Show Desktop Button

[Dynamyk]

Anyone know if there is a way to put a show desktop item on the dock. I'm really lost without it, I hate having to minimize like 5 windows just to get to the desktop

[Lacero]

Press F11? Or use Active Screen corners? Or click the desktop, then press Command+Option+H.

[portent]

Press F11? Or use Active Screen corners? Or click the desktop, then press Command+Option+H.

F11 (Expose) can be configured using System Preferences.

Or put your Desktop folder (inside your Home folder) into the Dock.

[5300cs]

I click anywhere on the desktop that's visible, then press option-Apple-h. That selects the Finder then hides everything else.

[mduser63]

I usually use Exposé, but instead of clicking then pushing alt-command-h, you can hold alt-command and click on the desktop. That will hide everything except the Desktop. I suppose you could also write an AppleScript to do the same thing, but I'm not really sure how. If you did that, you could put the AppleScript in your dock, and then when you clicked on it it would execute.

[killmoms]

Exposé is a much better solution than Windows' clunky "Show Desktop" feature. Use it.

[dotdotdot]

Exposé is a much better solution than Windows' clunky "Show Desktop" feature. Use it.

How is it a "clunky" feature?

You click a button. Everything minimizes to the taskbar. How is that bad?

[LethalWolfe]

How is it a "clunky" feature?

You click a button. Everything minimizes to the taskbar. How is that bad?

Obviously it's bad because it's Windows. Don't you know that only Windows does things the wrong way and only OS X does things the right way?


/sarcasm


Lethal

[stevenclements]

Obviously it's bad because it's Windows. Don't you know that only Windows does things the wrong way and only OS X does things the right way?


/sarcasm


Lethal

A recent move to the Mac has shown me that there are things that windows does that are nice... file browsing is better then finder in many ways, and that show desktop is nice too... BUT for music which is why I jumped, I like the fact that my MAC works and drivers don't magically disappear.:)

[Chase R]

I just swipe 4 fingers up on the trackpad... works quite well. :D :apple:

[killmoms]

lol necromancy. :D

I still find Exposé more convenient than a tiny button on the taskbar. Maybe because it's a hot-corner that takes advantage of Fitts' Law so it's one of the easiest maneuvers to make with a mouse.

Trackpad swipes on the laptops also = easier. Anything that reduces the need for precision cursor-work is by definition more efficient than something that does not.

[hatehereyes]

I agree expose is the best way and fastest way to show the the desktop but it's not that much better than windows. Maybe a fraction of a second faster?

[Jolly Jimmy]

Exposé is great, but I also use spaces to get to the desktop (I always have a free space). I have a desktop stack in the dock too.

[Matek]

I agree expose is the best way and fastest way to show the the desktop but it's not that much better than windows. Maybe a fraction of a second faster? In my experience it's slower - the effect in windows is instant while in os x some time is spent for the animation.

[Illicit]

In my experience it's slower - the effect in windows is instant while in os x some time is spent for the animation.

ah but time is saved when you try to go back to your previous window and instead of having to find and click the application on the toolbar you could just hit the expose button again :D

[Chase R]

In my experience it's slower - the effect in windows is instant while in os x some time is spent for the animation.

Does that third of a second really matter that much to you? :rolleyes:

[TwinCities Dan]

In my experience it's slower - the effect in windows is instant while in os x some time is spent for the animation.

You know you disable those animations if it really bothers you, right? ;)

[Matek]

ah but time is saved when you try to go back to your previous window and instead of having to find and click the application on the toolbar you could just hit the expose button againAFAIK pressing the show desktop shortcut or winkey+d twice brings the windows back up, just like pressing f11 twice.

You know you disable those animations if it really bothers you, right? Does that third of a second really matter that much to you? Sorry, I didn't want to make it into a competition, I just corrected someone who stated this works slower in Windows. And BTW - how do I disable the expose animations? I can't seem to find it in system preferences, I'm guessing it's a plist property.

[GamaFu]

AFAIK pressing the show desktop shortcut or winkey+d twice brings the windows back up, just like pressing f11 twice.


Wow! I didn't know winkey + D does that! I will give it a try next time.
I am new to mac, only have it for over a week. It's funny that using Mac make me appreciate some of the features in Windows that I take for granted.


Sorry, I didn't want to make it into a competition, I just corrected someone who stated this works slower in Windows. And BTW - how do I disable the expose animations? I can't seem to find it in system preferences, I'm guessing it's a plist property.

I just checked the Expose preference, and I don't see any option allow me to do that either. Spent some time googling, still no.
There's probably no way or you need external software (something called OnyX, but not sure) to do it.

