Hiding the desktop during presentations

I often do presentations on a beamer and have at times a messy desktop. My question is, is it possible to hide the desktop, or make it temporarily invisible so people do not see what is all on my desktop. I know I could clean it up, but somehow I like to be able to hide it as it would support my work and thinking style better.
If there is a application to do this a free one would be best.

jsd2 wrote:
The freeware utility [TinkerTool|http://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html] can do this (in Finder options). TinkerTool has lots of other features as well.
great and thanks, I have TT but hardly use its features, and ddi not realise this was possible.
However, I need to relaunch the finder so not a quick solution. will keep it in mind if nothing else pops up. thanks for thinking with me.

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Spontaneously different projects show pictures (only virtual) hiding the true ones present in other project. clicking on the virtual one appear the era one

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Thanks for your kind interest. The problem seems to be solved. In practice it was a picture (which I have defined virtual) which appeared in the project instead of the one I uploaded. The false images came from other projects in the same library. When I went to click on this false picture, it opened the right file of the image that I had loaded.
I solved the problem with the function "new version from original" applyed for each of the files having this double faces.

Hiding the layout during printing

Hi Experts,
Is there any way to hide the layout during printing? I have developed a PDF form with complex layout. I want our Customers view the form in print preview and see that all the values are correctly aligned within the boxes before printing. But they print this form on a pre-printed paper (which already has the layout) so I want to make sure that only fields which are binded to a data item are printed and not the layout and static texts. Is this possible?
Regards,
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Hi,
Try this code:
<object>.presence = "visible"; //this makes the object visible in the form
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● +print (default for visible objects)
Forces a particular object to appear when the form is printed,
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[solved] Hiding the desktop

Is there a way in GNOME to hide all desktop icons without using Openbox?
Last edited by drtoki (2009-07-24 03:29:24)

I haven't used GNOME in a long time, so I'm guessing your looking for this: http://linuxblog.pansapiens.com/2008/11 … ee-ubuntu/

How do I view only the desktop with icons and the finder?

I have a hot corner set up to show the desktop.. in Snow Leopard when I exposed the desktop and then clicked on the finder in the dock *just* the finder would show.
Now, with Lion, when I click on the finder it comes into view but all the other open applications come sweeping back in hiding the desktop.
Can I change this back to the way it was before? Or is there another sneaky quick way to show only the desktop and the finder? Set up an entirely different "desktop" in mission control dedicated only to having nothing open in it?
In short: I need a fast way to drag icons from the desktop into folders in the finder. Also, this is driving me nuts.
thanks to anyone who can help.

If you can see a patch of Desktop, with a program (any program other than Finder) window active, hold down both Option and Command and click that patch of Desktop. This will auto-hide all windows for all other programs and switch focus to the Finder/Desktop at the same time.
This works when going from any active program to another, except that the Desktop itself will not get hidden (open Finder folders will get hidden).
To bring a program's windows back to visible status, just click the program's icon in the Dock. For open Finder windows which are hidden, just click the Desktop (plain click).
If you want to hide the windows of just one program, with it the active program hold down just the Option key and click in the window of another program (the Desktop or a folder window counts for this purpose). All windows of the original program will be hidden, and focus will switch to the second program.

Hiding Icons On The Desktop

I would like to know if it's possible to hid the icons on the desktop (temporarily) so they don't distract me during my "interfacing"....

This works if you want to hide whatever is showing right when you run the command. However, if you want new items placed on the desktop to be hidden as well, you'll need to run the command again. Fortunately, you can use a very simple AppleScript and Folder Action to have this done automatically.
Open up the Script Editor located in:
+/Applications/AppleScript/Script Editor.app+
Paste in the following script:
+on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving these_items+
+do shell script ("chflags hidden ~/Desktop/*")+
+end adding folder items to+
Click the Compile button. Then, click File > Save As... and name it +Hide Desktop+ and save it in the following directory:
+~/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts+
(In case you're not familiar, the ~ stands for your Home directory.)
You may need to create the Scripts and Folder Scripts folders if they do not already exist.
Now that you're all set up, you just need to enable the Folder Action. Open Folder Actions Setup located in:
/Applications/AppleScript/Folder Actions Setup.app
Add your Desktop folder by clicking on the + sign in the lower left of the window and selecting your Desktop. Then, select the Hide Desktop.scpt file from the presented list.
You're all done! You can enable and disable the Folder Action whenever you want from the Folder Actions Setup. If you disable it and want to unhide your Desktop files, simply open the terminal and run the command:
+chflags nohidden ~/Desktop/*+
You could even create another ActionScript which was just:
+do shell script ("chflags nohidden ~/Desktop/*")+
You could compile and save that somewhere and just run it whenever you disabled the Hide Desktop Folder Action.

