Hide desktop icons on secondary monitor?

I have these command scripts in my Dock and click on them when I want to hide or show desktop icons:
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false
killall Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop true
killall Finder
It works great. My question is, how do I write these so they hide the desktop icons on my secondary monitor?
Thanks!

Never mind... restarting fixed the problem.

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Can i hide desktop icons?

is it possible to have no icons on the desktop showing.
for example, in windows i just right click on the desktop, arrange icons by, and then click show desktop icons. which either hides/shows the desktop icons.
is it possible to do something similar with mac?

hiya,
when i put a '.' in front of the file name, it comes up with a message saying "...these names are reserved for the system".
if i can help it, i don't want to install a programme, just so i can use one of its features i.e. hiding desktop icons.
the reason i want to hide my desktop icons is so i can just see my wallpaper.
is there no simple, say for example, turn on/off desktop icons? or something along those lines?
thanks.

Hide desktop icons in workspaces

Hi there. Is there anyway to hide all the desktop icons but from specific workspaces? I found an app called DesktopUtility which does the job but it hides them from all workspaces.

I have the same problem on 10.9.2.
Looks rather worse on my icon-strewn desktop!

Can't put desktop icons on second monitor

I have two monitors but the Leopard Finder won't let me put desktop icons on the second one. Windows I drag onto it fine, but if I try to drag a desktop icon over there, it immediately snaps back to my main monitor. View option for Desktop is "Arrange by: None" so this shouldn't be happening!

Never mind... restarting fixed the problem.

How to reverse hide desktop icons.scpt

this is a script i downloaded from some website i cannot find now, to hide the desktop icons... i did so successful when i clicked play.
now i kinda want it the old way where the desktop icons are displayed on the desktop! i remember reading that i can change some element of the below script to display the desktop icons again, but forgot what it is...
another one can help? please? thanks a lot..
try
set CurSet to do shell script "defaults read com.apple.finder CreateDesktop"
on error
set CurSet to "1"
end try
if CurSet is "1" then
set NewSet to false
else
set NewSet to true
end if
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool " & NewSet
tell application "Finder"
quit
try
activate
end try
end tell
i tried changing 1 to 0 and running the script but it didnt work.
hope i didnt damage my os x or sth....

Jeffrey,
The script worked as a toggle for me. When I ran it the first time my desktop icons hid; I ran it a second time and the icons were back. No need to change any values.
Try pasting the same script into your Script Editor and hit the Run button. Look for the icons to reappear. If you decide to save the script as an application you should, for obvious reasons, save it to somewhere other than your desktop. You can place it in your dock afterward and run it from there, e.g.
See if that works... Good luck!
Andrew99

Gnome 3.6 - Desktop Icons on Secondary TwinView Screen?

Hi,
I have dual monitors using Nvidia twinview and in previous Gnome iterations nothing has prevented 'free dragging' of desktop icons to anywhere, on any screen. However in 3.6.2 they seem to be locked to the primary monitor only. Does anyone know if this is configurable, a bug, or yet further reduced usability?
Many thanks

wilson wrote:I had to remove .config/dconf/user twice to get rid of the black text. The first time, after reststarting with Alt-F2 'r', the desktop was mostly reset, but the icons were all still there, and running gnome-tweak-tool "Have file manager manage the desktop" was set to False, and setting it to True did nothing. I removed the file again, logged out, then logged in, and then the icon's were gone, and setting "Have file manager manage the desktop" properly put white text under the icons.
Very interesting. I did all that you suggested - and in the end - the icon text was still black. However - I got to playing around and discovered the source of the problem.
It is the GTK+ Theme. If it is set to any GTK+ theme other than the default 'Adwaita' - the icon text is always black. However, it works correctly - white - with Adwaita.
So - I surmise that something changed in how Gnome 3.2 uses GTK+ - or something in GTK+ itself. Perhaps Wonder may have some perspective on this ... I hope.
--Theoden

Lion hides desktop icons

Sometimes, (I still can't understand the exact conditions, looks like completely random) Lion hides all my desktop icons and "deactivates" desktop (nothing happens when I'm trying to "select" - no selection rectangle is drawn).
Maybe it happens when I'm minimizing applications or when quitting ones, but it really makes me mad - I just realize that no icins are shown on the desktop at the moment.
Switching desktops restores the functionality and shows all the icons.
Any idea what happens and how to solve this?
P.S. And, a couple words to Apple - Snow Leo was a dream. Lion is some early-released glitchy crap that I every day think of removing and really asking for my money back.