[dmiller]

use hot corners found in system preferences under expose and spaces. i have desktop selected in the lower right.

[firstapple]

I just swipe 4 fingers up on the trackpad... works quite well. :D :apple:

This is how mine is as well! 100x better than anything Windows.

[eron]

I configured my show desktop to Command-D.

Same as how windows worked. :D

[JustGretchen]

Does anyone realize that this thread is 5 years old?

[dmiller]

haha no i didn't...maybe he is still confused

[Chase R]

Does anyone realize that this thread is 5 years old?

Why is it always the newbies that are bringing threads back from the dead? Lol, I didn't even realize it was that old!

[cudo]

This is what u all folks need :D A sharp little app Show Desktop, free one !

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/7520

[michael.lauden]

How is it a "clunky" feature?

You click a button. Everything minimizes to the taskbar. How is that bad?

because expose is already a feature on OS X. it has a function you can add to a key stroke to show the desktop.

why would you use a stand alone program if you can have all windows be hidden with "Hide Others" or with expose's show desktop feature.

navigating to the dock would lose a lot of time and be extremely annoying to someone trying to be productive.


you could also create a space for finder... that way no matter what you have open you could just press (modifier of your choice)+(space # of your choice)

[techfreak85]

use expose. i have the bottom right hot corner to show desktop. it just makes sense for it to be in that position i think.

[cudo]

im using expose anyway but i can see point in using show desktop app too. sometimes when you are working and got loads of windows open and u wanna leave ur mac running u just press small icon in ur status bar and all get hidden. expose hide all apps but when you go back to ur defined hot corner it will bring ur apps back. using show desktop app prevent this from happening unless you right click it and choose show all option.

im a student living in a shared house and quite a few people use my computer just to change music or chack email, cos it is one 24h/day . i dont want them to mess with some other stuff i am working on so i prefer to hide everything with show desktop app and if they need to use itunes they can just choose it from dock. if expose was used in this case sombody could delete by accident half of essay or see code of my latest iphone future-best-selling app :)

[michael.lauden]

im using expose anyway but i can see point in using show desktop app too. sometimes when you are working and got loads of windows open and u wanna leave ur mac running u just press small icon in ur status bar and all get hidden. expose hide all apps but when you go back to ur defined hot corner it will bring ur apps back. using show desktop app prevent this from happening unless you right click it and choose show all option.

im a student living in a shared house and quite a few people use my computer just to change music or chack email, cos it is one 24h/day . i dont want them to mess with some other stuff i am working on so i prefer to hide everything with show desktop app and if they need to use itunes they can just choose it from dock. if expose was used in this case sombody could delete by accident half of essay or see code of my latest iphone future-best-selling app :)


sounds like you need to create another account

[techfreak85]

If i just want to leave my mac to look pretty, i switch to another blank space.

[cudo]

If i just want to leave my mac to look pretty, i switch to another blank space.

if i switch to another space and one of my mates want to use say itunes and chooses it from dock it still brings up all the open app to the new space which takes me back to the initial issue.

i dont need to have more accounts, not like im afraid of my mates. just want to avoid accidental problems and show desktop app works just fine for me.

[benlangdon]

sys preff
dock
minimize using (drop down) scale effect, deselect animate opening applications

back to sys preff
expose and spaces
expose
actice screen corners
pick a corner, select desktop.

i personally have it in the bottm right, as show all windows is top right and bottom left is dashboard, top left is just annoying to put something there as when you got to the menu's in programs you might hit it.

if i switch to another space and one of my mates want to use say itunes and chooses it from dock it still brings up all the open app to the new space which takes me back to the initial issue.

i dont need to have more accounts, not like im afraid of my mates. just want to avoid accidental problems and show desktop app works just fine for me.
it took me like five seconds to show all my friends and even my mom what and how epose and spaces works, then love it.

[cudo]

... and even my mom what and how epose and spaces works, then love it.

ur mom must be uptodate with tech my just recently mastered txting :D

[techfreak85]

i personally have it in the bottm right, as show all windows is top right and bottom left is dashboard, top left is just annoying to put something there as when you got to the menu's in programs you might hit it.


Thats pretty much how i have it. makes most sense in my brain. except for top left is sleep display

[Kilamite]

I still find it amazing how many people will minimize every single window on Windows instead of using the Show Desktop Button..! As for the Mac, I much prefer Expose. The 4 finger swipe gesture is so useful. Much easier than having to move the cursor and click.

[GamaFu]

I still find it amazing how many people will minimize every single window on Windows instead of using the Show Desktop Button..! As for the Mac, I much prefer Expose. The 4 finger swipe gesture is so useful. Much easier than having to move the cursor and click.

