what is the alias option when moving or adding apps

[Sossity]

I have come across something called make alias, what is this?

 

[Sambo110]

• Computing an alternative name or label that refers to a file, command, address, or other item, and can be used to locate or access it.

 

[JNB]

In Windows it's called a Shortcut. Same same.

 

[Gregg2]

....and when you make an alias, there will be a little curved black arrow in the lower left corner of the icon. Say the name of the file or folder that you make the alias from is Pseudonym. The name of the alias will then be Pseudonym alais. Anytime you double click on Pseudonym alias, Pseudonym (the original) will open. You can change the name of Pseudonym alias to anything you want, say "Surname" or even your surname. Whenever you double click on Surname, Pseudonym will still open.

Of course the purpose of the alias is to place it somewhere more accessible to you than the original so that you don't have to go hunting for it. Once you've moved Pseudonym alias you can rename it to Pseudonym if you want. But you can't do that in the same folder as the original.

 

[Sossity]

make alias of every app? only some apps work when moved from applications folder

....and when you make an alias, there will be a little curved black arrow in the lower left corner of the icon. Say the name of the file or folder that you make the alias from is Pseudonym. The name of the alias will then be Pseudonym alais. Anytime you double click on Pseudonym alias, Pseudonym (the original) will open. You can change the name of Pseudonym alias to anything you want, say "Surname" or even your surname. Whenever you double click on Surname, Pseudonym will still open.

Of course the purpose of the alias is to place it somewhere more accessible to you than the original so that you don't have to go hunting for it. Once you've moved Pseudonym alias you can rename it to Pseudonym if you want. But you can't do that in the same folder as the original.

do I have to make an alias for every app I want to move from the applications folder to a more convenient place like the desktop or the dock? Is it essentially like the windows creating a shortcut icon from the program files?

I tried moving the activity monitor from the utilities folder to the desktop, but when I tried to open it, it would hang, so I Googled activity monitor hangs, & someone had solved this by moving the activity monitor app back to the utilities folder, I did this & it worked again. I have now made an alias of activity monitor & placed it on my desktop. I opened it & it now works. I notice some of the apps work ok when I move them to the dock or desktop, but others do not.

 

[Darth.Titan]

To answer your question, yes, if you want to access apps from the desktop creating an alias of the app on the desktop is the way to go.

I have to ask though, why keep apps on the desktop? How is that more convenient than the Dock? It's bad practice to use the desktop to store apps and documents. It's also just so... Windows...

 

[Sossity]

To answer your question, yes, if you want to access apps from the desktop creating an alias of the app on the desktop is the way to go.

I have to ask though, why keep apps on the desktop? How is that more convenient than the Dock? It's bad practice to use the desktop to store apps and documents. It's also just so... Windows...

I wasn't sure if the dock has a max limit on the amount of apps & docs it can fit, does it? what happens when it reaches all the way to the ends of the screen? as I would prefer to keep all of my app shortcuts in the dock. & pardon the windows habit, I am just coming from windows, just got my new mac laptop this week.

what about the set of apps at the bottom of the dock that are preinstalled when one gets a mac? were alias's made of them & placed in the dock?

 

[forcefieldkid]

I wasn't sure if the dock has a max limit on the amount of apps & docs it can fit, does it? what happens when it reaches all the way to the ends of the screen? as I would prefer to keep all of my app shortcuts in the dock. & pardon the windows habit, I am just coming from windows, just got my new mac laptop this week.

what about the set of apps at the bottom of the dock that are preinstalled when one gets a mac? were alias's made of them & placed in the dock?

You can add and remove any app you want from the dock, simply drag and drop or drag the icon off the dock and it will disappear (in a puff of smoke no less) but it will still be in your applications folder.

It's not recommended to move applications/utilities from their respective folders (unless its to the dock, where its simply the icon, not the app) as it changes the root folders used to access the apps, causing a hang as you've seen.

As far as I'm aware there is no limit to the dock, it will simply get smaller and smaller the more you add things to it, so you can do that till your heart's content if you like. But I tend to have my most used apps in the dock, and I also added the applications folder to it for easy access to others, simply by dragging the applications folder next to the downloads in the dock. You can do this with any folder/app/picture/video/anything.

Try and embrace the Mac way and not treat it like Windows, otherwise what was the point in switching right? You never know, you might find it easier, and way cleaner and more organised.

Just a thought 😉

 

[Gregg2]

what about the set of apps at the bottom of the dock that are preinstalled when one gets a mac? were alias's made of them & placed in the dock?

Strictly speaking, no. For all practical purposes, it's practically the same thing. I don't know if there's an official name for application icons in the Dock. Most Mac users on forums like this call them shortcuts or aliases. But, they don't have the tell-tale curved black arrow.