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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26 views
I'd like cmd-tab to always take me to the most recent window of the application. Currently it doesn't. Can this be fixed?
Situation.
This is a Macbook laptop. No external monitors.
I have two "desktops." I have Chrome open in both desktops. And terminal.app open in just Desktop 1.
I'm in Chrome on desktop 1. I cmd-tab ...
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0answers
13 views
Does macOS render desktops other than the current one?
I'm curious if there's a performance/battery effect of using multiple desktops with full screen apps. On Windows (as far as I know) an application that is in true full screen prevents the desktop from ...
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1answer
18 views
How can I go to the previous desktop in Mission Control using a hot key?
Say, I have 10 desktops. I'm on the desktop 2. I switch to the deskotp 7 using the F3 key and touchpad. Is there a standard hot key for switching back to the deskotp 2? And then back to the deskotp 7. ...
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1answer
33 views
How to switch from from the active application on monitor 1 to the active application on monitor 2 via keyboard
TL;DR: I am typing notes into a full-screen notepad on monitor 1. I want to switch to typing into the visible, full-screen application shown on monitor 2 without using the mouse.
(I know I could just ...
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1answer
25 views
How to name a deskop in mission control?
I have multiple desktops. I want to be able to name them. Is it possible out of the box?
Or at least does MacOS have API for that? I'd create an application.
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1answer
37 views
Applescript to change desktop background positioning (e.g., Fill to screen
I have the script
tell application "System Events"
tell every desktop
set picture to "/Users/jackson/Pictures/Backgrounds/backpic.jpg"
end tell
end tell
That changes my desktop ...
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0answers
33 views
Fullscreen spaces insist on always opening new windows on the desktop furthest away (desktop 1)
I currently have these spaces:
[Desktop 1] [Eight other spaces including three desktops] [Fullscreen browser]
...and started noticing that even when I'm in the Fullscreen Browser space and I open ...
1
vote
1answer
50 views
Apple Internal Hard Drive Error
So long story short, my iMac was working perfectly fine and I just decided to restart it because the fan was loud, it made a weird noise and now it keeps taking me back to either reinstall my macos, ...
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0answers
41 views
Items saved to Desktop do not show on Desktop
I use Safari and Chrome to download files and set the Desktop as the download folder.
Each time I download something it does not appear on the Desktop. But if I relaunch Finder then it will appear on ...
3
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0answers
43 views
Cannot drag entire Desktop to an extended monitor on Mojave
I have several application windows open in one of the desktops on my MackBook Pro (late 2016) running Mojave 10.14, and my work requires me to use extended monitors. Whenever I wanted to move a ...
1
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1answer
36 views
How can I change the picture used by this AppleScript?
I am using this:
osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to
set desktop picture to POSIX file "/Library/Desktop Pictures/Earth Horizon.jpg"'
to set the desktop on a lab of computers. How can I ...
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9answers
8k views
Is it a good practice to create a desktop shortcut on mac?
I have been installing some popular software for Mac and observed that installation packages do not create a desktop shortcut as they often do on windows.
What is good practice to follow: Should I ...
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0answers
16 views
How to switch to the latest active desktop, is there a hotkey?
I've a little of a search but haven't found anything.
Is there a way to switch to the latest active desktop? Or should I create a special hotkey for that?
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0answers
122 views
Desktop became frozen after upgrading to Mojave
Recently I upgraded my mac mini(late 2012) from 10.13.6 to 10.14 using app store. The first day it worked perfectly.
But today, when I booted & logged in, its frozen on desktop screen. No items ...
2
votes
3answers
405 views
macOS Mojave stacks not grouping by type
I have updated my MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) with macOS Mojave and everything is woking as per the need.
But I think new feature of macOS Mojave called Stacks is not working properly on my MacBook ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
AppleScript - Get every desktop including hidden Mission Control desktops
I'm trying to write a simple script that will change my desktop background on all of my desktops/workspaces at once. Right now I have this:
tell application "System Events"
tell every desktop
...
