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StarShot

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 31, 2014
1,151
397
I had several files/links to programs on my Desktop ever since I switched to IOS. About a week ago I hit some key and almost everything disappeared (only to be found in finder/desktop. Is there a "global command" to show them back on my desktop?
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,270
3,327
I had several files/links to programs on my Desktop ever since I switched to IOS. About a week ago I hit some key and almost everything disappeared (only to be found in finder/desktop.

Are you saying that the files/links are in the finder desktop folder but don't show up on your screen?
 

StarShot

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 31, 2014
1,151
397
Yes, all the files/links are in the finder/desktop folder. And yes I can access all of them from with Finder/desktop. Maybe I'm just sloppy but I liked to access all of these folders/links directly from the home screen. I don't know what key/combination I might have hit, but in a instant most of them disappeared from the desktop except for the folders and a few links.

Maybe it's for the best as I now have a much cleaner desktop. When it happened, I thought for a moment that I had lost all my files/links. While it may not be a good practice, I have a "note" file that contains a lot of passwords that not that really important. The ones that are, are in 1Password7.
 

Brian33

macrumors 65816
Apr 30, 2008
1,471
371
USA (Virginia)
I just discovered "Use Stacks" -- it seems to group like items together and move folder positions. Maybe you turned it on for Desktop accidentally.

Right-click on an open area of your desktop to bring up the context menu, and if Use Stacks has a checkmark by it, click it to un-check it. In my testing, items go back to where they were before Use Stacks was turned on.
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,270
3,327
What happens if you drag the items from the finder desktop folder to the screen desktop?
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,183
13,230
Agree with HD in reply 6 above.
Sometimes, one just has to do things "by hand".

If some items that were previously on your desktop are now "not there", I'd just grab them and drag them back to where I wanted them...
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,270
3,327
If you take a file that isn't currently on the desktop or desktop folder if you drag (or copy) it

To the desktop does it show both there and in the folder?

To the folder does it show on the desktop?
 
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