Lock icon placement on desktop

is there a way, or some piece of software that will allow me to lock items, folders and hard drives on the desktop in a certain place? basically I have about 8 external harddrives that I plug into my mac pro and every time i boot up they all appear in a cluttered unorganized fashion along the right of the monitor, i would prefer them to be on the left, and in a specific order. it is very frustrating to have to place them how i like it every time, is there anyway to do this automatically? or even with automator?

What are your Finder view options?
At the Finder menu bar, go to View and select Show View Options.
Do you have "Keep arranged by" selected?
I have By Name selected which keeps everything arranged on the right but I don't have 8 external drives connected.

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Default icon placement on Desktop

Is there any way to change the default icon placement on the desktop? I.E... Anything/Everything I save to the desktop is saved and placed on the top right corner... I wish for everything to save to the top left corner. Thanks!

is it possible to make mine back to the default align right on the desktop? when i right click "clean up" my icons are centered down the middle and i want it back on the right.
thanks!

How to lock icon position on desktop

I would like to arrange the icons on my desktop in a particular way and always lock them into that position. Is there a way to do that in the OS, or is there a third party plug in that could do that? Thanks.

I agree that the icon arrangement ought to persist through a reboot; AFAIK the Finder is supposed to save that information before shutting down.
Just a shot in the dark: is there a .DS_Store file on the Desktop? (It would be invisible, so you’d need to use Terminal or a third-party utility to look for it.) If you find one, delete it. Another possibility is a damaged preference file. Have you verified the disk & its access permissions with Disk Utility?

Is it possible to lock icons to specific desktops?

I am organizing my iMac with different desktops for different functions. I would like to lock appropriate icons (for programs and documents) to the appropriate desktop. Is this possible with Lion, or even with an add-on product (and if so, what is the product?)
Thanks!

GREAT question! I understand how to customize diffrent apps to appear in the various desktop docks. But I would like different icons and folders to appear on my various desktops.

8350i missing keyboard lock icon

I updated my software to the recommended urgrade and now don't have a keyboard lock icon on the desktop menu. Is this correctable?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Which OS did you update to? On the newer OS's the keyboard lock icon will not display until you have a security password on the device.
If someone has been helpful please consider giving them kudos by clicking the star to the left of their post.
Remember to resolve your thread by clicking Accepted Solution.

[Solved] wy i can place xfce4 desktop icons in a "grid" only?

hello archers!
im in love with xfce4 DE, but the annoying thing is that i can place the desktop icons only in a invisible "grid" of tiles.
i changed the display manager to gdm, but it didn't help. i tryed changing the WM, but didn't not find out how to do that.
Yes, i dont understand how DE's working internal, cause there are so many parts, as DM, WM, session-manager, and so on, which confuses me.
So how i can place my icons individually on the desktop?
Thanks in advance!!
Last edited by xfce-tux (2011-09-12 21:13:34)