Just installed CC on my PC, Windows 7, 64 bit system. Not seeing any applications on the desktop or installation folder. However, all the resource files are present in the installation folder. What am I doing wrong?

Just installed CC on my PC, Windows 7, 64 bit system. Not seeing any applications on the desktop or installation folder. However, all the resource files are present in the installation folder. What am I doing wrong?
I've installed three times with no luck. I downloaded the Creative Cloud Packager off the licensing site: https://licensing.adobe.com. I unpacked and choose my applications. The install seemed to be successful, but I don't so any of the applications anywhere.

Hi,
Creating package doesn't mean it will install the product,
You will need to install the package now. Please follow the instructions mentioned in the below articles
Creative Cloud Help | Creating or editing packages
Creative Cloud Help | Deploying packages
Please let me know if it doesn't help.
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My mac pro only shows a blue screen during startup? how do i get out of this to the desktop?

Cannot access the desktop, only the Apple sign and pinwheel icon come on, after a couple minutes it goes to blue screen only. Have held shift during bootup to start in safemode, but this doesnt even allow you to choose safe mode. Please help.

Try holding option+Apple Command + s keys to get into single user mode. May be a little unnerving as it will get you to text based screen. Grab a pencil and paper and copy the commands that are listed also pay attention to the spaces.
/sbin/fsck -fy <return>
If the it says File System Modified hit the up arrow key it will repeat the line you typed. Hit return.
If it DOES NOT say modified then type in the second line.
/sbin/mount -uw /<return>
At the prompt type reboot<return>
Let us know if it helps.
Ciao,
Lou Cioccio

Project something on the bottom of the screen DURING a Keynote presentation?

I need to be able to project something on the bottom of the screen DURING a Keynote presentation. Is that possible? At our church we have a numbering system for parents/kids and occassionaly we need to project the number so the parent can go check on their child. How can we do that during an active Keynote presentation?

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Lion keeps hiding my desktop - no icons, no background picture, just the standard grey background.

It usually happens after a few minutes from turning the computer on and running few apps.
I can still see my Desktop & icons through Finder, but it's pretty frustrating.

First, Safe Boot , (holding Shift key down at bootup), use Disk Utility from there to Repair Permissions, move these files to the Desktop.
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Then reboot once more.
Does that get us there?

[solved] Hiding certain .desktop files in the XFCE menu?

Is there a way to hide .desktop menu entries in the XFCE menu without removing them from the system?
For example, there is an entry called "Recording Level Monitor" after installing some gnome dependencies for rhythmbox. It's a useless app to me and I'd like to have it hidden for good. I suppose I could delete the .desktop file, and I wouldn't hesitate to do so, but I have the feeling it'll keep coming back on -Syu's.
Last edited by synthead (2008-01-13 22:00:40)

Gustavo wrote:I think you can add this line in the .desktop to make the entry go away from xfce.
OnlyShowIn=GNOME
That's what I ended up doing. Works fine for now Thanks!

Hiding a specific HD from the desktop

Hi there,
Is it possible to hide a specific HD from the desktop?

the only way to do this is to hide it from finder completely, not just from the desktop. (It can remain in the sidebar though). to do that run the following terminal command
chflags hidden /volumes/"drive name"
put the drive name in the command. KEEP the quotes. then log out/in and the drive should be hidden from finder and the desktop.
to reverse the effect change "hidden" to "nohidden" in the command.
another option is to hide all drives from the desktop and put aliases to the ones you do want there back on the desktop. however all new external drive you attach to the computer will be hidden from the desktop too unless you make aliases for them as well.
Message was edited by: V.K.

