App To Hide Desktop Icons Mac

11-05-2021

App To Hide Desktop Icons Mac

Aug 22, 2019 Skip the hassle and hide all your desktop icons instead. If you’re using a PC with an empty desktop, this option will also let you re-enable all those hidden icons. To hide or unhide all your desktop icons, right-click on your desktop, point to “View,” and click “Show Desktop Icons.” This option works on Windows 10, 8, 7, and even XP. Get to know the Mac desktop. At the top of the screen is the menu bar and at the bottom is the Dock.In between is what’s called the desktop.The desktop is where you do most of your work. You can change the look of your desktop by customizing the desktop picture and by choosing a light or dark appearance for the menu bar, desktop picture, Dock, and built-in apps.

The clear-up of your desktop enables you to keep your desktop well-organized. But some folders and applications get downloaded on the desktop by default. This occupies your desktop with many applications and you cannot access your files quickly. Mac creates it easy to hide or remove icons from the desktop and keep only those icons that you need on a daily basis. You can clear your Mac Desktop by hiding drive icons and all the hard disk that is visible by default on it. You can do so with a settings choice.

Contents

1 How to Hide or Remove icons From mac OS x desktop
- 1.1 Hide or Remove Icons from Mac Desktop

How to Hide or Remove icons From mac OS x desktop

If you connect a new drive to the Mac, it does not display on the desktop but it appears from a Finder window and you can it access from the Finder or any application. There is also an option to create a folder on the desktop or elsewhere on your Mac. You can manually drag and drop icons and files into that folder that hides or removes them from the desktop and thus, clear your desktop. But you cannot do this with drives and volumes. You need to go to the settings option to hide icons such as a hard disk or USB drive. Here are the ways to hide or remove icons from Mac Os X desktop:

Hide or Remove Icons from Mac Desktop

Follow the given below steps:

You need to select the files or folders that you want to hide or remove from the desktop and drag them to the trash to hide or remove them from the desktop.

Then remove an external hard drive from the desktop if you do not use it. You need to press and hold CTRL and tap the external hard drive icon. Then select Eject to remove it from the desktop. You can also drag the hard drive icon from the desktop to the trash bin to remove it from the desktop.

Then drag the files you want to keep to the separate location other than the desktop. You need to double-click the Macintosh HD drive on the desktop. Then select the folder you need to transfer your saved desktop files. Then tap the desktop files you need to transfer and drag them to the folder on the Macintosh HD drive.

And then tap Finder on your desktop if you need the files and icons that display on the desktop.

Then tap Preferences and then tap the General. You need to select the icons that you need to display on the desktop under Show items on Desktop. Then close the window to save the changes.

Then you need to arrange the remaining icons that you want to keep on the desktop. You need to press CTRL and tap an empty place on the desktop. Then tap View and click Arrange by. Then select the arrangement method which you need to use and the icons organize automatically on the basis of your preference.Read more: How to Download Old Mac OS X and macOS versions

Use The Terminal Commands

You can use this method to hide or remove the files from the MacOS desktop instantly by using the Terminal command. Follow the given below steps to hide or remove icons from Mac Os X desktop by the Terminal app:

You need to go to the Terminal app on your Mac. You can find it in the Spotlight and open it.

Then you need to type the Hide command in Mac Terminal App. You can enter the following command:

defaults write com.apple.finderCreateDesktop -bool false

Then press Enter and then enter the second command as given below:

kill all Finder:

Then tap the enter key.

Now, you can see your desktop. You cannot view any file that appears on the screen as it just hides but you can still find them in the Finder in the Desktop section.

Use HiddenMe to Remove or Hide the Icons

You can easily hide or remove icons from mac OS x desktop with this method. You can use the HiddenMe app to complete the task. HiddenMe app enables you to easily hide and unhide icons on the desktop on your Mac. Follow the below steps to Remove or Hide the Icons by using hiddenMe:

You need to download and Install the HiddenMe app from the Mac App Store to your Mac.

When you install this app, open it from the Launchpad.

The app appears in the menu bar. Then tap on its icon in the menu bar and select Hide Desktop Icons. It instantly removes or hides all the icons that appear on your desktop.