2
votes
0answers
38 views
Is having too much stuff on the Desktop still a performance killer? [closed]
See for example
This article
Or this one
Or this one
Now, the answer to this question seems to suggest that the problem is icons on the desktop needing to be repeatedly redrawn, but the articles ...
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vote
0answers
47 views
Iterm2 Window goes to back when switching desktops
When a non-fullscreen iterm window is opened and the desktop is switched, the iterm window goes to the back, behind any open windows in the screen. Is there a way to keep the iterm window on top when ...
1
vote
1answer
22 views
How can I set 'fit to screen' as the default behaviour when changing my desktop background (wallpaper)
Every time I want to set a picture as my desktop background it sets it so big that half of it is gone. I then have to go to the settings and choose desktop then choose a setting.
It is so annoying ...
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1answer
29 views
OS X Yosemite multiple desktops with different files
Is there a way to have a second desktop which you can put individual folders and files on it, so that the first desktop is clear without any files?
2
votes
1answer
35 views
Drop window as maximized to a new desktop instead of fullscreen
The default behavior when you drag a window to a new desktop is to make it fullscreen. Is there any way to have it maximized instead of going full screen.
Referring to the following:
^+Up
Drag a ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
What's this “Finder” icon on my Desktop and how do I get rid of it?
A few days ago, this icon appeared on my desktop. It sticks near the top-right of the screen and it doesn't seem like I can reposition it. Clicking on it has no effect.
In Mission Control, the icon ...
1
vote
1answer
19 views
How can I stop documents from popping out of folders littering the desktop?
I have a MacBook Pro, early 2015. I work on a number of projects at a given time. Each desktop folder is labeled by client and I probably have 10 folders with 2-7 subfolders. I save documents to ...
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0answers
9 views
How can I orchestrate app windows into multiple desktops when I turn on my Macbook Pro
Hopefully the title isn't confusing. Here's a detailed explanation. I have a Macbook Pro and I use it in 2 "modes" when working:
Connected to a external monitor
I run 2 desktops (A and B) on the ...
15
votes
1answer
1k views
How to view any folder as if it was desktop
There's a folder called "Desktop" in the home directory. By default, when there are no windows on the screen, the contents of "Desktop" are shown over the background. I'm wondering if there's a way to ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Applications assigned to All Desktops loses focus when moving through desktops
If I assign an application to all desktops like this:
It loses focus after moving to another desktop and moving back.
Step to reproduce:
Assign an app to All Desktops (let's say iTerm).
Switch to ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
'Always on top' window on macOS High Sierra
I need a way to put any chosen window to be always on top. For example, if I read a book in iBooks or I'm writing code in XCode using Sublime Text. I want a application or way to overcome the issue. I ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
What geographic location is shown in the macOS High Sierra default desktop image?
Looks like Convict Lake, just off US395 in Mono County...but I'm guessing.
Does anyone know where the fall mountain scene with the lake was photographed?
5
votes
1answer
1k views
High Sierra, how to set screensaver as desktop background?
Before I updated my OS I was able to set my current screen saver as my desktop background using this command found in this answer
/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/...
1
vote
2answers
30 views
What is this blue half on my screen?
In the midst of plugging in my monitor and three-finger swiping up to move Chrome to the second desktop I got this.
I couldn't access my top bar (with the time and battery) and if I clicked the side ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
macOS - Prevent same background image from showing on multiple Desktops?
I have set my desktop background image to automatically change every 30 minutes.
Most of the time, I have at least 3 Desktops/Spaces open on my MacBook; so sometimes I see the same image on 2 ...
3
votes
2answers
280 views
Change Icon/Thumbnail for File Type
Have searched for quite a while for the answer to this question but the only solution that has worked has been to change icons on a file to file basis, which is not very efficient...
Currently my Mac ...
2
votes
1answer
552 views
Possible to link mouse buttons to macOS functions
I've just taken delivery of a new mechanical keyboard and laser mouse as I wanted to switch off the Bluetooth on my MacBook Pro (early 2013 Retina, running High Sierra).
All is working nicely with ...
