Delete Desktop Icons and Shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite

Edited by Grimm, Rushell, Eng

You're watching VisiHow. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to delete icons from the desktop of your Mac running OS X Yosemite.

Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas41 244498.jpg

Steps

  1. 1
    The first thing we need to do is have some icons on the desktop to delete
    .
    In this example, there are several icons on the right side of the screen, representing icon shortcuts. We'll delete the one for "QuickTime Player".
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas17 822.jpg
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  2. 2
    To do this, move the mouse over the "QuickTime Player" icon
    .
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas28 539.jpg
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  3. 3
    Then click and hold the mouse button, or press and hold on the touchpad, and then drag the icon down toward the bottom of the screen
    .
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas36 358.jpg
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  4. 4
    When the dock appears, drag the icon to the "Trash" can on the far right and let go
    .
    Now, that icon has been moved to the "Trash".
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas41 261.jpg
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  5. 5
    Additionally, we can right-click, which on a Mac is accomplished by holding the Option button and clicking the mouse or by pressing two fingers and holding over the icon we would like to access the right click or option click menu from
    .
    In this case, we'll use the touchpad, and we'll press and hold two fingers on the "Image Capture" icon.
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas67 121.jpg
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  6. 6
    On the menu that opens, we can then move our fingers over until the "Move to Trash" option is highlighted
    .
    Then remove the fingers and release the click to move that icon to the Trash.
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas71 939.jpg
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  7. 7
    We can also take and press down on the desktop and slide over, which will give us a selection window
    .
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas107 695.jpg
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  8. 8
    When we've selected icons, and there may be more than one selected, we can use the same option, the click or two-finger click discussed earlier, or we can press one time to drag the icons down to the "Trash" can on the dock
    .
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas121 018.jpg
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  9. 9
    Now, everything has been moved to the Trash, and we have a clean and pristine desktop
    .
    Delete desktop icons and shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite.mp4-canvas129 875.jpg
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  10. 10
    This concludes our tutorial on moving icons shortcuts to the Trash on a Mac running OS X Yosemite
    .
    If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know in the area below.
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Video: Delete Desktop Icons and Shortcuts on Mac OS X Yosemite

Questions and Answers

Hey. Trying to delete Kaspersky from MAC Air?

Moved to trash and emptied. Quit, uninstalled everything. Shortcut is still there and can't use new antivirus because it is still there.

VisiHow QnA. This section is not written yet. Want to join in? Click EDIT to write this answer.

The option for moving to trash an icon are not appearing despite clicking the icon on desktop?

Deleting desktop icon on mac. how can this be successfully done

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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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Article Info

Categories : Macintosh

Recent edits by: Rushell, Grimm

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