Folders on the Desktop-not good?

First post, so redirect me if this is the wrong place. Back in the early days of the Mac, I used to hear that loading the desktop with folders was a bad idea. So I adopted it as a bad habit. Paranoiac by nature, I'm now wondering if it's really a bad idea and I should change my entire digital lifestyle, or if it's OK. Thanks for any guidance!

The files and folders you see on the Desktop are no different from any other files and folders; in fact, the Desktop itself is nothing more than a folder inside your Home folder. Therefore, I see no reason that you shouldn't have as many folders as you want on the Desktop. It shouldn't be any more prone to cause trouble than putting folders anywhere else. Depending on how "early" you're referring to, this idea might have stemmed from the Finder, which, if I remember correctly, was notoriously buggy in certain early versions of Mac OS.

Having said that, I like to keep my files and folders neatly organized with only a few that I absolutely need to see on the Desktop just for the sake of organization; it all comes down to personal preference. (Unless your Desktop looks like any of these, in which case you might want to seek intervention. )

Apple still recommends clearing the desktop if your system is slowing down.

Apparently the folders are like full on open ram using folders - the access is the quickest for those on the desktop and will make the system sluggish if there are a ton of files on it.

Only if you have icon previewing turned on (and most do.) The computer has to keep all the contents of those files in memory to show the previews.

I don't have icon previewing turned on. I think it was on by default (factory settings). My Office icons were all generic. They would flash the blue or green color (.doc and .xls respectively) but then go gray. When I turned icon previewing off, the normal icons stuck. To me, the nomenclature for what actually happened there is counterintuitive.

Older Macs had less RAM, and slower RAM. Yes, the Desktop folder is ALWAYS loaded into RAM, and the more there is in it, the more RAM it eats up.

Good housekeeping is simply good housekeeping. Organize your files.

But today's Mac's have more and faster RAM so it's not "as much of" an issue as it used to be. But it still eats up RAM, the more on your Desktop, the less RAM available to your apps.

Do what works for you.

Thanks so much for your reply. I am talking 'way back, but this folders-on-the-desktop thing is always in the back of my mind.

I WANT the ones on the desktop to be the high priority items, but simultaneous high priorities defeat the purpose!

Thanks! More incentive for a cleanup.

One shall endeavor to de-sluggisize one's desktop.
Thanks for your reply.

Thanks for your reply.

toMACsh said:

I don't have icon previewing turned on. I think it was on by default (factory settings). My Office icons were all generic. They would flash the blue or green color (.doc and .xls respectively) but then go gray. When I turned icon previewing off, the normal icons stuck. To me, the nomenclature for what actually happened there is counterintuitive.

Click to expand...

Your typical Word document is a plain white page with some plain black text on it. For that reason, your typical Word document preview looks like a tiny white page with some tiny text on it. Similarly, your typical Excel file is a plain white document with a black grid on it.

BenB said:

Older Macs had less RAM, and slower RAM. Yes, the Desktop folder is ALWAYS loaded into RAM, and the more there is in it, the more RAM it eats up.

Click to expand...

It's more of a CPU/GPU issue. And as Macs get faster and faster, the burden of drawing realistic previews will become less and less of an issue.

On a modern dual-core Mac, it's probably already a nonissue.

technologist said:

Your typical Word document is a plain white page with some plain black text on it. For that reason, your typical Word document preview looks like a tiny white page with some tiny text on it. Similarly, your typical Excel file is a plain white document with a black grid on it.

Click to expand...

If you mean the preview icon in a Get Info window, my Excel preview has a green "header". The Word preview is as you describe. But, I was talking about the file icon in a Finder Window set to Icon View. Neither had any color until I "unchecked" that icon previewing option. Playing with it just now, it does not seem to affect the Get Info preview, unless a Restart would be necessary, because toggling it back on didn't affect the Finder icons either.

If you need easy access to certain folders, why don't you just use the Stacks feature and put them on your Dock? Saves precious resources and you still have quick access.

But I really like preview. Its kinda like its looking back at me. But thats just me.

I also have only one folder on my desktop at all times.

Ditto Kash, aside form the 3 default stacks, I created a few others that are essentially (and would be on Windows) "traditional" folders.