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How to open a file on the Desktop after pressing Command+F3 to see it?

There must a simple way to do this, no?


I have a number of applications open and I can't see a file on my desktop that I want to open (ie text file, playground, some type of image, etc...). I can Press Command+F3 to hide my top windows and show all the icons/files on the desktop, but if I try to click on the item, it doesn't do anything?


So what is the purpose of seeing all the items on my desktop if I can't open or move any of them?


So... how can I see a file on my desktop that I want to open and then open it? I really don't want to move 3-5 windows out of the way to make a space some where on my desktop so that I can now click on the item.


Any suggestions?

Posted on Aug 2, 2022 2:16 PM

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Posted on Aug 2, 2022 7:34 PM

Test in Safe Mode, then start up in normal mode and retest: Start up your Mac in safe mode – Apple Support (AU)


3 replies

Aug 2, 2022 6:13 PM in response to picas

Hello Picas - Sorry for the confusion.


F3 will display all opened apps. I'm asking how to open an item on the desktop with out having to manually rearrange opened windows in order to open it (ie Command+F3 will move all opened windows to merge outside edges of the desktop and out of the way, but I cannot interact with any items that I see on the desktop).

How to open a file on the Desktop after pressing Command+F3 to see it?

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