or download anything through the launcher.

The iCloud thing is not enabled, and has never been from what I can tell. It did occur to me to manually copy and paste the sims3pack files I wanted to install directly into the "Downloads" folder of the EA folder I found. But when I opened the launcher they do not appear there, so I couldn't do the rest. This is so confusing!

@mayi0715  What happens when you try to install content through the launcher?  If you put a Sims3Pack in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Downloads, it should show up in the launcher's Downloads tab, from where you can install it.  Edit:  Sorry, I didn't see your other post until just now, and I didn't realize you were the same person.  (I'm not great with usernames.)  Please try the clean folder as described below.

A lot of applications store data in a Documents folder several subfolders deep in the user's Library folder.  These folders are hidden by default so people don't go around deleting data that the apps need to run properly.  It's normal, and it's not unusual either—Windows also has hidden files and folders, although you can set File Explorer to show them if you want.

At any rate, now that you've found the correct Documents folder, if you can't add any content to the Sims 3 folder inside, please move that folder to your desktop, open the launcher to create a clean folder, and see if you can install into that folder.  You can add your existing content back later, once the new content is in place.

I'm also merging your two threads, so everything is in once place.