Hot answers tagged desktop
17
It's not that the icon is sideways, it's that the small thumbnail for the file that's used as the icon needs to be wide because the CSV file has at least one really long line of data in it. The thumbnail you're seeing is a dynamic preview of the contents of the file and in the case of the file on the top of the image, the data contents demand a lot of ...
17
This happens because the LaunchServices database gets corrupted.
To fix on Mountain Lion:
Open Terminal.app in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder.
run /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user
Restart
This command has ...
11
Chealion answered this on SuperUser.
I won't copy and paste his answer here, as he got the credit not me.
But basically, what you could do is (quoted from Chealion's answer) :
A second method of arranging the Windows so you can see them (if for some reason they're staying off screen) is to change to the application that owns the window in question, hold ...
8
Out of the box there is no themeing capability in Mac OS X, you can however modify some of the colours used by Mac OS X in the Appearance Preference Pane in System Preferences.
If you're serious about themeing however there are 3rd party applications you can get to help with this:
CandyBar - manages and changes icons.
ThemePark - does most everything ...
7
Pressing the shortcuts for changing desktops while dragging a window should still work, but the shortcuts have to be enabled in System Preferences.
SizeUp supports for example assigning ⌃⇧→ to moving a window to the next desktop.
6
Since Snow Leopard the hard drives aren't shown on the Desktop by default. However if you upgraded from Leopard or earlier it does honor the original settings. However, some updates will disable this setting during the upgrade.
Have a look under Finder preferences and make sure the Hard Disk box is ticked.
6
The journaled file system practically eliminates the chances that the filesystem itself will be in an inconsistent state after the next reboot. But "consistent" is not the same as "correct".
Before journaling, the filesystem structures themselves could become damaged which could lead to more corruption occurring after the next boot. So journaling limits ...
6
Apart from the obvious risk of significant damage from drops and what not (which you seem to have taken precaution against), the only real vibration prone component of computers is generally the hard drive.
When a hard drive is shaken to violently, there is a risk that the read/write head will touch, scratch, and damage the spinning platter. However, in ...
5
Reputable sources like Macworld indicate that the Finder draws non-generic Desktop icons the same way it draws open windows, and the more of them there are, the more memory and processor time it takes to refresh the Desktop. I have not found any sources that indicate this is a major factor in system speed, but yes, more custom icons on the Desktop take more ...
5
I would suggest you set up a hot corner to show the desktop (this is what I do):
Open System Preferences
Click Mission Control
Click the "Hot Corners..." button at the bottom
Set the corner you want to use for "Desktop" (I use the top right)
Click OK
Now you can move a file from a Finder window to the desktop with just the mouse:
Click and drag the ...
5
If you can't launch or switch programs (I find Spotlight is a good way to do this if everything else is hanging, just hit ⌘Space, but it may not work in your case), you could enable SSH access ahead of time, and then use another device to log in and check what's hogging your CPU.
Open Sharing Preferences and enable Remote Login. Then you can connect via SSH ...
4
Mac OS X Lion supports this out of the box now. Simply switch to the Space you want to apply a certain background to, then change it as usual (with System Preferences or the desktop's context menu). Repeat for your other Spaces and background images.
For older versions, you will still need to use a third-party tool as recommended by the other answers.
4
This is normal behavior when the desktop has no particular order or arrangement specified.
Try going to the Finder and setting a "Sort By" option.
Go to the Finder and click on the desktop.
Click View > Sort By from the menu bar
Then try selecting an option other than "None" with in the "Sort By" Menu.
4
OS X allows you to select different images for each display. When you open the Desktop section in Desktop & Screen Saver Preferences, you should get one dialog on each screen for choosing a desktop image. Each dialog controls only the image for that screen, so make sure you're setting the image you want on both screens.
4
I don't believe you can hide files from the desktop while leaving them viewable from within the Finder, since the desktop is just a folder (~/Desktop).