Another way to adjust the desktop grid size settings and more.
Source: http://git.xfce.org/xfce/xfdesktop/tree/README
HIDDEN CUSTOMISATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're using the icon view, and would like to change how the text looks,
you have three things you can change: the opacity (transparency) of the
rounded text background, the color of the rounded text background, and the
color of the text itself.
You'd want to add something like this to your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 file:
style "xfdesktop-icon-view" {
XfdesktopIconView::label-alpha = 75
XfdesktopIconView::selected-label-alpha = 100
XfdesktopIconVIew::ellipsize-icon-labels = 1
XfdesktopIconView::shadow-x-offset = 1
XfdesktopIconView::shadow-y-offset = 1
XfdesktopIconView::shadow-color = "#ff0000"
XfdesktopIconView::selected-shadow-x-offset = 2
XfdesktopIconView::selected-shadow-y-offset = 2
XfdesktopIconView::selected-shadow-color = "#00ff00"
XfdesktopIconVIew::cell-spacing = 6
XfdesktopIconView::cell-padding = 6
XfdesktopIconView::cell-text-width-proportion = 2.5
base[NORMAL] = "#00ff00"
base[SELECTED] = "#5050ff"
base[ACTIVE] = "#0000ff"
fg[NORMAL] = "#ff0000"
fg[SELECTED] = "#ff0000"
fg[ACTIVE] = "#ff0000"
widget_class "*XfdesktopIconView*" style "xfdesktop-icon-view"
The first three entries set the opacity of the rounded text background
(allowed values are from 0 (totally transparent) to 255 (totally opaque),
and whether or not unselected icons get their labels ellipsized
(truncated) to fit on one line. (The 'selected-' version controls the
opacity of icons that have been selected with the mouse.)
The second six entries can be used to enable a text shadow to be painted
with the icon labels. The offsets are in pixels. Setting them to 0 (the
defaults) will disable the shadows entirely. Again, the 'selected-'
versions apply to icons that have been selected with the mouse.
The third four entries set spacing and sizing for individual icons on
the grid. The 'cell-spacing' property specifies the spacing between each
'cell' in the grid of icons. The 'cell-padding' property sets extra
padding placed around each icon+text. The units for these two are in
pixels. The 'cell-text-width-proportion' property specifies the maximum
width of the text label underneat the icon, as a multiplier of the icon
width (so for 30px icons, '2.5' would leave a 75px wide area underneath
for the text).
The fourth three entries set the color of the rounded text background.
* NORMAL sets the color for the regular, unselected state.
* SELECTED sets the color for when the icon is selected, and the desktop has
keyboard/mouse focus.
* ACTIVE sets the color for when the icon is selected, but the desktop does
not have keyboard/mouse focus.
The final three entries set the color of the label text. See above for the
differences between NORMAL, SELECTED, and ACTIVE.

Why can't I place disk icons on my desktop?

Why can't I place disk icons on my desktop?
I installed OSX Lion, version 10.7.1 from the App Store onto the internal disk of my MacBookPro which was cloned to an external FW800 GoFlexDesk drive. I booted from that external drive, ran the disk utility to erase and then repartition my internal drive so that I would have a "clean" installation of Lion. My disk icon (for the internal drive) does not even show in Finder windows. In Snow Leopard I showed my internal drive, my Time Capsule drives, and any external drives on my desktop as icons. Now these do not even show in Finder. I know they are there, because if I choose the path view option, they are shown when I pick "All My Files" under favorites. I can navigate backwards in the path bar, but still they do not actually allow me to select them or drag them to the desktop. In Snow Leopard, it was an option to show disks on desktop in general system preferences, but I find that option no where in Lion! What simple little thing am I missing?

PilotShawn wrote:
What simple little thing am I missing?
Finder > Preferences > General > Show these items on the Desktop?

Hi, I have 5 locked fonts on my desktop, G5 PPC, and cannot move to trash and delete. Anyone know how to delete these font icons? Thanks for helping.

Hi, I have 5 locked fonts on my desktop, G5 PPC, and cannot move to trash and delete. Anyone know how to delete these font icons? Thanks for helping.

Select them in the Finder, choose Get Info from the File menu, and clear the Locked box.
(59958)

Icons stuck in place on desktop

All of a sudden I've found the icons on my desktop to be stuck in place. I can open each file, but I can't click and drag it around. Please advise on how to get them unstuck. Thanks.

Not using Panther but in Tiger control+click on desktop, Show view options > turn off snap to grid.

Hello - can anyone tell me why my iPad (4th Gen) screen will no longer rotate. I don't have a screen lock symbol next to the battery icon. I have the rotate icon on my desktop but still can't get the screen to rotate.

Hello - can anyone tell me why my iPad (4th Gen) screen will no longer rotate. I don't have a screen lock symbol next to the battery icon. I have the rotate icon on my desktop but still can't get the screen to rotate.

Double-click the Home button and swipe Task Bar to the right. Check the Rotation Lock on the far left of Task Bar.
http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee374/Diavonex/ba23c598623fe4fd062a40e349af2 18d.jpg

After OS 10.4.6 update, mounting my other Mac - drives have lock icon. Why?