If you need to restore the icons on your desktop, you can tap the app icon in the menu bar and select Show Desktop Icons. Your hidden icons appear back on your desktop.

Clear up a Desktop on Mac OS X

You can keep and save files on your Mac Desktop. But then the Desktop appears clutter and disorganized if it is used as the default place to keep all of your temporary files and folders. Follow the given below steps to quickly clean up your Desktop on Mac OS X:

You need to tap on your Desktop Background to form the Finder the active application on your Mac.

Then conduct a right-mouse click or you can use the combination key as Ctrl-Click to create the contextual menu.

And then hold and drag your cursor to select the Clean Up icon in your contextual menu. Then release the mouse or trackpad button to use the command.

Then the Desktop icons automatically clean as per your Desktop choice. Your Desktop arrangement choice can change with the Desktop contextual menu icon which is Arrange By.

Using Stacks

There is also a newly introduced feature in macOS Mojave which is Stacks that enable you to keep the desktop uncluttered and well-organized. This organizes all the files into file types and then sorts them on the right side of the screen. You can stack them on the basis of added date, modified date and many more. Follow the given below steps:

You need to right-click on the View menu and choose Use Stacks.
Then right-click on the desktop to clear up or group stacks on the basis of your choice.
Then select Sort stacks by or Group stacks and then choose the preferred category.

There is another older way to hide or remove icons from Mac Os X desktop. You can drag the icons from the desktop to another folder to remove them from the desktop. Then you can also drag the unwanted icons to Trash to remove them. You can also right-click on the icon and select Move to Trash. And you can also hide or remove icons from Mac Os X desktop from the above-mentioned methods. You need to follow each step carefully and enter the correct command.

If you’re a long time Mac user, you might remember in the old days of OS X that every application window came with a transparent bubble icon at the top right. This was a focus mode that if clicked would keep that current application within view and automatically hide the rest of your windows to minimize distraction. Apple eventually axed this feature and there hasn’t been much of an equivalent since.

Well, that is until now. Desktop Curtain is a new Mac utility app that takes this focus mode one step further. It places a virtual curtain right over your desktop and you get to control how much that curtain covers. Whether you just want to focus in on your current window or completely shield files and applications from onlookers, this app is a small but useful one to have.

Hide Your Desktop and Apps

Personally, I like to keep a very clean desktop. I usually only have one or two files on there at a time. I’d prefer to have none but sometimes it’s just too convenient to be able to leave something I know I’ll need quick access to that can’t already fit in my dock.

With this app, I can feel comfortable letting my desktop get a little cluttered because if at any time I feel like I need a breather, I just launch Desktop Curtain and watch it all vanish.

It places a virtual curtain right over your desktop and you get to control how much that curtain covers.

You don’t have to have the app hide your desktop icons if you don’t want to. You don’t even need to deploy the “curtain.” There are a few settings to play around with here.

When you open Desktop Curtain, you’ll see the Preferences panel. At the bottom is Current Level to adjust how much you want to cover. You can display the curtain behind the icons, in front of them (to hide them) or behind the active application to hide all others. At its most powerful, it can hide all desktop icons and all applications except for the active one.

Customizing the Curtain

If you’re extra secretive about what you do on your computer, you can customize Desktop Curtain so that it doesn’t even look like a curtain. Change the Choose setting to either System Default or your Desktop Picture and the wallpaper will overlay everything you want to hide instead.

Nope, nothing to see on my computer folks. It’s just me and my desktop photo. No applications or files hiding behind it whatsoever.

Otherwise, you can additionally change the color of the curtain, the scaling, which displays it runs on if you have more than one hooked up and how Mission Control behaves when Desktop Curtain is running.

How To Hide Desktop Icons

You can also set keyboard shortcuts to launch some of the features and settings like isolating the frontmost window.

Nope, nothing to see on my computer folks.

Desktop Curtain is a fantastic little application that can transform your desktop and workspace in a single click while also protecting your privacy. It’s priced a bit high for what it does at US$4.99, but it’s great if you hate desktop clutter or just hate people knowing what you’re up to.

ALSO READ: 3 Free Mac Apps to Increase Your Productivity by Helping You Focus

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