In that case, there may be a problem with your Finder preferences or window settings.
Try removing these files, then restarting:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
~/Desktop/.DS_Store
Let me know if you're not sure how to do that.

Hide Desktop Icons

Hello all,
I have seen various posts around the place about hiding your desktop icons by turning the desktop "off", but i would like to hide select icons of my choice.
Mainly I would like to hide the hard drive icon, but i cant work it out? Does anyone have any ideas?
Cheers,
r00tb00t

in addition to what francine said, i find it useful to turn off the selection for hard drives showing up as i have tons of partitions and drives, some of which are clones of other ones etc, but I then make an alias of the ones that i decide i DO want on the desktop.
even better in leopard is that you can hide certain options that still leaves a newly inserted CD showing up on the desktop, without tons of other ipod's and disks showing up that you don't want. up until leopard i think the new CD remained hidden along with other removable drives and disks.

Hide desktop icon and keep text

I would like for my desktop not to have icon, but still have the text for the shortcut. I know you can accomplish this by making the icon a transparent image but, it still has the highlighted box around the transparent image when you click it once. Is there a way to get around this?

I use Overflow which does that stated above but even better as it doesn't require opening and closing a seperate folder, or right-clicking, for your files.
The link for Overflow: http://www.stuntsoftware.com/Overflow/
I'm also trying out DockYard: http://www.belkadan.com/dockyard/
and a review: http://downloads.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000375,39309691s,00.htm
Now, anyone know how to remove/hide icon title text from the Dock?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1129410&tstart=0

Can't put Icons on Second Monitor

All of a sudden I cannot move icons from the desktop on my main monitor to the desktop on my secondary monitor. There's no problem putting application windows on the second monitor but icons just slide back to the main monitor's desktop. I tried restarting and that didn't solve it. Has anyone seen this and have a solution? I'm running a late 2012 Mac mini with Mavericks 10.9.2.
Thanks,
-= Ken =-

Hmmmm. Looks like nobody has heard of this problem.

Desktop icons off screen when removing second monitor

Hi there, well I have found a few bugs so far using Leopard so thought I should see if anyone else is getting them:
@ I use a second monitor, and if I remove the monitor, although the rest of the OS resizes to just the laptop, the desktop icons are nowhere to be seen.
@ My USB mouse doesn't work any more.
@ Although I prefer the way the connected servers now work, there is a problem in Finder, where I have to restart Finder to be able to see some connections.
Apart from that I am pretty happy with the speed improvements and there are less bugs for me than I had read about (although obviously as production software you would expect minimum bugs!).
Message was edited by: Wiseguy Digital

I have the exact same problem, MacBook Pro 15" 2.33 GHz and the same type of Apple display. I use the display at the office, disconnect, bring my PB home, and when I wake it up the PB acts like the display is till connected - no desktop icons visible (although strangely, it shows the Dock and the Finder Menu) until after I restart.
Clicking "detect displays" doesn't work, neither does clicking the highlighted configuration.
My daughter also has a problem with her MacBook and her Apple Cinema display, which has to be set as mirrored or it won't display anything, it somehow isn't detected the way it used to be. Why I mentioned this is because I never had this problem before, and neither did my daughter. It started quite recently, so I guess it is related to a system software update.
Message was edited by: John Simon Beverly

How do I hide the 3 desktop icons? [RESOLVED]

I wanted to hide (not delete) the 3 desktop icons. I think I can do this by altering one of the kde files, but I don't know which one. Please can someone tell me which file+path I need to alter?

Thanks! My desktop is now just that bit cleaner. However, it causes Beryl not to work. I'll have to file a bug report with the Beryl Project.

