Questions tagged [desktop]
The visual representation of a computer's contents when no open programs or windows are visisble. Often home to program shortcuts, datafiles, and lists of mounted drives etc.
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Remove specific files from iCloud
I was just wondering how I can remove certain big folders from my iCloud Drive and have it only save on my Mac. I've got some folders filled with footage that's like 800gb that I don't need taking up ...
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Why the preview windows follow me when I update to the Monterey?
I recently updated my macOS from Catalina to Monterey. But then I find that when I create multiple desktops and open a Preview window on desktop A, then changing to desktop B via the three-finger ...
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Can we switch two virtual displays in parallel ? Montery, MissionControl [duplicate]
When I work at my desk, I have an external display on top of my Mac. I have one application, let's say the mainapp on the external monitor. And another application, let's call it the console on the ...
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Is there a QTranslate for MacOS?
I'd like to translate selected text using one keyboard shortcut and see translation in a pop up window, similarly to how QTranslate works on Windows. I tried Mate, but it requires several key ...
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Cannot access Desktop/Space - switches back to the previous one
I currently have 4 desktops/spaces and I thought I disabled everything to do with automatic rearranging them or switching to them.
Yet, sometimes macos insists on going back to a particular space ...
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Different Desktop Environment for Mac?
Is is possible to change the entire desktop environment of a Mac (12.2.1)?
Are there any desktop environment alternatives available? (Xfce or unity-like would be nice)
My major concern is the default ...
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How to make links open in a virtual desktop browser instead of the second screen?
When I use a monitor with my Mac, it's to watch videos and multitask. I'd have a Chrome window open on my main screen in a virtual desktop and another Chrome window open on the monitor. When I switch ...
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Delete Symlink from ~/Desktop
A while ago I deleted my ~/Desktop directory and then (using a symlink) pointed it to another directory (a subdirectory of my Google Drive directory). No, that my setup has changed, I would like to ...
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Change default note taking app in bottom corner
Is there a way to change the note taking app that pops out of the bottom right corner from apple notes to another program?
I see you can customize some settings in the Desktop & Screen Saver ...
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Is there a disadvantage to storing files on the desktop?
I remember reading that one shouldn't store files on the desktop. I don't remember what the reason was. Something to do with the Finder treating files on the desktop differently. The advice given was ...
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When using OS X terminal open command, e.g. `open .`, how can I control which screen/desktop the Finder window opens on?
I use a TV as a large external monitor & typically have a few OS X Desktops on the external screen for browsers, code editors, etc., along with 2 or 3 Desktops open on my MacBook Pro screen, w/ ...
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Switch between virtual desktops by scrolling on the menu bar
Looking for a script, macro, automation script, TIY solution that will allow me to hover my mouse over the menu bar scroll my mouse wheel up and down which in turn will switch between my left and ...
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Monterey changes my desktop background when I plug in external displays
I have a MacBook Pro (i5, 2020ish, two Thunderbolt ports, Big Sur), a CalDigit Thunderbolt3 dock, an Apple Thunderbolt display (plugged into the dock via an Apple-branded Thunderbolt 3-to-Thunderbolt2 ...
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How to remove an unclosable desktop from desktop list?
I have noticed of late that when my mbp goes into sleep mode, waking from it is essentially like a recovery (or an attempt to) which generally loses my desktop and window(s) arrangement (everything is ...
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Is there an app to manage multiple "Desktop Spaces" (not monitors)?
I like to use the Desktop Spaces feature when working on a single monitor as it allows me to have, for example, InDesign running in one Desktop Space, my writing app in another, and the remainder of ...
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Terminal command/argument to launch app to specific desktop number ("assign to desktop" feature does not fit use case)
I included the fact that the "assign to desktop" feature does not the use case as I know there's other posts that exist where that was in fact the best answer.
Long time i3 (https://i3wm.org/...
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Why I can no longer create *separate* Gmail Desktop apps?
I used to have a few "Desktop Apps" for Gmail created as shortcuts, following these steps:
⠇(top right) > More tools > Create Shortcut > Open as Window
I'd then have one app per ...
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How can I permanently unhide all files in a folder?
I recently ran a MacOS update and when it was finished... my Desktop was empty! Not only that, when I browsed to the Desktop folder, everything appeared to be gone. I save a lot of work to my ...
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Unable to change background image on just one of three monitors
I have two external monitors and my Macbook Pro (OS 11.6.2 Big Sur) screen.
I have added a bunch of NASA photos for the desktops but only two screens are showing images; the third is just showing ...
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Can you COMPLETELY disable desktop switching animation on macOS?
I reduced animation and transition in macOS but not completely disabled
As some people already discussed, one can "reduce motion" in accessibility settings, use defaults write to "...
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Missing .DS_Store file (Macbook Pro 2016 running Monterey)
I had entered Time Machine just to check when my earliest backup had taken place (did not restore anything). When I came out of Time Machine, I found all my desktop files completely rearranged, which ...
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Mission control keyboard shortcuts: add more desktops
I've been using i3 window manager on my linux laptop. It's great and I am used to keyboard shortcuts to move to a specific desktop.
On MacOS I have been able to replicate this for the first 3 desktops ...
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Seamlessly change all desktop spaces' wallpaper on Mac without killall Dock
I would like to change the wallpaper on ALL desktops including spaces on Mac but without needing to call killall Dock each minute. (Dock restarting forces wallpaper refresh).
I have an AppleScript ...
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Big Sur desktop stacks: Newly added files replace the stack, instead of being added to it
When using stacks on your desktop, macOS will place all files added (copied or dropped) to the desktop into its appropriate stack, or create a new one if that is the first file of its kind.
On my ...
