Icon size on Desktop

From the Apple Help System -

*Aligning, labeling, and resizing icons*

To modify icons:

To modify icons in a Finder window, open the window.

To modify icons on the desktop, click the background area of your screen.

Choose View > Show View Options and make your choices.

Each of the views—icon, list, column, or Cover Flow—has its own view options. The icons change as you make choices, so you can immediately see the effect of your changes.

“Snap to Grid” (available in the “Arrange by” pop-up menu in icon view) makes icons align in rows and columns when you move them around.

To apply your changes to every window you open, click “Use as Defaults.”

This option does not appear if you’re adjusting icons for the desktop.

HI,

From the Finder, in the Menu Bar, click View/Show View Options

Reset icon size at the top of that window.








Carolyn 🙂

It certainly should. Works on mine... I know that doesn't help you at the moment but at least I'm on the right track.

Try deleting this file. com.apple.Desktop.plist

/Users/YourName/Library/Preferences. Drag that file to the Trash, empty the Trash and restart your Mac.

Do the View/Show View Options and try to resize the Desktop icons







Carolyn 🙂

Message was edited by: Carolyn Samit

Sorry Carolyn Samit, but you are not answering apb123 question.
As our friend I keep being limited to 128x128 as an icon size when I read everywhere that the icons can be displayed up to 512x512 !
Even after deleting "com.apple.Desktop.plist" the choice is not offered in the View/Show View Options and keep limited to 128x128.
What have we done wrong, or is this option just another mirage of Snow Leopard ?

The only references I've seen from Apple about 512k icons refers to icons in a Finder Window that's in Icon View (which I almost never use).

I believe that Apple still has a limit of 128k icons for the desktop. There was a terminal hack to change the size of the icons on the desktop for Leopard, but I've read that it doesn't work for Snow Leopard.

That means you are still in the Finder window and not in the Desktop. Hide all your apps and close all Finder windows to be sure you are actually in the desktop. Then go to View and scroll down to Show View Options. This feature in the Desktop has fewer options in the window than what a Finder window has, which makes it easy to tell you are in the Desktop.

Kevin

It sounds like you are getting to the dialog. What you are missing is clicking on the Desktop itself.

When you click on the Desktop itself, the dialog will change to show the settings for it. The icons are limited to 128x128 maximum, but you can also change the grid spacing.

Also note the keyboard shortcut for the settings dialog: Command-J

And you can use secondary-click (aka right-click) on the Desktop to get a menu, and the last item in that menu is *Show View Options*.

would you happen to know if this file would have the desktop/finder view settings as a backup? If the icons and grid spacing got altered by mistake, and control Z did not work to undo, would that p-list have my old settings??