how to add files to desktop
New to the Mac - how do I add files and create icons for my desktop?
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)
Question marked as
Hi,
Welcome to the "Mac World"! You can drag and drop files on your Desktop, or create aliases (same as "shortcuts to..." in Windows) for them that you'll place on the Desktop. You can also drag your whole Documents folder onto the right-most part of the Dock, so that you can readily access its content by clicking on the Documents icon.
For applications, it's best not to put them in the Desktop; there's a folder for that, and contrarily to Windows, dragging an application icon onto your Desktop will actually drag the whole application, not just a shortcut to it. Could lead to the application malfunctioning, depending on how it's been coded.
To create an alias for a document or application, simply right-click its icon, then choose "Create an alias". You can then place the alias wherever you want. Just note that, same as in Windows, the Desktop isn't just a pretty picture with icons in it. It's a real folder too, and as such, it's indexed by Spotlight (OS X indexing engine) same as other folders. Macs have been known to work faster when there are no icons on the Desktop. I've noticed that on mine, too. So, the less icons on the Desktop, the better. There are other ways to quickly reach your most-often used applications or files. You can even create keyboard shortcuts for that.
