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Can I remove icons on the desktop?

M

macgrl

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 17, 2008
1,192
5
Hi all, I am new to mac and have just downloaded skype and firefox and they are sitting on the dock quite happily and I am able to use them both. However they are also sat on the right hand side of my desk top below macintosh hd, can i remove them from here and move them somewhere else - what are these icons on the desktop - do they serve a purpose. I just don't want to clog up the screen

Thanks
 
When you downloaded the programs did u drag them from the removable disk and drop place them into your applications folder?

ex:

Opend the .dmg file for the downloaded application and a white disk should appear on your desktop.. open that and inside you will find the program. Then you take that program and drag it to your applications folder. After doing so eject the white removable disk and deleted the .dmg file. Those are the steps involved for installing any program. Unless it has an install package which you double click on and install then eject the disk and delete the .dmg file. Hope this helped!
 
I did the drag and drop into the applications folder just now and that worked fine. When I click on the respective programs drives and try to eject them they say that I need to close the application first?
 
hmmm... okay well i've posted steps in my above post I don't know if those can help...but if you open your applications folder and the program isn't there i would recommend dragging it from your desktop and placing it in the applications folder. you may have to delete your dock icon and re add if you do so.. also don't drag the white mounted disk if it's inside.. just drag the program that is inside to the applications folder.
 
Thank you for your reply. I managed to get rid of them on the desk top but every time I open firefox and skype they reappear and then need to be re ejected.:confused:
 
Okay that is because of your dock program... close that and drag it off your dock.. then you will beable to eject it.. then drag the program from the applications folder back onto your dock! Then everything should be fixed :D!
 
You sir are a star. Thank you so much that has done the trick!!!:D What exactly were those mounted disk things I deleted. Are they like an installation folder - what's with all the mounting and ejecting:D:D:D

Can I drag and drop such from those icon things to other files or must it be the applications.
 
When it's a program i would recommend the applications folder.. The reason for them is so that the entire program can be contained and rather then an install it's all in that little program which makes it easier to delete if you ever want to get rid of the program. Don't forget to erase the .dmg file too!
 
where is the dmg file? is that within the mounted disk that i ejected from the desk top?
 
macgrl said:
where is the dmg file? is that within the mounted disk that i ejected from the desk top?
Click to expand...

The disk copy image file is what looks like a piece of paper with a hard drive pic on it, it'll be in your downloads folder its safe to delete once the app is installed, the disk image on you desktop is safe to eject again once the app is installed
 
Thank you

I just search for "dmg" in the finder and found and deleted them

It is good to keep things nice and tidy from the start.

Thanks
 
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