Desktop Covered with Thumbnail Photos - How to Revert to Standard Desktop

Question

Level 1

8 points

Desktop Covered with Thumbnail Photos - How to Revert to Standard Desktop

One of my family members did something to cause his iMac to fill his desktop with photo thumbnails. He is not sure what he did to make this happen and I haven't a clue what to tell him to get his desktop to revert to the standard desktop. We've tried rebooting, logging off and back on, etc., but each time he logs on to his desktop, the photo thumbnails reappear. The photos seem to be from his photo collection or library or maybe his Dropbox backup.

Can anyone tell me what we are seeing here and how to get remove the thumbnails from his desktop?

Here is a pic of how the desktop appears with the photo thumbnails.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Posted on Jun 4, 2015 6:16 PM

Reply

Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

145,264 points

Jun 5, 2015 6:56 AM in response to varuscelli

varuscelli wrote:

I've noticed that I can select all the thumbnails with Command>a using the keyboard. Is there not some option to "close all" or the like? I can't see that option, but I'm not all that Mac literate. Just trying to guess my way through helping him. I'm not even sure what it is that I'm looking at with all the thumbs appearing on the desktop like this. If there's not an easy command to close all, I'll have to investigate restoring to some point before this happened. Thanks for that suggestion.

After using Command + A to select all, use Command + W to close them all.

Reply

Answer 2

markwmsn

Level 6

15,749 points

Jun 4, 2015 11:52 PM in response to varuscelli

Those look like actual file icons, as if your family member moved or exported a whole bunch of photo files into the Desktop folder.

Better check to see if they are still wherever they belong (in a folder, in iPhoto/Photos, in Dropbox, wherever).

If they are still there, then these are copies that can probably be deleted.

If they are not there, then these are valuable files that need to be moved back where they belong.

Reply

Answer 3

varuscelli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 4, 2015 9:42 PM in response to rkaufmann87

I've noticed that I can select all the thumbnails with Command>a using the keyboard. Is there not some option to "close all" or the like? I can't see that option, but I'm not all that Mac literate. Just trying to guess my way through helping him. I'm not even sure what it is that I'm looking at with all the thumbs appearing on the desktop like this. If there's not an easy command to close all, I'll have to investigate restoring to some point before this happened. Thanks for that suggestion.

Reply

Answer 4

Yer_Man

Level 10

164,154 points

Jun 5, 2015 2:57 AM in response to varuscelli

Open A Finder Window at the Desktop.

Sort on file type - this will group app these Jpegs together.

Select the first one. Hold the shift key and select the last one. This will select all the files in between.

Then go File -> New Folder with Selection

This will create a new folder on the desktop and all the photos will be moved into it.

This will allow you to check if these can be trashed or need to be returned to wherever they came from.

Reply

Answer 5

varuscelli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 5, 2015 9:51 AM in response to markwmsn

Yes, markwmsn, these did looks like actual file icons. I wasn't sure if my "thumbnail" description was accurate, but I think actual icons is a better description. As I recall, when I looked in the finder, it seemed that these were indeed in the Desktop folder. I also had the ability to view any of the images as a larger version, but I can't recall what they opened in when I chose that option (via right click on any of the desktop icons, I believe). I'll have to wait until my next visit (probably today) to figure out if they were copied or moved, then pick the next logical step from there.

Thank you! Helpful suggestion. 😉

Reply

Answer 6

varuscelli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 5, 2015 9:59 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thank you, rkaufmann87. I should have thought of trying that. I wonder, though, if what I'm seeing is the content of the desktop folder (by virtue of viewing the desktop), perhaps there is nothing really to close if these are just icons representing what's in the desktop folder. I'll give it a go anyway and see.

Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions. I'll post back to let you know if one of these solutions (or a combination thereof) worked for me. I have the feeling you all have set me on the right track for a solution.

Reply

Answer 7

varuscelli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 7, 2015 8:34 AM in response to markwmsn

I haven't been able to make it by their house yet to look at the iMac again. No final solution to report yet, but I will do so once I've been able to check it out first hand. Thanks again for the help thus far.

Reply

Answer 8

varuscelli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 17, 2015 12:51 PM in response to markwmsn

markwmsn and Terence Devlin, thank you for your suggestions. We used a combination of your suggestions to at least put the images into a folder to keep them from cluttering up the desktop. We are still in the process of determining if they are a copy of the originals or the originals themselves. I have not been able to spend any significant time helping my relative with this, but we have at least gotten this far.

Again, thank you for the suggestions and help! 🙂

Reply

Answer 9

rkaufmann87

Level 10

145,264 points

Jun 4, 2015 6:45 PM in response to varuscelli

I hate to say it but you have a long night ahead of closing each thumbnail. Either that or you can restore the computer to an earlier time using your Time Machine backup.

Reply

Answer 10

varuscelli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 5, 2015 9:55 AM in response to Yer_Man

Thanks, Terence. Makes sense. I'll give this a shot, too. I appreciate the suggestion!

Reply

Answer 11

markwmsn

Level 6

15,749 points

Jun 6, 2015 10:08 PM in response to varuscelli

Were you able to resolve the problem?

Reply