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01/14/08
Mac: How to make desktop shortcuts
Since I switched over from Windows XP to Mac OS X Leopard this past November one of the more puzzling things has been how to add desktop shortcuts. This was real easy in Windows’ Internet Explorer. Just Right-click your desktop and select “Create Shortcut”. On a Mac (FireFox or Safari) this is not an option.
I finally found the answer, and like most things on the Mac, it’s easier than the PC.
You may have noticed while surfing around that when clicking text on a page it sometimes turns into a box, one that you can drag. I know I did, and I always wondered what I could do with it. Now I know.
You can drag any text link from a page onto your desktop to create a shortcut. Also, if you want to make a desktop shortcut of the current web page, just drag the icon that appears to the left of the URL in the address bar. This is by default a globe icon, but a site can customize it so it may look like some other 16×16 image. Either way, just drag it to your desktop and it will create a .webloc file. Just click it to open it up in your default browser!
Works great in both FireFox and Safari.
Just click and drag the icon to your desktop when it turns to a hand icon.
Tags: bookmark, desktop, firefox, link, mac, safari, shortcut, url, windows
I have recently made the transition from Windows to Mac (thanks to Vista). Your information on desktop shortcuts was useful, but my question is this: Is there a way to make desktop shortcuts of files on the hard drive?
Thanks for the tip! It worked!
One more thing–can you tell me how to rename the shortcut I have just placed on my desktop?
For example, I just short-cutted your page, following the directions above. My shortcut says “Mac-How to make desktop s…IS!.webloc”
I would like to rename it something simpler. Is that possible?
Thanks again.
I knew that.
But how do you get around to create a shortcut of a file or application??? can you tell me? Thanks.
Ok, forget it – I just found out about the “make Alias” option – it works, but it’s a 2-step (create alias first, then copy it where you want it), junk creator (if you don’t get rid of it the “alias” will stay forever next to the source and then, when you delete the source, be forgotten there).
Not very elegant. In Windows, you use the right mouse button to drag the source anywhere – then, when you release the mouse button a small popup (gates calls it “context menu”) allows you to select what you want to do copy, move, delete, create shortcut or… cancel, a welcome options, always.
I hope the MAC starts to adopt this right mouse button/context menu/right button drag thing, it’s really easy and powerful. At the moment, althoigh right-mouse is starting to appear more in Leopard, that’s not yet enough, we need more.
Always learn from others, It’s gotta be the way ;-)
Regards
WiseMax.
What about adding a custom favicon on the mac desktop?
Just hold down OPTION-COMMAND and click and drag the program icon to the desktop and you have made an alias/shortcut in one easy step!
Enjoy!
Great tip, thanks, I was wondering the exact same thing!
you can do that too in windows!!…
just drag and drop anywhere in the address bar into the desktop.
try first before jumping to conclusions *rolleyes*
WiseMax way to go. Just what I was looking for with the Short Cut