4 Ways to Hide Desktop Icons

Table of contents:

4 Ways to Hide Desktop Icons
4 Ways to Hide Desktop Icons
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Is your desktop a little too crowded? If you don't want to start deleting icons, you can hide them. This will allow you to see your beautiful wallpaper and avoid opening programs and files by mistake when you click on the desktop. You can hide desktop icons in almost any operating system.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Windows

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Step 1. Right click on the desktop

Windows allows you to quickly hide all desktop icons with just a few clicks. Right-click on an empty spot on the desktop. If you click on an icon, you will open the wrong menu.

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Step 2. Select "View"

If you are using Windows XP, select "Sort Icons by".

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Step 3. Disability "Show desktop icons"

Disabling this item will hide all desktop icons. They will no longer be selectable. All icons created or added to the desktop will be hidden automatically. You can make the icons reappear by repeating the process.

Hide Desktop Icons Step 4
Hide Desktop Icons Step 4

Step 4. Install a program to hide icons faster

A desktop management program, such as Fences, will allow you to quickly hide your icons with a double click on the desktop, as well as allow you to exclude icons that cannot be hidden.

Fences is paid but offers a 30-day trial version

Method 2 of 4: Mac OS X

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Step 1. Hide the system icons

While hiding icons on a Mac isn't as easy as on Windows, you can still do it. The simplest thing you can do is disable all system icons, such as hard drives, optical drives, and servers. This way they will not appear on the desktop.

  1. Click on Finder and select "Preferences". You may need to open a Finder window to see the menu Finder.
  2. Click on the General tab.

  3. Uncheck the boxes of the icons you want to hide.

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    Step 2. Hide the rest of the icons using the Terminal

    You can hide all icons on the desktop using Terminal commands. Click on Go and then on "Utilities". Double click on "Terminal".

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    Step 3. Turn off the desktop

    Enter the following command to hide all icons on the desktop:

    defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false; killall Finder

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    Step 4. Re-enable the icons

    If you want to see the icons again, enter the following command:

    defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop true; killall Finder

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    Step 5. Create a script with Automator

    If you often want to hide your icons, you can create a script with Automator that allows you to hide the icons with a few clicks, Open Automator from the Applications folder and choose the "Service" model. Set the drop-down menu on the right to "Finder" and the one on the left to "no input". Find and drag the "Run AppleScript" action to the main window. Paste the following code into the "Run AppleScript" field, replacing the commands that are already there:

    try set toggle to do shell script "defaults read com.apple.finder CreateDesktop" if toggle = "true" then do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false" else if toggle = "false" then do shell script " defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop true "end if end try do shell script" killall Finder "delay 0.5 activate application" Finder"
    • Save the new service with an easy-to-remember name, such as "Hide / Show Desktop"
    • You can access your new script by clicking on Finder> "Services".
    • You will then need to run the Terminal commands from the previous step at least once for the script to work.
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    Step 6. Download a program that hides icons

    If you'd rather not have to deal with scripts, you can download a program that will allow you to turn icons on and off. Some programs will do just that, while others offer many other desktop customization options. Some of the more popular programs include:

    • Camouflage
    • HideDesktop

    Method 3 of 4: GNOME or MATE Linux

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    Step 1. Open the Configuration Editor

    Press Alt + F2 and type gconf-editor. Click on "Run". You will open the Configuration Editor. If the command doesn't work, try mateconf-editor.

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    Step 2. Navigate to the Desktop section

    Use the left directory tree and go to "apps"> "nautilus"> "desktop".

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    Step 3. Hide the system icons

    Uncheck any icons you want to hide. You can choose to hide all system icons, which can be useful for those you rarely use. Usually you will be able to hide the Home, Computer, Trash and Disks icons.

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    Step 4. Hide all desktop

    Go to "apps"> "nautilus"> "preferences". Find the "show_desktop" element in the right frame. Uncheck to hide the entire desktop. If you are in the MATE environment, go to "apps" → "caja" → "preferences".

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    Step 5. Download Ubuntu Tweak

    If you are using Ubuntu, you can download Ubuntu Tweak. This allows you to quickly disable desktop icons from the Ubuntu Tweak menu. You can download and install this program from the Ubuntu Package Manager.

    Method 4 of 4: Linux Mint Cinnamon

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    Step 1. Open the System Settings menu

    You can't hide all icons in Linux Mint Cinnamon. However, you can hide the system ones. To do this, open the System Settings menu by clicking the Menu button, selecting "Preferences" and then "System Settings".

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    Step 2. Open the "Desktop" entry

    You will find it in the "Preferences" section.

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    Step 3. Uncheck the icons you want to hide

    You can disable Computer, Home, Trash, Mounted Volumes, and Network Server. Changes will be instant.

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