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Monterey - Disable fading animation when switching between fullscreen windows
I am happy to see that, in Monterey, the "swiping animation" that happened when switching between fullscreen windows has disappeared. But now there is instead a fading animation, that ...
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"Quick note" hot corner not working
I have a hot corner turned on for quick note in lower right but nothing happens when I try it. Just installed Monterey yesterday. Is there something I might be missing?
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Multiple files from same program on different Mac desktops in Spaces
I am trying to improve my work productivity and be more seamless between different tasks. I'm working on a 2017 iMac and have set up multiple desktops (6 of them to be precise).
I have about 9 ...
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How can I prevent the Finder from jumping to Desktop1 after logout?
I have two displays on my macbook pro 15 (OSX 11.5.2).
On display1 is desktop1 and on display2 is desktop2 + 3.
I open finder on desktop2. But after logout and new login everytime finder is on ...
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Mutliple spaces/desktops: Disable switching to other spaces when opening an app?
Not sure if I explained it well but you know when you have multiple spaces, you will still see the opened app on that other space on the app drawer on the bottom. I hate how it makes my desktop ...
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Clicking clock opens notifications not clock settings
Today I noticed that clicking on the time/date in the top-right of my screen displays the notifications panel, instead of the date settings as it has the last 5-10 years. I used this as recently as ...
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Why is my Mac desktop slightly bigger than my monitor?
I find that my desktop is about a centimeter larger than my monitor. The menu bar is sometimes hidden on top, and I have to move my mouse to the top for to reveal. Dock sometimes disappears from the ...
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Is there a way to "toggle" between desktops on mac OS?
I know there are many ways to activate/modify keyboard shortcuts to switch between specific desktops, such as desktop 1, desktop 2, etc. However, I would like to figure out a way to just "toggle&...
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Can a Mac app set the desktop image?
Been googling this and can't find anything.
Can an app set the Mac Desktop image? Like you create a fun cute image in the app, then it asks you 'Do you want to set this as your desktop image?' If you ...
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I Lost my documents, downloads and desktop folder access. Please help
I tried to empty my bin on macbook pro but somehow the My access to downloads, documents and desktop got restricted. Some utility or libraries might got deleted that caused this. The icons of ...
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Desktop is not working anymore (no interaction or files on the desktop)
My desktop does not work anymore.
I can't work with it anymore: only my wallpaper is visible. My files and hard disk don't appear anymore. I can't click on it, nor drag and drop anything on it. I put ...
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Change the rate of Desktop Photo image rotations to custom value? [duplicate]
I have a bunch of Mission Control desktops set up. I only work on one, but use the others to display folders of travel photos as desktop backgrounds, so when I have a break I can quickly go and ...
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Like "show desktop", but with a row of icons across the bottom
One effect of using a Magic Mouse while being slightly clumsy, is that I sometimes perform gestures I did not know existed and certainly had no intention of performing.
Recently, I managed to get my ...
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How to stop Mac from jumping to a program when a new window opens?
This seems like a very specific weird question that I can't find an answer to anywhere else.
I am making hundreds of figures in MATLAB. I plot each figure and then save it as a png to look at later. I ...
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Desktop space assignments are swapped between screens when different monitors are used
I'm using a MBP 2020 (M1) with two extra screens: an iPad Pro 2020 via Sidecar, and a monitor connected through HDMI. I use the same setup at home and at the office, and the make/model of the monitor ...
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MacBook Air M1: Noticeable desktop swiping lag
Mac: MacBook Air (M1,2020)
OS: macOS Big Sur (11.4)
Age: ~6-7 months
I'm facing a problem where there seems to be a slight lag when I 4-finger swipe between windows/desktops. It's like a second long &...
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How to get the list of apps running in a Space/Desktop
Is there a way to retrieve a list of applications running per Space/Desktop in macOS Big Sur (11.4)? Ideally, I'd like to save the state of apps running in a chosen space and be able to reopen them ...
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Apple Notes: Could someone help write a script for me that opens Notes.app, creates blank new note, opens note in sep window, bring to front?
The kind of shortcut I'm looking for is essentially: double-click an icon on right screen, launch "NEW NOTE", POP it to FRONT, so I can immediately begin typing or paste my selection into.
I'...
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How can I get back my full screen back without line
When I rebooted my MBA M1, I see the screen with divider, like a horizontal split screen, with the top pane showing a zoom version of whatever I'm doing in the bigger screen. The line is not movable. ...
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How to understand Script Editor dictionaries?
I found here an interesting example of Apple script commands such, for instance,
tell application "System Events" to get properties of every desktop
and I would like to understand, where ...
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Run terminal/login shell when desktop is stuck
Is there a way to run terminal/login shell in case your desktop became unresponsive and you need a terminal to try fix it, i.e. kill some problem process?
It seems that >console user doesn't work ...
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Is there a way to change the keyboard delay when switching virtual desktops in OSX?
I use OSX 10.14.6, and I use virtual desktops to organize tasks. Often, these tasks involve typing. I will set an app to fullscreen mode and switch between desktops with the trackpad on my Macbook Pro....
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Copy Desktop folder and preserve layout
How can I copy the Desktop folder from machine A to machine B and preserve the current icon layout?
I want to replicate the Desktop contents and layout in both machines. I mean the actual Desktop, not ...
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Strange unclickable icon on desktop
This icon is on my desktop. Can't click it or remove it.
I tried changing the desktop background but it didn't remove it.
Any idea what is it and how I can remove it ? Cheers
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screenshot stack not working
For the past couple of weeks my screenshot stack has been buggy.
Whenever I take screenshots some of em end up in the right stack and some of them form a separate stack on the same desktop called ...
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Can't move files or folders to some positions
As you can see in the below video, I can not move files or folders to some positions on desktop. There is nothing that blocks me to move. I couldn't solve what causes this problem.
Sometimes the ...
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