Leopard update will not boot HD, 2nd HD or show anything on the desktop?

G5 Dual 2 GHz, 4 GB RAM - 250 GB main HD, 2nd HD 500 GB internal used for storage only. Running 10.4.10 before Leopard
Note: I checked my permissions and verified my HD before installing Leopard. I did not do a clean install, I did an update. I'm going to buy a new desktop soon, so I opted for the quick and dirty. Chose to keep old settings during upgrade.
The install seemed to go OK. I got through the registration part OK (it was all filled in automatically) and connected to Apple. Then on the restart, it would only load as far as the Menu on the screen. It will not mount the 2 internal Hard drives I have in the machine and it will not show anything that was on the desktop before. Only spinning color wheel for 5 hours. I can get the Dock up, even turned off the Hiding. Went to the gray Apple (old blue one) and called up the system preferences. Now the System Preferences name is stuck in the Menu. Had to force quit the machine by holding in the power button.
On several restarts, I tried to dump the P-Ram, also a start up in safety mode (which didn't work - holding down the Shift Key on startup). Nothing seems to work.
The wierd thing is, I can see the Hard drive and my 2nd HD (internal storage drive) on my other computers. So I'm backing up everything to them and an external 1 TB HD I had connected to the G5.
I also booted from the Leopard DVD after I had this proplem and went to Disk Utilities and verified the Disk was OK and the Disk permissions were OK. Also periodiacally I get a window that says: Apple Event timed out. The name of the window says: .rvncs, whatever that means.
Something tells me this is not good.
Any ideas by anyone on how I can get my desktop back and have my HD's mount?
I really don't want to erase my HD, just too much stuff to loose.
Yes I know, you have never really been able to just update a Mac OS successfully, only clean installs have ever seemed to work.
Thanks and any help will be appreciated,
Jim

Quote
I have the same exact issue...every last word. Except I am running a MSI P6n Diamond. Have any info back from MSI?
Please don't hijack this thread, but open you own.
Give full system specs with detailed information to every single component of your system configuration and describe your problems in you own words again.
Even if you problem appears to be similiar, it must not necessarely have the same causes.
I am sure you will get help and attention in your own new thread.
Maybe this can be solved easily.

Create a Skype Video Call button on the desktop in Snow Leopard

Hi There,
I'm having trouble working out how to create a script that will allow my 70+ year old mother in law make a video call in Skype from a button on the desktop.
I found a discussion from 2007 on the forums but the steps don't seem to apply to the Snow Leopard version of Automator.
Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Cheers