I actually agree.
I am using Logitech Revolution MX mouse, I set the thumb wheel to do Expose and Space,
push forward will Show Desktop, push backward will Show Applications, click the wheel will activate Space.
Get a good mouse will make your daily computing task much easier. :)

[nplima]

because expose is already a feature on OS X.

Windowskey+M is also built-in to XP and Vista. Can't remember how it was in '98.

[logantrox]

Have you tried this?

http://www.everydaysoftware.net/showdesktop/index.html

[BlackBlade]

what about during gaming? :confused:i tried the expose stuff and f11 and nothing worked:mad:

[Narek]

OK here's a situation, you play a game and you have to hide it fast. In Windows you press ctrl esc and viola, what do you do in Mac?

[DoFoT9]

OK here's a situation, you play a game and you have to hide it fast. In Windows you press ctrl esc and viola, what do you do in Mac?

you cant be serious? there are so many options.

1. spaces
2. apple + tab
3. apple + h (hides)
4. magic mouse + BetterTouchTool.app - custom key/swipe/gesture to hide window
5. minimise

etcetc

all are within a reasonable amount of time :)

[simsaladimbamba]

Here are some resources for learning more about Mac OS X:


Helpful Information for Any Mac User (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=9848667&postcount=6) by GGJstudios (http://forums.macrumors.com/member.php?u=186377)

[flat five]

OK here's a situation, you play a game and you have to hide it fast. In Windows you press ctrl esc and viola, what do you do in Mac?

you cant be serious? there are so many options.

1. spaces
2. apple + tab
3. apple + h (hides)
4. magic mouse + BetterTouchTool.app - custom key/swipe/gesture to hide window
5. minimise

etcetc

all are within a reasonable amount of time :)

honestly, i think the best set up is to have a hot corner set up to show the desktop (system prefs->expose&spaces->expose->active corners) personally, i use the bottom-right corner.

with that setup, i'll often be working in an app then go to the corner, pick up a file, mouse to the corner again, drop into the app.. it's literally a 1 second operation once you get used to it. (or 1/10 of a second operation if you're just trying to get to the desktop :D)

another thing you could do is put your desktop folder in the dock.. that's super easy access to the desktop files as well.

[DoFoT9]

honestly, i think the best set up is to have a hot corner set up to show the desktop (system prefs->expose&spaces->expose->active corners) personally, i use the bottom-right corner.

with that setup, i'll often be working in an app then go to the corner, pick up a file, mouse to the corner again, drop into the app.. it's literally a 1 second operation once you get used to it. (or 1/10 of a second operation if you're just trying to get to the desktop :D)

another thing you could do is put your desktop folder in the dock.. that's super easy access to the desktop files as well.

great suggestions! they all work well too - the fastest ive found is the magic mouse + custom gesture option, because the finger only has to move a few mm to reach the middle of the mouse. but hey, whatever works :)

[flat five]

oh, and hey..
anyone remember the expose blob?
i know it's been on a computer of mine before but i can't remember if it was a system pref, some sort of terminal activation, or a 3rd party app.
it was a blue blob that sat on screen and would activate 'all windows' (i think) when clicked on..
aside from how it arrived on my computer, i remember it wasn't too cool and removed it immediately :D

[edit] ha, here's a link that talks about it.
http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/tutorials/expose-blob/index.shtml

it was around the panther days when i messed with it and i'm not sure if it still works in snow leopard.. and honestly, i don't really want to experiment to find out because i know i'll just remove it anyway :)

[Ktdhc]

Do people really not see the difference between "Show Desktop" and the hot corner function, or am I missing something here? Using hot corner to show desktop is great and all, but it still doesn't hide or minimize all the windows - as soon as you open one window, all the other windows pop up as well.

The point of Show Desktop is to clear all the windows and have a clean working space.

[simsaladimbamba]

Do people really not see the difference between "Show Desktop" and the hot corner function, or am I missing something here? Using hot corner to show desktop is great and all, but it still doesn't hide or minimize all the windows - as soon as you open one window, all the other windows pop up as well.

The point of Show Desktop is to clear all the windows and have a clean working space.

For me "Show Desktop" works just fine, as the following 600KB .mov video shows: VIDEO (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10644330/MR_Image_Hotlinks/MR_screenshots/MR_screenshots_10_2011/ShowDesktop.mov)

Btw, I used mouse buttons to activate Exposé (Show All Windows) and Show Desktop.

One could also use CMD+SHIFT+H when the Desktop is selected.
Or one could use Spaces and have one Space empty for this case.