Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

MistaFreeze · Sep 21, 2003, 04:25 PM

is it possible to have your icons line up on the left side of the desktop? as it is right now, I have to manually move the HD and any inserted media to the right side every time the screen res changes or after a restart...it's very annoying.

Kujo · Sep 21, 2003, 04:51 PM

i was just about to post a question like this... i want to put my dock in the top right corner, i need new folders to snap in on the left side. i hope its possible.

mrbiiggy2 · Sep 21, 2003, 06:28 PM

AFAIK, there's never been a way to do that.

chabig · Sep 21, 2003, 09:24 PM

In western culture we read from top to bottom and left to right. That means the upper left screen real estate is more valuable than the right and lower sides. That's why the Mac UI generally puts windows near the upper left edge of the screen and thus, desktop icons go on the right side.

On Windows, Microsoft wasn't guided by any human factors principles. All they did was take everything Apple did and put it on the other side:

Apple-------------------Microsoft
Menus on top Taskbar on bottom
Icons on right Icons on left
Close box on left Close box on right
Trash at lwr-rt Trash at upper-rt

You get the picture.

Chris

mrtew · Sep 21, 2003, 09:44 PM

I don't know why... I've always used and Apple, and only recently an M$ computer at work but I've always wanted my icons on the left too. Maybe it's because I read from left to right. Maybe it's because I'm left handed. mabye I just hate the icons getting stuck half way under the dock/app switcher on the right. I don't think it's the M$ think as I don't have them on the left at work.... they are along the bottom and they stay where I put them. What a concept! Apple needs to get more and more clues every day.

Seems like someone should be able to hack this one. Maybe I will write to Unsanity.

Dace · Sep 21, 2003, 10:07 PM

Originally posted by mrtew:
I don't know why... I've always used and Apple, and only recently an M$ computer at work but I've always wanted my icons on the left too. Maybe it's because I read from left to right. Maybe it's because I'm left handed. mabye I just hate the icons getting stuck half way under the dock/app switcher on the right. I don't think it's the M$ think as I don't have them on the left at work.... they are along the bottom and they stay where I put them. What a concept! Apple needs to get more and more clues every day.

Seems like someone should be able to hack this one. Maybe I will write to Unsanity.

I'd like to have the option of placing them wherever I want as well. And I'd like them on the left too...probably also because I read left to right. The left just feels so empty. NEways, it doesn't bother me that much...what bugs me more is being forced to use Lucida Grande alll the time.

chabig · Sep 21, 2003, 10:27 PM

Don't forget that you can set the View Options for the Desktop. Your own icons will stay where you put them. It's only the drive icons that always go back to the upper right.

Chris

mrtew · Sep 21, 2003, 10:37 PM

Originally posted by chabig:
Don't forget that you can set the View Options for the Desktop. Your own icons will stay where you put them. It's only the drive icons that always go back to the upper right.

Yeah, but I guess on my Mac I never keep anything on the desktop at all. I'd just like the new stuff that appears there to appear on the left insead of under the dock on the right!

chabig · Sep 21, 2003, 11:35 PM

I'm like you, I don't keep stuff on my desktop, not even hard drives. The only items that pop up there are CDs.

But as I think more about it, the Desktop is just a folder. Perhaps an Applescript folder action could check for new items and then move them for you.

Chris

NetworkShadow · Sep 22, 2003, 02:32 AM

Originally posted by chabig:
I'm like you, I don't keep stuff on my desktop, not even hard drives. The only items that pop up there are CDs.

But as I think more about it, the Desktop is just a folder. Perhaps an Applescript folder action could check for new items and then move them for you.

Chris

I have nothing, not even my hard drives on my desktop. I do let mounted servers, CDs, and iPods popup on mine though.

Spaztik · Sep 22, 2003, 07:55 AM

Here's the workaround.

Go into Finder Preferences and don't show Hard Drives on the desktop. Instead, make an alias of your Hard Drive on the desktop. This will trick the Finder into thinking that this is just an ordinary alias. And it won't move because it's not a real volume.

Can't do anything about CDs though.

catsank · Sep 22, 2003, 08:36 AM

Originally posted by MistaFreeze:
is it possible to have your icons line up on the left side
of the desktop? as it is right now, I have to manually
move the HD and any inserted media to the right side
every time the screen res changes or after a restart
...it's very annoying.

May not do all you ask and for $22 you may decide
to leave it well alone, but still worth a look is :

FolderControl 1.20

http://www.derman.com/FolderControl1...-Overview.html

Kujo · Sep 22, 2003, 09:15 AM

see the problem for me is not drives.. its new folder and stuff like that. one thing you can do is use deskshade plus to hide your desktop stuff and just use the finder>desktop window.