As a Mac user, it’s important to keep your gadget organized. Organizing your Mac not only boosts your productivity and performance but also ensures that you have an amazing user experience. One of the easiest ways to organize your device is by hiding or removing icons. Having a clean Mac is not only good for your mind but also your heart. In this article, we are going to help you learn about the best methods or ways that you can use to eliminate icons from your Mac. The best part is, there’s nothing difficult about this process. You can perform this task in the comfort of your home in a couple of minutes.
Why should you hide desktop icons on Mac?
If you usually use your Mac desktop regularly, you’ll agree with me that it’s easy to have a cluttered device if you don’t form the habit of hiding your desktop icons. You’ll have lots of downloaded files and apps that you don’t require. The more you store them, the more the pile. And the easier it will be to misplace or lose important files. You’ll also have instances when you’ll want your Mac to look presentable. For instance, when you are sharing your screen with your colleagues in a Zoom meeting, the last thing you want to happen is for them to see your private macOS desktop icons. Learning how to hide desktop icons mac will help you save a lot of time and energy. You can remove the icon from the desktop Mac using One Switch and the following simple tips.
Hiding desktop icons using terminal
One of the best apps for Mac that you can use to complete a wide range of tasks without slowing down your gadget is Terminal. While most users think that you have to be an expert to enjoy the benefits that Terminal offers, learning how to use it is not a difficult task. Here is a step-by-step process that you can use to hide desktop icons mac with Terminal:
- Open Terminal by following the path Applications > Utilities
- In the Terminal Window, input this command:
- defaults write com. apple. finder CreateDesktop false
- Hit the Enter button
- Input the second command on Terminal:
- killall Finder
- Hit the Enter button again
Once you’ve done this, all the mac icons on your computer should be gone. This does not mean that you’ve deleted them permanently. You can find them under the Desktop section using Finder. If you want your icons to reappear again, open Terminal and type the following command lines:
- defaults write com. apple. finder CreateDesktop true
- killall Finder
Using System Folders to hide or remove icons from your Mac
Have you been looking for a safe space on your device where you can store important files without them being seen by others? If yes, you should consider using System Folders. Here is a simple process that you can use to do away with icons and show desktop shortcut mac on your desktop and hide them in the Library folder:
- Head to the Finder Menu bar and select Go
- Reveal the Library option in the dropdown menu by pressing the Option Key
- Paste the items that you want to hide in the Library folder. You can also consider creating a different folder for your items.
Using Finder to do away with Desktop Icons
If using Terminal doesn’t excite you, don’t fret. You can use Finder to achieve the same goal. It offers a direct approach to hiding desktop icons from your screen. However, you should keep in mind that using Finder will not allow you to hide every icon. However, you can adjust the settings for it to hide icons associated with connected servers and external devices such as iPads, iPhones, hard drives, and DVDs to name a few. Here are a few simple steps that you can use to hide desktop icons with Finder:
- Head to the Finder Menu and choose Preferences
- Uncheck all the items under Show these items on the desktop in the General tab.
When you clean icon, your desktop should be cleaner than it was
Hide Desktop Icons in Mac using Stacks
Stacks is one of the best features that was introduced by Apple together with MacOS Mojave. It allows users to keep their devices clean and neat by organizing the files that they store into groups. If you are running the following MacOS versions, you can use Stacks: MacOS Ventura, Catalina, Big Sur, Mojave, and Monterey. Once the files have been divided into groups, they’ll be placed on the right side. You’ll have the option of stacking files based on specific criteria such as date modified or added. Using Stacks on Mac is easy. All you have to do is head to the desktop screen and select View in the menu bar. Click Use Stacks. You can also right-click on your desktop screen and click on Use Stacks to hide desktop icons.
Conclusion
One of the easiest ways to boost your productivity and enhance your user experience with Mac is by keeping it clean. When you allow your computer to be cluttered, it will be easy to lose or misplace important files. Using the tips that we’ve shared in this article will help you do away with mac desktop icons.
