I somehow have the "documents" folder on my desktop. I think I accidentally dragged it out from the dock. My question is this: Is that now (thinking in Windows terms) a shortcut? If I do a "get info" on the folder on the desktop, the "where" shows /users/matt/desktop. If I go to the original folder, it's just /users/matt. I don't want this folder on my desktop but i'm afraid to delete it because it has important documents in it. I also have some videos on the desktop that were dragged from the desktop into iTunes (which is now what I use to view them). Can I just delete them to get them off my desktop?
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desktop shortcut??
- Thread starter Matt-Man-Plus
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Has the documents folder on the Desktop a little black arrow in the bottom left corner?
The left icon is the original, the right one an alias.
Aliases can be deleted without having to fear to delete the original.
You can also drag it ack to the Dock, if it is missing there.
The left icon is the original, the right one an alias.
Aliases can be deleted without having to fear to delete the original.
You can also drag it ack to the Dock, if it is missing there.
No. If you drag an item out of the Dock, it disappears immediately. You may have inadvertently moved your Documents folder onto your desktop. Is it still present in your home folder?
As for the videos, it depends how iTunes is configured to import data. Open iTunes, right-click on one of the videos, and select Get Info. Under Summary, iTunes will show you the full path to the file it is using.
As for the videos, it depends how iTunes is configured to import data. Open iTunes, right-click on one of the videos, and select Get Info. Under Summary, iTunes will show you the full path to the file it is using.
Thanks for the fast responses. No, there is no arrow indicating it's an alias. The documents folder still exists in my home folder. Maybe it somehow got copied and pasted onto the desktop? I'll just have to go through both folders I guess.
How about a folder of pics that was transferred to my desktop from a USB thumb drive and then dragged into iPhoto? Now that they're in iPhoto, can I delete the folder from my desktop?
How about a folder of pics that was transferred to my desktop from a USB thumb drive and then dragged into iPhoto? Now that they're in iPhoto, can I delete the folder from my desktop?
Or just get info on each and see if they're the same size.
You should be able to delete that.
Ok, the above underlined text, and your reference to "shortcut" makes me think you are a converted Windows user. Terminology usage is sometimes a dead give away.
As to the underlined text: No, that didn't happen. That's not how it works on a Mac. To get a copy of a folder from your Home Folder to your Desktop, you would have to drag it out of HF to DT. (For most other folders, whilst holding down the Option key.) That automatically makes a copy, because the OS does not take kindly to moving that folder, which would be the behavior (without the Option key) for most "common" folders.
And, one other thing to point out: Your Dock probably has (or had) a Documents folder in it. Folders in the Dock are called Stacks. Right click or control-click on it to see the options for displaying and sorting the contents. Your selection will affect the behavior when you left click the icon. Play with it, you can't hurt it... but, you can make it disappear with the image of a puff of smoke! If that happens, go to your Home Folder, and drag the Documents Folder back to the Dock. This will leave the Documents Folder intact also, and restore the icon to the Dock.
Why do you want to?
When I right click mine, Make Alias is an option. I don't want to do that, so I didn't.
You can't do that?? (It helps to tell what you tried, and what happened. It makes this process shorter.)
In Finder, go to Finder -> Preferences -> General -> Show these times on the Desktop: -> Hard disks
