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.
513
questions
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1answer
17 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
16 views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
14 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
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 ...
0
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0answers
28 views
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&...
1
vote
1answer
23 views
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 ...
0
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0answers
25 views
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 ...
4
votes
1answer
47 views
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 ...
0
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0answers
7 views
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 ...
0
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0answers
25 views
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 ...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
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 ...
0
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0answers
18 views
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 ...
1
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0answers
154 views
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 &...
1
vote
0answers
39 views
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 ...
1
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0answers
56 views
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'...
0
votes
2answers
35 views
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. ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
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 ...
0
votes
2answers
39 views
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 ...
0
votes
0answers
21 views
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....
1
vote
2answers
80 views
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 ...
0
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0answers
54 views
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
-1
votes
1answer
23 views
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 ...
2
votes
2answers
63 views
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 ...
0
votes
2answers
392 views
how to restore Desktop files from iCloud
Basically I signed out and in my apple Id to fix some handoff issues....
But I just noticed that all my files on Desktop DISAPPEAR !!!
I have the desktop folder in my iCloud but not sure what happens.....
1
vote
1answer
114 views
Disable the Dock in all but one Desktop/Space only
On My iMac I usually have several desktops that I use for separate things.
While I prefer to have the Dock on my main space to access apps easier, I much prefer to have the Dock hide on all other ...
0
votes
1answer
112 views
How to set or change the desktop background in configuration profile in Big Sur
Is there any way to set the desktop background picture in a configuration profile in Big Sur? This is when using local profile, rather than one set by a server or MDM.
0
votes
1answer
21 views
Action on Middle-Click on Desktop
For years, when I used X, I had it configured so that a middle-click on the background would instantly create an xterm right there. Apparently, old habits die hard, as I just tried to middle-click ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views
Is there a way to switch virtual desktops on my monitors SIMULTANEOUSLY?
I have my laptop (M1, Big Sur 11.3 Build 20E5186d) and a second monitor. I split up my virtual desktops into "topics" so I can better handle the big amount of open windows and applications.
...
0
votes
2answers
41 views
How to move Preview window to other desktop in MacOS?
I know how to do this with regular application windows, you just drag the window to the edge of the screen until it moves to the next desktop.
This does not work with the Preview window.
Is there a ...
1
vote
1answer
99 views
Small black square in top right corner
since I updated my Mac to Big Sur, just on one of my four Desktops, this little black square appeared. Does anyone know how to remove it?
0
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0answers
56 views
Big Sur menu bar changes color from black to white when switching virtual desktops – possible to pin it to a single color?
So my menu bar changes its color when I switch virtual desktops. On desktop 1, I have black text on a white menu bar. On Desktop 2, it is white text on white menu bar. On desktop 3 and beyond, it is ...
1
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0answers
33 views
How to open specific apps and arrange them to different desktops automatically?
I'm using my MacBook doing quite different things from time to time. For example, at home, I may want to open file1.xlsx, file2.xlsx with Excel on Desktop 2, while Chrome opened with tags of Google, ...
0
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0answers
6 views
Chrome windows won't stay on one desktop
I used to be able to have different chrome windows on different desktops (for example chrome window 1 on desktop 1 and chrome window 2 on desktop 2) However, after updating to macOS Big Sur 11.2.1, I ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Bring only one app to front after "show desktop" applied
Consider the situation:
I have many active apps on my (main) workspace and I've taken screenshot of one of them, which was auto saved on desktop. I need to put this screenshot to another active app(e....
0
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0answers
17 views
Unexpected visual switching between desktop
Sometimes, when an app is in full-screen mode on a desktop, and that I click on the dock to display another app which is not in full-screen, in another desktop, the application is displayed, but come ...
2
votes
1answer
34 views
Can I delete Applications-folder from desktop?
On my desktop on my Mac, there is a folder called "Applications". I think it is a shortcut to the actual applications-folder, but I am not entirely sure. If I delete the folder from my ...
0
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0answers
8 views
Screens; is there a shortcut to separate fractional spaces back into their own screens?
I use spaces a lot. Sometimes i combine two spaces together which is great (fractional spaces). However when I want to go back to having them in their own dedicated spaces it takes time and is fiddly....
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Wallpaper Not Showing Behind Mission Control/App Exposé or resized Window on only one Desktop
No clue why this is happening (screen recording link): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cm82c9ApbNU1qF6bjCzITMpnQ00xlvmN/view?usp=sharing
For whatever reason, the desktop wallpaper only shows up when ...
0
votes
1answer
254 views
How to auto-change all new .webloc files' icons to web page favicon?
I'd love to have all website URL files on the desktop take the favicon of the corresponding web page, rather than the Safari icon.
This would mimic the function of adding a page to the home screen of ...
0
votes
1answer
76 views
How can I change my desktop background? I've tried everything with no luck
Here's a recording of what's going on:
https://i.imgur.com/fBIt1rJ.mp4
This, as you can see, is not ideal. I've also tried it with my own images as well to no avail.
I've tried just about every site ...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
Where does OSX store the Desktop layout configuration info?
Since early Mac versions, I have been able to rearrange the icons on my desktop. Until I use one of the "Cleanup" options, they can be in pretty much random positions, even overlapping each ...
0
votes
2answers
37 views
How do I toggle between the most recent app and Desktop while keeping them in the same space?
I am aware that I can hide an app with ⌘+H or minimise it with ⌘+M. However my use case involves frequent toggling between hiding the app (to view the desktop) and then viewing that app again. For ...
1
vote
0answers
22 views
Is it possible to track how much time I spend in each of the desktops in Mission Control
I would like to track work time vs. non-work time on my MacBook on a daily basis. I was thinking, maybe if I had one desktop for work and another desktop for non-work, I could more easily track that ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Desktop workspaces switch back and forth
I am using macOS Big Sur version 1.1 on MacPro i7.
The problem seems to be with Preview Version 11.0 (1018.2), when on desktop2 I try making either:
Export...
File->Take screenshot-> from ...
0
votes
2answers
50 views
Protect a folder from access
The folders: desktop, documents, downloads, network volumes and more are protected by Catalina.
Can I protect a folder in the same way as the one so that it is asked whether an application is allowed ...
0
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0answers
15 views
Application/window opening default location on desktop
Some applications have fixed locations on the Desktop where their windows open.
For instance, Preview always opens a new image in the upper right corner of my right most Thunderbolt Display.
Get Info ...
0
votes
0answers
6 views
How to set font size or location for wallpaper filename displayed on the desktop?
I'm using the command
defaults write com.apple.dock desktop-picture-show-debug-text -bool TRUE;killall Dock
to have the path of my current desktop picture displayed on the desktop. This works fine, ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Name: Tags: Where: image frozen on my Mac Air desktop
I took a screen shot using Command +5 and apparently tapped "Record Selected Section". That screen shot icon is frozen on my desktop.
I have tried opening Terminal and typing: Killall ...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Keyboard shortcut swap/move individual desktop spaces
I tend to just use one "Desktop" Desktop, then my other Desktops are full-screened apps. I frequently close & open Desktop spaces, like when I decide to open a new browser window.
My ...
0
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0answers
18 views
Desktop background of second screen randomly changing
For some reasons the background of my second screen keeps changing. I set it to a colour of my liking but once I unplug and plug the screen back in, the colour gets replaced by a picture.
Anyone else ...