Lenovo 3000 and a secondary monitor

I have a Lenovo 3000 V100 Laptop. I want to use a secondary monitor/display. I see the display on both the primary and secondary monitors until windows finishes booting and then the secondary monitor goes blank. I try FN F7 to no avail. I am using windows XP. I assume this is a setup problem.
Please advise.
David

Not having your exact model, try this.
Go to your desktop display.
Position your pointer over part of the display without any icons, open windows, or tasks.
Right click.
A menu should appear, click on "Properties" or "Graphics Properties" whichever is on the menu. This should open another menu, one tab on which can be selected to allow you to display the same thing on the internal and an external monitor. The graphics adapter software on my Lenovo displays its menu this way. I'm not sure if going through the Control Panel selection will get you to the same point.

Help! Desktop icons gone, no right click ... and Nautilus crashes!

I have a fully upgraded Gnome-based system, and all of a sudden my desktop icons disappeared, clicking on the desktop does nothing, and every time I use Nautilus it crashes with the error (from bug report):
Distribution: Unknown
Gnome Release: 2.24.3 2009-01-20 (Archlinux)
BugBuddy Version: 2.24.2
System: Linux 2.6.28-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Sun Jan 18 20:17:17 UTC 2009 i686
X Vendor: The X.Org Foundation
X Vendor Release: 10503000
Selinux: No
Accessibility: Disabled
GTK+ Theme: Glider
Icon Theme: Foxtrot
Memory status: size: 0 vsize: 0 resident: 0 share: 0 rss: 0 rss_rlim: 0
CPU usage: start_time: 0 rtime: 0 utime: 0 stime: 0 cutime:0 cstime: 0 timeout: 0 it_real_value: 0 frequency: 0
----------- .xsession-errors (6 sec old) ---------------------
seahorse nautilus module initialized
** (nautilus:9421): WARNING **: Unable to add monitor: Not supported
** (nautilus:9421): WARNING **: Unable to add monitor: Not supported
--- Hash table keys for warning below:
--> file:///home/user
--> file:///home
(nautilus:9421): Eel-WARNING **: "nautilus-metafile.c: metafiles" hash table still has 2 elements at quit time (keys above)
(nautilus:9421): Eel-WARNING **: "nautilus-directory.c: directories" hash table still has 2 elements at quit time
seahorse nautilus module shutdown
Shutting down nautilus-open-terminal extension
It doesn't seem to be an options or configuration thing, maybe more like some sort of corruption? The Panels are fine. I have checked desktop and Nautilus options using Gconf and tried recreating ~/.gconf etc. The only suspicious occurrence was when, in the middle of a pacman -Syu, I was thrown back to the GDM login prompt. I just logged in again and did another pacman -Syu and everything seemed okay.
By the way, running Nautilus as root does show root's desktop okay, but Nautilus still crashes.
Any help would be most welcome for a very frustrating problem!
PS: Forgot to say that I'd tried reinstalling quite a few Gnome things and Nautilus, with no effect.
Also, the problem persists after restarting X, logon, reboot, power-off ...
Last edited by ninian (2009-01-21 09:35:05)

Uh-oh, seems like this problem could go wider than I thought. There's a fairly lengthy thread on the Ubuntu forums which smells the same, for example:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p= … stcount=42 =>
Re: Desktop icons disappear
Got it! I can get a crash with this:
Code:
mkdir ~/test
cp /usr/share/applications/compiz.desktop ~/test/
nautilus ~/test
I'm going to leave a comment in the bug.
And in fact, I was mucking around with .desktop files when I think my icons went AWOL.
Anyone else brave enough to risk losing their desktop to try this out?!

Is it possible to force a fixed Application to open in a Secondary Monitor?

