How to remove icons/shortcuts from desktop?

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Level 1

2 points

How to remove icons/shortcuts from desktop?

Rather than use the dock, I hid it and instead dragged & dropped a couple icons onto my desktop. Now that I am using more applications, I have decided to use the dock. I want to clean up my desktop by removing the two icons I previously dropped. I tried dragging & dropping them into the trash. However, when I clicked on the icon in the dock, it said the application could not be accessed because it was in the trash. I ended up having to drag them back onto the desktop How do I get these icons off of my desktop without having to delete the application reinstall my whole computer? Thanks!

iMac 1 GHz PowerPC G4, Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Apr 29, 2006 10:40 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Allan Sampson

Level 10

123,677 points

Apr 29, 2006 11:36 AM in response to ShawnF

This indicates you dropped/moved these applications from your Applications folder to the Desktop which does not automatically create an Alias of the application. This moves the application.

When dragging an application from your Applications folder or when dragging anything to the Dock creates an Alias of the application or an Alias of whatever is placed in the Dock automatically.

Move/drag these applications back within your Applications folder.

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Answer 2

ali brown

Level 7

26,493 points

Apr 29, 2006 12:07 PM in response to ShawnF

Hi Shawn F!

After you have moved the application icons, back into your Applications folder, as Allan advised, another method of installing an Alias of an application, in the Dock, is to open the Application from the applications folder, and while it is running, position the cursor over it's Dock icon, hold down on the mouse until a contextual menu appears, and select Keep In Dock.

You're lucky you didn't empty the Trash! If you had, the apps would have been deleted!

ali b

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Answer 3

ShawnF Author

Level 1

2 points

Apr 29, 2006 8:53 PM in response to Allan Sampson

The programs were already in Applications. I guessed (correctly) that I had put the programs in my dock by dragging them from the desktop icon. That would explain why the dock icons would not work after putting the desktop icons in the trash. To resolve I 1) Removed the icons from the dock, 2) Moved the icons on the desktop into the trash, and 3) opened Applications and dragged/dropped the icons into the dock. I then tried launching the programs using the icon in the dock. It worked! Thanks for the help!

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