How do I control the placement of new files on the OS X desktop?

July 18, 2006 11:31 AM

(How) can I control the placement of new icons on my dual-head Mac desktop? They always land on the wrong monitor

I've got a 17" iMac Core Duo with a 19" LCD monitor. The external monitor is set up as my primary display (it has the menu bar at the top of the screen) since it's where I prefer to work. When I download a file or save an attachment to ~/Desktop, the icon always appears on the primary display's desktop.

I use the secondary display for stuff like DragThing's garbage can, keeping an eye on chat and mail and for files I want to have out and readily accessible for brief periods. Ideally, that's where I'd like new files to land, out from under all my open application windows in the main display.

Any way to make that happen either through normal system settings or perhaps some haxie somewhere?

posted by mph to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

There isn't any way to change this that I know of.
posted by kindall at 11:34 AM on July 18, 2006

Best answer: You can open a new finder window that displays the desktop directory for your user and position that on the secondary monitor. Files would still line up on the main monitor, but you'd have quick access to them in a particular spot on the secondary monitor as well.

You can also set up an alternate default download directory and have that window open on the secondary monitor. Then the files wouldn't show up on your main monitor at all.
posted by willnot at 12:00 PM on July 18, 2006

Response by poster: You can also set up an alternate default download directory and have that window open on the secondary monitor. Then the files wouldn't show up on your main monitor at all.

That's a good idea. Unless someone happens along with exactly what I asked for, I'll use that idea along with WindowShadeX to keep the download folder over on the secondary monitor in a state of semi-transparency.

Thanks!
posted by mph at 12:43 PM on July 18, 2006