This is my first time actively using a forum, so forgive me if I'm unclear with my question or if I'm unaware of forum common sense or etiquette.
I've been running a Multi-Monitor system for awhile now at my office. I ran into a few problems when I first set it up, but was able to resolve many issues with many work-arounds. In truth, this is one of the same major problems I was having before.
As it says in my details, I have an iMac with a Wacom Cintiq 21UX via Mini DisplayPort to DVI, and an Apple Cinema Display via Arkview USB Display Adapter. I do a lot of graphical work amongst my many tasks, so the Cintiq is typically my main input device. I have it set in a Portrait position, which I prefer greatly over Landscape.
My problem is that to use many of the graphical applications, Adobe anything, I have to set it as the main monitor. Since Apple doesn't use application containers, at least, not in a way that allows you to drag the main toolbar. This solution, of course, I learned after a lot of struggle. It works and I'm fine with it now, but I've recently been called upon to use Final Cut and Motion for some projects and this problem has again reared its head, but in a different way.
I've programs set up all over my three screens; sized and set to where I like them and are most efficient, and across multiple Spaces. To properly run Final Cut, a resolution of 1280x800 is strongly recommended. Since I'm running Portrait, mine is set to 1200x1600. I didn't think much of Final Cut's initial warning at the time, since any windows caught outside the screen I was certain I could rescue with a trusty Applescript, written to collect all windows to the main screen. Which I discovered was a problem when running Final Cut from a laptop that was dual-monitored, but once you take away the secondary monitor the Final Cut windows remain floating aimlessly out of screen. They were floating off-screen, as I thought, and fixed it with the applescript. While I was working though, I was confused on where the **** the splice tool went. I looked everywhere in the application I could to find it, but it wasn't until I called a friend and he assured me that the tool actually did exist that I remember the teeny-tiny tool panel that would typically reside next to the timeline. The applescript can't pull it for some reason.
So my question, *is there a way in which you can change the display an application starts in?* (bolded for ease of discovery in this long post) what would fixedly open in the main display instead opening to a secondary monitor. Or, as consolation, possibly rescuing that tiny tool panel? Early on I tried keeping a shortcut key set to switch the main monitors back and forth, but found that applications will switch with them, applications I didn't want to switch. Plus, the Wacom Pen has to be re-calibrated when the Cintiq is switched to the secondary monitor, and then, of course, re-calibrated again when it's switched back to the main.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

All my Monitors are set to their native resolutions, 1280x800 is Final Cut's suggested optimal resolution. My Cintiq is a Tablet Monitor, one that allows you to write or draw upon the screen itself, as such, it's set upon an adjustable stand that will let you place the Tablet Monitor upright, semi-flat against the desk, or anywhere in-between, in addition to 360 degree rotation in its flat position. This means that the Tablet Monitor comes with two native resolutions, one for Landscape and one for Portrait. The Cintiq is purposely designed to allow it to be set in a Portrait position, for the comfort of the User. 1200x1600 is just as native for the Cintiq as 1600x1200. Also, my Office Desktop set-up is, God-willing, a permanent set-up; I don't disconnect Monitors, and they are set to Extended Desktop Mode.
My aim was to avoid switching back or forth between resolutions or Mirroring. This will work, yes, but having to do it every time I need to use Final Cut, or any other such program with odd monitor requirements, is a hassle. With all the various windows and applications I have running at any one time, I'll be wasting time moving and resizing windows across multiple Spaces back to where they were every time I need to run Final Cut, and re-calibrating the pen to the new resolution. Which is also a little embarrassing when I need to demo a clip for my bosses and co-workers and I have to spend time, in which I could be explaining things, tiding up my desktops. It would be ideal to have it prepared before they got there, (actually, ideal would be not having to prep it in the first place) but not all meetings are scheduled and planned.
As for windows that get lost in space, that's what the Applescript was for, but apparently that little tool panel, which is wholly more important than it's size suggests, doesn't register as a window and gets left behind.
So my hoped for solution is a way in which to force a Program that would normally load onto the Main Monitor to instead load on to a chosen Secondary Monitor, one that fills the necessary resolution requirements of said Program. I couldn't care less about the Applications need for the Main Toolbar since I run Secondbar anyhow.
This isn't a vital emergency though, I'm just trying to find a solution for an annoyance and to make the whole process more efficient. Oh well, C'est la vie.
Thank you for your reply Dennis.
Message was edited by: TimR.NSC

Hide desktop icons on secondary monitor?

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