4 Ways to Hide Desktop Icons

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 10:50

Is your desktop too cluttered? If you are in doubt about removing the icon, you can hide it from view. This allows you to look at your stunning wallpaper or prevents you from accidentally opening programs and files when you click on the desktop. You can hide desktop icons on most operating systems.

Step

Method 1 of 4: Windows

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 right click an icon, you will get the wrong menu.

Step 2. Select View

If you are using Windows XP, select Arrange Icons By.

Step 3. Switch to Show desktop icons

Disabling this will hide all icons on the desktop. These icons will not be selectable. Any icon created or added to the desktop will automatically be hidden. You can return the icon to the desktop by repeating the process.

Step 4. Install a program to hide icons faster

Desktop management programs, such as Fences, allow you to quickly hide icons by double-clicking on the desktop, as well as selecting the icons you don't want to hide.

Fences costs $10, but you can try it for free for 30 days

Method 2 of 4: Mac OS X

Step 1. Hide system icons

While hiding icons on Mac isn't as simple as on Windows, it's still doable. The easiest thing you can do is turn off all system icons, such as the hard disk (hard drive), inserted disks, and server. This will prevent the icons from appearing on the desktop.

1. Click Finder and select Preferences. You may have to open a Finder window to bring up the menu Finder.
2. Click the General tab.

3. Uncheck the box for the icon you want to hide.

   

   Step 2. Hide remaining icons using Terminal

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

   

   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

   

   Step 4. Re-appear the icon

   If you want to show the icon again, enter the following command:

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

   

   Step 5. Create an Automator script

   If you often hide icons, you can create an Automator script that allows you to hide icons with a few clicks. Open Automator from the Applications folder and select the "Service" template. Set the drop-down menu on the right to "Finder" and the drop-down menu on the left to "no input". Find and drag the "Run AppleScript" action into the main workflow. Paste the code below into the "Run AppleScript" field, which will replace whatever is 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 this new service with an easy-to-remember name, for example "Hide/Show Desktop"
   • You can access this new script by clicking Finder → Services
   • You must have run the Terminal commands from the previous steps at least once for this script to work.

   

   Step 6. Download an icon hiding program

   If you don't want the hassle of scripts, you can download a program that you can use to show and hide the desktop. Some programs can only do this, while others also provide various desktop customization options. Some of the most popular programs include:

   • Camouflage
   • Hide Desktop

   Method 3 of 4: GNOME or MATE Linux

   

   Step 1. Open the Configuration Editor

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

   

   Step 2. Navigate to the Desktop section

   Use the directory tree on the left and navigate to "apps" → "nautilus" → "desktop".

   

   Step 3. Hide your system icons

   Uncheck the box next to each icon that you want to hide. You can choose to hide any system icon, which can be useful for items you rarely use. These icons include Home, Computer, Trash, and Drives.

   

   Step 4. Hide your entire desktop

   Navigate to "apps" → "nautilus" → "preferences". Look for the "show_desktop" item in the right-hand frame. Uncheck it to hide the entire desktop. If you are using the MATE environment, navigate to "apps" → "caja" → "preferences".

   

   Step 5. Download Ubuntu Tweak

   If you're running Ubuntu, you can download Ubuntu Tweak. This allows you to quickly turn off desktop icons from the Ubuntu Tweak menu. You can download and install Ubuntu Tweak from the Ubuntu Package Manager.

   Method 4 of 4: Linux Mint Cinnamon

   

   Step 1. Open the System Settings menu

   You cannot hide all icons in Linux Mint Cinnamon. But you can hide the system icon from appearing on the desktop. To do this, open the System Settings menu by clicking the Menu button, selecting "Preferences" and then "System Settings".

   

   Step 2. Open the "Desktop" option

   It's located in the "Preferences" section.

   

   Step 3. Uncheck the icon that you want to hide

   You can hide Computer, Home, Trash, Mounted Volumes, and Network Servers. The changes will take effect immediately.