However, here's an alternative that could work:
Open your cheatsheet image in Safari (drag and drop the image onto the Safari icon in the dock)
In Safari, go to File > Open in Dashboard...
Your image ...
4
You could try using a program called camouflage. It hides all the icons on your desktop. There are older versions available online that may or may not work with Mountain Lion, but it is also available on the Mac App Store, which will work with Mountain Lion
Version 1.25 (free - softonic.com) Free, but it may or may not work on Mountain Lion
Version 2.2.1 ...
4
You can do this in the terminal (shell). Open the terminal and type cd ~/Desktop to change you current working directory to the Desktop.
Then for the different cases you listed:
mv *.PSD *.Ai *.INDD ~/Desktop/Workfiles
mv *.PNG *.JPG ~/Desktop/Pictures
mv *.doc *docx *.xls *.pdf ~/Desktop/Documents
mv file target is the command to move files. You can ...
3
You can't set it to go back to the last Desktop you were in, but you can set it to go to a specific Desktop when you exit full screen.
Just move the application in windowed mode to the desktop you want, right-click the app in the Dock and set to "This Desktop". Whenever you come out of full screen, it will always go into windowed mode in that particular ...
3
All sorts of third party activity monitors add that sort of animation.
Have you looked in LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons folders in /Library and ~/Library to temporarily remove any you are not SURE you need? Also, it could be something started in Accounts preferences - Login Items.
I have never seen anything since OS 9 days from Apple that popped up ...
3
The answer is simple (and very Apple-like!).
Simply close all extra desktops until you only have one desktop. (To do this, go to Mission Control, hold down alt and click the crosses which appear on unwanted desktops).
Then change the desktop background for the one remaining desktop.
Now any new desktops you create will inherit the background of that first ...
3
For completeness:
From my answer originally at Server Fault Question 7237:
When a monitor is unplugged (including the adapter as well if applicable - leaving the adapter leaves OS X thinking the monitor is still plugged in) all the Windows should move onto your main screen. Occasionally some windows (eg. Firefox) will keep their position on the very far ...
3
Alternatively, you can simply drag the folder to the desktop while holding the optioncommand keys…
If your windows are so cluttered that it is inconvenient, just make sure your Desktop icon is showing in the "Places" location on the Finder sidebar, and drag the item while holding optioncommand to that icon.
3
Start automator
Make new service
Set it to receive files and folders in finder
add the 'new aliases' command
it's set to desktop by default
save the service as 'send alias to desktop' and voila!
Now you have an extra option under the right click menu, and a service in the finder menu!
3
Apple's vision for iCloud seems to include isolating users from the confusion of the file system. iCloud files are accessed from within the application that created them–which is advantageous in some situations and a problem in others.
To use iCloud to share documents between iOS and MacOS you'll need to install iA Writer on both platforms. (Byword fans ...
3
You could also use Fluid to create a site-specific browser. SSBs often feel more like restricted versions of browsers than standalone applications though.
One example of a Fluid application is https://github.com/drdrang/drtwoot.
3
Well, Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time, as for a lithium-based battery, it's important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. MacBook / Pro, though, are designed to deliver up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles before it reaches 80% of its original capacity.
A charge cycle means using all of the ...
3
enter the serial number of your i mac to check the memory type:
http://support.apple.com/specs/
You also will want to double check with the vendor - before you spend money - have them check your work and explain their return policies if you happened to purchase an incorrect part or if the part doesn't work in your Mac.
It's much better to select a vendor ...
3
Well you can wrap it inside a AppleScript, make a call to shell command (your bash script).
example: do shell script
do shell script "/bin/tcsh my-command-file-path"
save it as an application to your Desktop to run it.
3
Open up Mission Control.
It can be found in your Applications folder or you can activate it with a 3-finger swipe up. This gives you an overview of your open windows and desktops. You can the drag and drop windows between desktops.
more info: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4689
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