I have a Powerbook and a desktop G5. I share files between them and mount drives (my home directory) on both desktops to easily move files back and forth. Recently after I updated to 10.4.6, when I mount my home directory on either machine (from the other machine), the drive (folder) has a lock icon next to it making it READ only.
What can I do to remove that lock so I can WRITE to my home directory on each Mac? Thanks!
Robert

When I do Command-I, I see that I have read/write access for the local drive - depending on the machine I am sitting at - and the other networkeded drives allow read only.
I guess the question is - how does the system know a user with the same username and password are actually the same person?
Robert

How can I remove icons from the desktop on my iPad Mini?

I understand that there are apps on my iPad that I cannot delete, but is there a way of removing an icon from the desktop?

Remove, but not uninstall from the device? Where would they go if you did that?
Once you delete an App it gets removed form the homescreen, and deleted from the iPad.
There is no "Less used Apps" area or anything like that.
Everything you have, and you can access, is on the home screen. There is no other place to access Apps.

When I click to open Mozilla icon on my desktop, the page does not open & I cannot access it unless I type it in an Internet Explorer page?

When I click to open Mozilla icon on my desktop, the page does not open & I cannot access it unless I type it in an Internet Explorer page? When clicking on the Icon sometimes it will flash to the right of my desktop screen but does not open for access.

Hi Dave, thanks for your answer.
I have tried a several times to repairing permissions, restarting the mac, relaunched Finder, but no difference.
I copied the download folder to the dock...there I can open the files, but not deleting them or copying them.
When I open finder, then I click on the folder Download, after a while of thinking, it throws me out and back to the desktop.
already tried to sign in with the guest user account, then I am able to open the download folder.(but not seeing my files)
When I am trying to change the download folder in Safari, it also throws me out and gives me a error report ,for sending to Apple.
I think it's a settings fault or i think my download folder is locked. Almost desperat, already called support center,
They couldn't help, for free, due the 90 days free online help i have reached. If I want to solve this problem, they could try it , but it cost me almost 50 euros.
hope there is someone, who's knowing this problem.
By the way, I think it also could be that I dragged some downloaded music to the desktop, and dragged some folder that has the settings. Now its changed???
Or I was downloading something, and deleted the files in the download folder while it was unpacking and reparing the files.
It's not easy for a beginner Mac user (3 months) to already solve this problems.
Can you follow me? And seems this problem familiar to you?
Thanks in advance

Why don't I have a Lock Icon available to me on an external drive?

Hi.
I will first off beg your forgiveness, as I am very new to iMac.
I have been using PC for quite some 20 years, but I am having difficulty with Finder and it's peculiarities.
My main problem is that there is no lock icon available to me in the "Get Info" section, when I go to place files on an external drive.
Despite being the administrator of this particular iMac, I only get "you can only read" in the Sharing and Permissions section.
I can find no function to allow me alter this situation.
Can anybody please help me?
Thank you.

Since you're a newcomer to the Mac, see these:
Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
Mac 101: Mac Essentials,
Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts,
Anatomy of a Mac,
MacTips,
Switching to Mac Superguide, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Lion Edition.
Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:
Quick Assist,
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

Pad - LOCK icon in Upper Right Corner of Screen - How did it get there??

When I start my Mac (G5-10.4.11) for the first time I have an icon of a pad-lock in the upper right hand corner of my screen and appears in the 'closed or locked' position. I don't know how it got there. I think it has something to do with 'Keychain' but not sure. When I open Entourage (2008) to check my email for the first time following a boot sequence, Entourage asks me for a keychain password and after entering the password, the pad-lock icon in the upper right corner now indicates an 'open' or unlocked condition. I don't have to do this again as long as my computer stays on. I've tried changing the access setting in Keychain to 'ignore' Entourage and Keychain but it still asks me for a keychain password following a re-boot. What did I do to get the pad-lock icon there in the first place? And, how can I turn OFF that 'pad-lock' and not appear on my startup screen? I have another hard drive in my computer that I boot from occasionally and the "pad-lock' icon does not appear on my startup screen and I can check Entourage without entering any keychain password. I really don't need password protection on my home computer, it's very annoying every time I check my Entourage email.
Thanks,
Bill

Check "Keep login keychain unlocked" in the "First Aid" tab of Keychain Access (Utilities folder).
In the "General" tab, uncheck "Show Status in Menu Bar".

Lock icon placement on desktop

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