OK, have done some digging around and have come up with an Automator workflow that will not only start a video chat, but will speak to my mother in law so that during pauses (like when Skype starts up) she knows what's going on.
There is practically no info online about how to do this so these instructions are for my reference just incase I forget - but others may find it useful.
It looks like a lot of work but in reality it only took me 5mins to put together (I promise) and just makes it easier for people who have limited computer experience to call you.
This works in both Leopard and Snow Leopard and may work in older versions too.
1. Open Automator
Open Automator at: /Applications/Automator
The Automator starting point window will appear
If you're using Leopard, choose "Custom" and and click the "Choose" button in the bottom right
If you're using Snow Leopard, choose "Workflow" and click the "Choose" button in the bottom right
Now you will have a blank workflow document open
2. Create the Automator workflow
In the Workflow document window, ensure the "Library" icon in the first list on the far left is selected so all variables are available
Just above the lists you'll see a little search box, type "hide" into it
The list will now show the "Hide All Applications" variable
Click and drag the variable from the list and drop it into the main workflow section on the right
Type "launch" into the search box and drag the "Launch Application" variable onto the workflow so it is under "Hide All Applications"
Select "Skype" from the application drop-down menu
Type "get text" into the search box and drag "Get Specified Text" into the workflow so it's under "Launch Application"
Type "Now starting Skype, please wait a few moments." into the text box
Type "speak" in the search box and drag "Speak Text" into the workflow under "Get Specified Text"
Leave the voice on the default text of "Alex" - he's the easiest to understand bar far
Type "pause" into the search box and drag "Pause" into the workflow under "Speak Text"
Set it for 5 seconds. This will allow Skype time to sign-in. Depending on your connection speed, you may need to make it longer
Shift click on the previous "Get Specified Text" & "Speak Text" variables in the workflow area
Both should now have blue borders around them
Hold down the option key and drag both items to duplicate them and drop them under the "Pause" variable
Now you should have a copy of the "Get Specified Text" & "Speak Text" variables under the "Pause" variable
If not, just manually add both items again by searching and dragging the variables into the workflow pane one by one as per above
Replace the text in the new "Get Specified Text" box to: "Now checking to see if <name> is online"
Where <name> is the person you would like to contact and removing the - I just used the first name
Option drag the previous "Pause" variable above and drag it so it's under the last "Speak Text" variable
Leave it at 5 seconds. Again, you may need to allow more time depending on your connection speed
Type "run applescript" into the search box and drag "Run Applescript" so it's under the last "Pause" variable
Now you should have an AppleScript window that will show some placeholder AppleScript
3. Inserting the AppleScript
Select and delete the placeholder AppleScript
Copy the following script and paste it into the AppleScript box
SkypeCall("<skypeUserName>")
on SkypeCall(login)
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to " "
tell application "Skype"
set foo to send command "GET USER " & login & " ONLINESTATUS" script name "MyScript"
set UserStatus to my GetPart(foo, 4, " ")
if UserStatus is "ONLINE" then
say "<skypeUserName> is online, calling her now."
send command "CALL " & login script name "MyScript"
else
say "<skypeUserName> is not online at the moment. Maybe try again later."
end if
end tell
end SkypeCall
on GetPart(s, p, d)
set theList to every text item of s
return (item p of theList)
end GetPart
4. Insert the Skype username of the person you would like to call into the script
In the AppleScript box, locate ("<skypeUserName>") on the first line
Change <skypeUserName> to the username of the person you would like to call removing the
e.g. if the Skype username is johnbrown2, the first line of the script should look like:
SkypeCall("johnbrown2")
Do this in the two other places further down the script - remember to remove the when doing so
These other two ares in the script tell the caller if the person is online or not
5. Making the workflow a button on the desktop
In Automator, choose >File >Save As
Give your workflow a name like "Call John"
Select "Application" from the "File Format" drop-down list
Save it to your desktop
NOTE: If you need to edit the workflow, you'll have to open it from Automater using >File >Open as double clicking it from the desktop will now run the workflow and call the person.
6. Turning on Speech
Because the older generation expect this to work like a telephone (and work instantly), I turned on Speech so the script tells them what is going on during the pauses in the script.
Go to "System Preferences" from the Apple menu top left
Click the "Speech" icon
Click the "Speech Recognition" tab/button at the top if it isn't already selected
Click the "On" radio button
If this is the first time using Speech, you'll get a window asking you to enable access for assistive devices
There should be a button to take you to the appropriate preference pane
If not, just go to the "Universal Access" pane in System Preferences
Once there (either way) check the "Enable access for assistive devices" box bottom left
Back in the "Speech" preference pane", under the On/Off radio buttons, click the "Commands" tab/button
Turn off all the check boxes except "Application Specific Items"
Close System Preferences
NOTE: Obviously if you use text to speech normally, leave these last settings alone and just ensure "Application Specific Items" is on (It's on by default normally).
7. Hiding the Speech Microphone icon
If you've done everything correctly, you will now have a big round microphone icon showing that can't be hidden
I dragged mine to the bottom left corner and then further so all you can see is a little bit of the top right corner
If anyone has a better way of disabling or hiding this big icon, sing out!
8. Running the workflow and making a call
Now double click your icon and the workflow will run. The script will check to see if the Skype user is online, if they're not, the script will tell them and stop running.
If they are online, the worflow will start a video chat as long as you have "Start my video automatically" selected in your Skype preferences under "Video"
Special thanks to SIMO HUOPIO ESPOO in Finland for the script I found on his blog here: http://huopio.fi/simo/blog/2009/03/learnin...ling-skype.html
If you don't want the workflow to talk, don't turn on Speech in steps 6 & 7...

Hiding the desktop during presentations

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