Grabbing items on the desktop

When I move items round the desktop, my Logitech V220 mouse (I use this more often than the trackpad, guess it could happen with this too?) sometimes picks up an item but does not let it go again when I try to release it by single click or double click. Please can someone tell me why this happens and how I can let go of the item?
Thanks a lot.

I remember having that trouble myself, and I was pretty certain I unchecked something in the Preference pane. That said, the Logitech software is a bit wonky on Macs. Try resetting the mouse by removing the battery for a few minutes and hit the reset button under the mouse. Also, reinstall the software. I think the installer has an un-install feature. If so, do that first.

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GPO setting "Hide and disable all items on the desktop" stop applying at policy refresh

In our organization we have the Hide and disable all items on the desktop setting enabled on our Windows 7 computers. As we are testing Windows 8.1 we have come across an odd behaviour with this setting: At log on the desktop is configured as expected: No
Icons. But after 90 minutes, or when running gpupdate /target:user manually, the Icons appear.
How can I make the setting stay?
Regards/
Johan

Hi Johan,
After the icons appear ,I suggest you use gpresult command to check the result.
It seems that some setting overrided ""Hide and disable all items on the desktop".
Regards,
Kelvin hsu
TechNet Community Support

Trashing items on the desktop

I cannot get items off the desktop into the trash. I get the error code -35, telling me I cannot trash the items because needed information is missing...??? How can I correct this?
Chris

Look at these links.
You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash in Mac OS X
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106272
Solving Trash Problems
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html
How To Fix Stubborn Trash and Why it Won't Delete
http://www.osxfaq.com/Tutorials/LearningCenter/HowTo/Trash/index.ws
Download Trash It! v3.6.1 from:
http://www.nonamescriptware.com/?page_id=5
Download DropNuke from:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/12664
 Cheers, Tom

In Finder Prefs, does unchecking "Show these items on the Desktop" mean certain connected drives won't "mount" at all -- or they WILL mount but simply not appear as Desktop icons?

In the Finder Preferences panel, when one unchecks a category of "items" (e.g. "Hard Disks," or "CDs, DVDs and iPods," etc.), does that mean that items of that type will not even "mount" as a connected external drive when they get plugged in to the computer? Or, alternately, DO these external devices "mount," and can be accessed via various menu commands or keyboard shortcuts, but it's just that they won't appear on the Desktop as a "Desktop icon"?
The terminology used in the Prefs panels makes me think that they DO mount, they just don't "appear" as icons. Otherwise, the Prefs panel would say "Mount these items as connected drives when plugged in."
Right?
If one unchecks a category, and then connects or inserts a device of that category to the Mac, and then unceremoniously unplugs it from the computer, will one get an error message saying (forget the exact words) "Don't disconnect external drives before first Ejecting them!" Or...not?

If iTunes is already running when I plug in the iPod, then I briefly get the "Connected - Eject before disconnecting" message, but then it goes away after a few seconds, and the iPod screen reverts to the normal home screen, which means I can unplug it without ejecting it.
So the three potential statuses are:
1. Plug in iPod and never launch iTunes = iPod need to be ejected before disconnecting.
2. First plug in iPod and subsequently launch iTunes = get unwanted "connected" message until the moment that iTunes is running, at which point it disappears.
3. First launch iTunes and then plug in iPod = iPod briefly gives "connected" message, but then reverts to home page.
So, it seems that having iTunes open in these settings will (after a brief period at most, or immediately) allow me to unplug the iPod without "Ejecting" it first.
However...I don't want to launch iTunes! The whole point is to just be able to plug in and unplug the iPod without having to fiddle with anything on the Mac. My original problem was that I had to "Eject" the iPod in order to unplug it -- but if the only way to solve that problem is to launch iTunes, then all I've done is replace one problem with another.
I don't want to have to launch iTunes or have it running, now or ever. I just want to recharge my iPod.
So, while we certainly have learned a lot so far (and thanks for your patience!), I don't want to end up with a different problem than the one I started with.
So, the amended question is now:
Is there a way I can simply plug in and unplug my iPod to my Mac for the purposes of recharging only, without having to either "Eject" the iPod from the Mac or having to launch iTunes (manually or automatically)?

Cannot click items on the desktop

Hello,
I've had an issue where I sometimes, just seemingly randomly, I cannot click folders, items, etc on the desktop. The click just will not register anything. I have some folder, files, and the "Macintosh HD" on my desktop and I cannot click anything. I have to force restart finder and then it will work again. The first time, I thought it was a fluke, but it has happened several times now and I don't know what's wrong.
On a related note, sometimes when saving files from Entourage to desktop, nothing will show on the desktop. It will just not show up. I can find it when looking in the ACTUAL desktop folder, but not on the desktop itself.
Has anyone experienced this before? Anything I can do? The desktop issue seems knew to .6, but the saving to desktop has happened since .4. Thanks!