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votes
3answers
124 views
Finder Preferences: Unable to hide items on desktop
I prefer my desktop to be as empty as possible. So the first thing I do whenever I get a new Mac is hide all items on the desktop (hard disks, external disks, CD's and servers).
On my Mac from work, ...
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0answers
34 views
Display Desktop and dock on External Display
I have an Asus ZenScreen that I have connected to 15in MacBook Pro. Under arrangement, I have the ZenScreen as a extended monitor (Arranged Above my MacBook Pro Display: shown below):
Is it possible ...
1
vote
1answer
466 views
Thumbnail floating on screen after deletion from desktop
I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) running High Sierra 10.13.3.
Recently when I have dragged and deleted image files from my desktop there has been a thumbnail of one of the pictures ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
Changing the Desktop background of the current Space does not change the background for other Space(s)
When I change the Desktop background in macOS, the change gets reflected only in the current Space and not the others. The background image I am selecting is one from the default set.
I tried ...
1
vote
1answer
161 views
System stats on desktop wallpaper
I am looking for an app similar to conky on Linux that will allow me to display various system stats and style them right on my desktop wallpaper.
I am only able to find things like iStats which ...
2
votes
1answer
305 views
How to automatically fetch images from a website and update desktop image to match (in terminal)?
I'm an astronomer, and I constantly (read: several times per day) check the same website to view the clear sky chart for my observatory. Specifically, the chart found on this webpage:
http://www....
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0answers
11 views
Remove animation for “Show Desktop” hotcorner [duplicate]
I would like to remove the animation used in macOS High Sierra's "Show Desktop" hotcorner. This might be a repeat question, but I haven't been able to find any identical questions so far. What is the ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
How to separate iCloud Drive from Desktop & Documents
How do I separate iCloud Drive from Desktop and Documents?
I accidentally clicked on an option to have iCloud store all of the desktop files, then all of the sudden, iCloud ran out of storage.
I got ...
2
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0answers
26 views
Avoid re-ordering of windows when changing desktops/spaces
I use 4 desktops and have enabled Assign to All Desktops for several apps. When changing from one desktop to another, any of these "all desktops" apps that were on top get sent to the back. Can this ...
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vote
0answers
31 views
Company computer displays information on desktop background
I have a company (university) computer, and it displays a bunch of information on the desktop, in really large and ugly font that dominates the upper left hand corner of my desktop. It's not on the ...
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vote
0answers
21 views
Automatically organize multiple desktops
I want to have multiple desktops created in a specific order on the startup of my system. I want two apps (Safari and iTunes) to be full screen on each desktop on startup. I know about "Options > Open ...
2
votes
0answers
36 views
Switch between last accessed mission control workspace with key
Back when I used Linux I had a window manager similar to the macOS window manager, which had the same concept of different workspaces/desktops. It had a very useful additional feature, that you could ...
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0answers
270 views
How to change the background image of second monitor without connecting to it?
Is there a way to change the background image of the second monitor without connecting the Mac to it?
I connected my Macbook to a projector and set up a background image. Now that I disconnected the ...
2
votes
1answer
31 views
Where are widget screen positions (coordinates) stored?
I keep a widget open on my desktop on my secondary monitor. Went away on vacation. No external monitor. The widget was "trapped" offscreen and active.
I tried looking in the preferences file for that ...
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0answers
19 views
Problem switching desktops
Since the macos high sierra I have an issue navigating threw my desktops.
For example I have a terminal open on full size (it will be on an other desktop) and mail open on the same way.
I am on the ...
3
votes
0answers
76 views
Desktop images out of order since updating to High Sierra
I Just updated to High Sierra. I have a folder with file names like desktop-0001.jpg, desktop-0002.jpg, and so on that is used to change my desktop image every minute. In System Prefs the image order ...
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0answers
54 views
Finder is not saving my changes at Desktop (i.e Arrangements)
Less than a week ago, I just upgraded my MacBook Pro (Early 2015) to macOS 10.13.1.
I am not sure if the problem was caused by this. Everything was fine, nothing went wrong during the installation, ...
