Desktop items not visible when using external monitor

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9 points

Desktop items not visible when using external monitor

I use an external monitor (Asus VX279c) with my MacBook Pro.

Issue:

When I have the MacBook connected to the external monitor (via HDMI or Mini DisplayPort), the items (files and folders) on the Desktop disappear.

I use iCloud Drive and have my Desktop and Documents on iCloud (Desktop & Documents Folders ticked in System Preferences) , so my Desktop items should be visible on my Desktop and on iCloud. However, when I have the external monitor connected, I can only see my Desktop items when I log in to iCloud using the browser; I cannot see them on my Mac Desktop or in the Finder.

If I create a new document and save it on the Desktop, as expected I can see it on the Desktop and also on iCloud using the browser, but if I restart the computer, I cannot see the document on the Desktop anymore. It is still on iCloud and I can see it if I log in to iCloud on the browser.

The issue is not present when I am not connected to the external monitor.

I have used the external monitor for more than a year and didn’t experience the issue before. I think the issue started after upgrading to the latest version of Mac OS (Big Sur) a few weeks ago. Or it may have started after I installed Parallels Desktop about a week ago.

Can someone help please?

Thanks

Pedro

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 5, 2020 11:28 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 5, 2020 12:20 PM in response to Lynx100

This one is weird.

If you click iCloud Drive in the Finder window Sidebar, what do you see? There should be Desktop and Documents folders in there. Do you see them? If you then double click to open the Desktop folder inside iCloud Drive, is your content there?

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Answer 2

Lynx100 Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 6, 2020 7:25 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Hi Luis

Answering your questions:

"If you click iCloud Drive in the Finder window Sidebar, what do you see?"

I see all all the items (files and folders) that I have in iCloud, i.e. the same items I see when viewing my iCloud folder on the browser.

"There should be Desktop and Documents folders in there. Do you see them?"

Yes, I can see all the contents of my iCloud Drive including the Desktop and Documents folders.

"If you then double click to open the Desktop folder inside iCloud Drive, is your content there?"

No. The Desktop folder looks empty. It looks as if there are no files or folders in it, but I know this is not the case because I can see the files and folders when I am viewing the Desktop folder using the browser.

It doesn't seem to matter how I access the Desktop folder using the Finder, i.e. I can double-click the Desktop folder inside iCloud as you requested, or I can click on it under iCloud on the side bar, the folder looks empty.

However, if I do a search using the Finder for a file that I know it is in the Desktop folder, the file will show up in the search, so this also shows that the file is in deed in the Desktop folder, but it is just not visible as it should be.

The problem seems to be with the Desktop folder only. I can see all my files and folders inside the Documents folder.

Unticking Desktop & Documents Folders in iCloud Preferences won't make any difference.

If I unplug the external monitor, all the files reappear on my Desktop and in my Desktop folder in the Finder.

Pedro

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Answer 3

Lynx100 Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 6, 2020 10:40 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I'm not happy to hear that! ☹️

I called Apple Support yesterday. The person could not solve the issue either. Towards the end of the call he asked me to reset vram (It think that's how it's called), and then the items showed again, but I forgot to tell him that I had disconnected the external monitor. When we finished the call, I reconnected the external monitor and then the all the items disappeared again.

I'm going to send Asus an email to see if they can help.

Thanks for your interest in helping.

Pedro

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Answer 4

Dec 6, 2020 7:52 AM in response to Lynx100

That is weird. I have never seen such behavior.

I'm stymied.

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Desktop items not visible when using external monitor

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