I had the same issue today and while it was happening, I spent some time trying to figure out why this was occurring. It was a weird end to the reasoning behind it, which is prob. why most people had never experienced something like this.
First, the two issues of not being able to click the desktop and not seeing items saved to desktop from Entourage ended up being completely related.
As soon as the problem occurred, I immediately went to clicking around the desktop and noticed nothing worked. I clicked on Macintosh HD, Folders on my desktop, files, etc and nothing would work. Also, a few minutes prior, saving to desktop from Entourage did not work. It would not show up on desktop, but would show up when I looked at the files in the folder. I knew restarting Finder would make it work again, but I wanted to know why. I went ahead and remembered that I had an issue with my monitor after every restart where I would see screens double. To make it go away, I have to go into Monitor settings, change from 60hz refresh to 75, then back again. For some reason, I started leaving it at 75, so going back and forth 2 times total. I opened the Monitor settings and changed the refresh rate to 60. All of a sudden, the files that were not showing up, DID show up, and I was instantly able to click on all of my icons on the desktop and files. Weird, I know.
All I can say regarding this is that I was not able to click anything on the desktop, I couldn't save items to desktop from Entourage, until I changed the refresh rate. Files that were "not on" the desktop, suddenly were, after the blue screen came and went after changing refresh rates.
Anyway, that's my experience and I'm thankful I do not have this problem anymore.

Dragging items to the desktop

When I drag a file onto my desktop (e.g. a jpeg from my internet browser), it doesn't appear where I drop it, but instead jumps to a seemingly random place on the desktop.
Why does this happen and is there a way to change it?
Thanks!

Hello. I am having the same problem lately. When I drag an item to be saved onto the desktop, the icon appears on the right instead of where I intended it on the desktop. I don't know why this is happening now since I don't recall it being a problem before. I already have it set on "none" instead of "snap to grid" but it doesn't help. If someone has a solution, I thank you in advance.

Can't launch Photoshop items from the desktop

After recently upgrading to Tiger, I can't open an item in Photoshop after double-clicking or dragging onto the Photoshop icon in the dock. I have to go into Photoshop first to open it. What a pain!
I'm sure this is an easy fix, but obviously I don't know it....
H-E-L-P M-E.......
G4 desktop Mac OS X (10.4.8)

First off, sounds to me the Photoshop icon in the dock was made from an alias, and not the actual application. If the alias lost its way to the original file at anytime, that can break the connection on the Dock. Remove Photoshop from the Dock while it is closed and reopen the application directly, and click and hold the Photoshop icon in the Dock, and select the menu item in the Dock for Keep in Dock. That at least should fix it so dragging an item to Photoshop will launch it if Photoshop recognizes the file format.
Note, if your open/save dialog box is open in Photoshop, it won't allow you to open documents from the Finder. Only when a file is already open, or just the application is open with no user clickable dismissable dialogs are open, will files launch from the Finder.
If none of these applies, you may need to change the Open/With settings by control-mouse clicking the said document and select Open With... Navigate to the Photoshop application itself in the file browser that comes up, and check off the checkbox "Always Open With".

When I try to click and drag items to the desktop, I receive the following error: You can't open the application "Desktop" because it may be damaged or incomplete.

I am not able to edit my desktop, I receive the following error: You can’t open the application “Desktop” because it may be damaged or incomplete.
Also, I cannot rearrange folders, add folders, or move things out of my trash back to the desktop.

Try using another account and see if the problem persists.
Try booting into the Safe Mode and see if the problem persists.
Starting Up in the Safe Mode
What is Safe Mode

Cannot delete items from the desktop. Finder ask for a password, and it still want delete ?the item.

How can I turn Finder off? Can not delete from desktop finder requires a password and the item is still not deleted.

Solving Trash Problems
Good luck,
Clinton

How do I screen grab a specific folder on the desktop?

I want to screen grab a specific object on the desktop by using command+shift+4 and then spacebar so that the result would be an image file with transparent background.
When I try to use the grab function on the desktop, it highlights the entire desktop, thus not allowing me to select anything in particular i.e a file icon. The same happens in Finder, where it selects the entire window.
I swear I used to be able to do this, has this feature been discontinued since Yosemite?
I would simply just use command+shift+4, then select around the icon I'd like, but I want the icon to have a transparent background as I'm using it in web design and don't want to spend hours removing parts of my desktop from it on Photoshop.
Any suggestions anyone? Perhaps there's another way to do it that I haven't thought of?
Thanks!

Thanks Niel, that's close to what I need, however, I'd like the text underneath it like it is on a desktop.
I suppose it could be recreated in Photoshop, is there no way to specifically screenshot objects on a desktop?

My external hard drive will not mount on the desktop?

My external hard drive no longer mounts on my desktop, the hard drive has been checked & is working-has anyone ideas?

Hello cuckoo55,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
For more information on this, take a look at:
Mac OS X v10.6: How to show your hard drive icon on the desktop
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3746
In the Finder, choose Preferences from the Finder menu.
Click the General icon on the toolbar.
Select "Hard disks" in the "Show these items on the desktop:" section.
Close the Finder Preferences window.
Best of luck,
Mario

I cannot get my preferred images to remain on the desktop. Through preferences I choose an image and it disappears each time I turn the computer off: why? And how can I stop this?

When I go to 'desktop' in system preferences and choose an image for the desktop, it disappears when I turn the computer off. Why is this? And how can I get an image to remain until I choose to change it? It acts this way whether I click 'change' or not.

If you log in automatically, a known bug will cause the desktop picture to revert to the default image of a galaxy at every startup. The only workaround is to disable automatic login in the Users & Groups preference pane.
If the desktop picture always reverts to a plain blue background, one of your login items may be causing the problem. The "Team Viewer" application has this effect, as reported by ASC user Zimmerwald. If it's not that in your case, rule out all other third-party login items as possible causes.
According to one report, a "stuck" desktop picture setting can be fixed by changing the setting and then immediately rebooting. I can't confirm, but there's no harm in trying it.
If none of the above applies to you, proceed as follows.
In the Finder, hold down the option key and select
Go ▹ Library
from the menu bar. From the Library folder, delete the following item, if it exists:
Caches/com.apple.systempreferences
and move the following item to the Desktop:
Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Launch System Preferences and test. If you still have the issue, put the item on the Desktop back where it came from and post again. Otherwise, delete the item.

Startup disk disappear from the desktop

Well, without any reason, The startup disk is disappear from the desktop.
(Just only the startup disk)
I found this 2 times before, once on my 8 cores Mac Pro, once on my iMac G5.
I couldn't do anything to fix them, so I formatted and re-install OS.
with my iMac, it ran Tiger before, there's no problem until I changed to Leopard,
After about 2 weeks under the new Leopard,then the startup disk disappear from the desktop,
it shown the hidden status in disk utility and could not mount it,
So I formatted and back to install old Tiger.
Everything's fine. that's really good Operating system.
Bad luck, about 2 months ago, My iMac G5 had some problem with motherboard and the harddisk also damaged, I send it to Apple Thailand, They fixed it and send back with installed Leopard inside my new hard disk.(well... again)
Now after a few weeks. it happen again.
Startup disk disappear from the desktop.
This problem never exist on my Mac Pro, just with the iMac G5.
(Please don't tell me to check the finder preference about the sidebar setting.
it's already set to show every items there even the iDisk)
I wondered why I don't see anyone have problem with this.
I'm really want to find the answer about this.
I asked this question to Apple Thailand's support team but they didn't have any idea.
Who's gonna answer this

I found a solution to the problem and posted it here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1858340&stqc=true
I pasted the solution below:
from a Terminal window, type:
ls -lOd /
(That's lowercase ell, lowercase ess, space, minus, lowercase ell, capital oh, lowercase dee, space, forward slash)
You should get something like this:
hostname:~ username$ ls -lOd /
drwxrwxr-t 32 root admin - 1156 Feb 8 20:35 /
Sounds like you might see something like this instead:
hostname:~ username$ ls -lOd /
drwxrwxr-t@ 32 root admin hidden 1156 Feb 8 20:35 /
(note it says "hidden" instead of "-")
To fix this, type:
sudo chflags nohidden /
and provide your admin password. You won't get any output back from the command but the icon should now appear on your desktop, and the hidden flag should go away if you repeat the 'ls -lOd /' command.
And just in case you missed it above, you've got to be sure Hard disks are turned on in Finder General Preferences under "Show these items on the Desktop"

I downloaded firefox but it doesn't appear on the desktop or in programs. Where is it?

Where can I find Firefox?

Make sure the enable disk use option is ticked from under your iPod's Summary tab in iTunes. Also head to Finder -> Preferences -> General and make sure the CDs, DVDs, and iPods option under Show these items on the desktop is ticked as well.
B-rock

Whenever I shutdown my mac book pro the desktop background changes. How can I fix this?

Please help

If you log in automatically, a bug in some versions of OS X will cause the desktop picture to revert to the default image at every startup. The only known workaround is to disable automatic login in the Users & Groups preference pane.
If the selected Desktop picture is stored in an iPhoto library on an external drive, export it from iPhoto and move it to a folder on the startup volume. (Credit for this solution to ASC member janay.)
If the desktop picture always reverts to a plain blue background, one of your login items may be causing the problem. The "TeamViewer" application can have this effect; see this thread. If it's not that in your case, rule out all other third-party login items as possible causes.
If you have a MacBook Pro model with automatic graphics switching, disable it temporarily in the Energy Saverpreference pane, set the Desktop picture, then reboot and re-enable graphics switching.
If none of the above applies to you, proceed as follows.
Back up all data.
In the Finder, hold down the option key and select
Go ▹ Library
from the menu bar. From the Library folder, delete the following item, if it exists:
Caches/com.apple.systempreferences
and move the following items to the Desktop, if they exist:
Application Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db
Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Launch System Preferences and test. If you still have the issue, put the items you moved to the Desktop back where they came from and post again. Otherwise, delete the items.

Grabbing items on the desktop

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