Download Icon Disappeared On Mac
Sep 25, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
On your Mac, copy the picture you want to use to the Clipboard. One way to do this is to open the picture in the Preview app, choose Edit Select All, then choose Edit Copy. Select the file or folder whose icon you want to replace, then choose File Get Info. At the top of the Info window, click the picture of the icon, then choose Edit Paste. Logging out and back had no effect, but a fresh restart restored all the icons. I'm almost certain that the icons didn't immediately become generic after updating, although I wasn't paying attention for that at the time. Also, when I updated another App Store app today after the restart, the icon didn't become generic. – Gaultheria Dec 1 '17. This article aims to help Mac users restore the normal view of the Dock icons. Follow step-by-step instructions outlined in the article to get rid of this vexing problem. First Approach: Reset the Dock. The first approach to solving the issue of the missing Dock icons is to delete the Dock plist file and reboot a Mac.
There are a lot of users who recently reported that few files from their Mac desktop are missing or they've just got disappeared. It is quite surprising for those users who have a habit of saving their important files on the desktop.
If this sounds you, then you may probably know how much it is annoying to lose your files you need the most. In such cases, you might be looking for ways to get back your missing desktop files. The good news is that there are some effective methods that can help you to recover missing files on Mac with ease.
Here, in this article, we have mentioned several ways you can try to locate your desktop files that have disappeared somehow.
Why Desktop Files Disappeared from Mac?
When users see that all desktop files disappeared from their Mac, one question surely comes to their mind how it happens and why their Mac desktop files are missing. Well, there are a number of reasons for this situation. Here, we have covered some of them you need to know:
- It might be because you have chosen to keep your Desktop and Documents files on iCloud and that's why your files disappear from the desktop. If this is the case, then all you need to do is to check your iCloud settings in 'System Preferences'>'iCloud'>'iCloud Drive' options.
- Sometimes, files get permanently deleted or lost due to various reasons, such as virus-attack, power-failure on your Mac. In such cases, you need powerful data recovery software for Mac to recover your permanently deleted or lost files.
- Maybe you have moved some files to another location, such as Trash from your desktop on your Mac and you completely forgot about it or can't remember where you've moved them. In such cases, you can try to remember or check the Trash folder because maybe you have moved files to this folder.
Well, the main concern is how to locate files that disappeared from Mac. Now, we are going to mention several methods that can help you to do that.
Method 1. Disable the File Sync with iCloud
The latest versions of macOS come with an iCloud feature that enables users to sync their Mac Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud Drive. The feature allows you to access your Mac desktop and Documents folders across different devices, which include iOS devices, other Mac, and iCloud.com.
Thus, if you have saved desktop and documents folders in iCloud Drive, then your desktop and documents folders moved to the iCloud part of your of Finder sidebar. In this scenario, all you can do to show you missing files on Mac is to disable the iCloud drive. To learn how to check iCloud drive settings to get back the lost or disappeared desktop files, follow the below steps:
- To start with, move to the Apple menu, and then, go to System Preferences.
- Now, click on iCloud and then, click on 'Options' next to iCloud.
- Here, you need to uncheck the box 'Desktop & Documents Folders' and finally, click on the 'Done' button.
While you are doing the above process, you will get a warning message saying 'If you continue, items will be removed from the desktop and the documents folder on this Mac and will remain available in iCloud Drive'. So, here all you have to do is to continue with the process and open every desktop and documents folders that are displayed in iCloud Drive. To recover your missing files, you can simply drag them to the new empty desktop folder.
Method 2. Recover Missing Files on Mac in 3 Steps
If you are looking for an easy and quick way to recover your missing files on Mac, then data recovery software for Mac can help you to do that. Unlike common ways, the software is specially designed to help users to get back their files with ease.
1. Recoverit - The Best Software to Recover Word Files:
Whenever you experience a data loss situation, Recoverit Data Recovery Mac will help you to retrieve it. This data recovery software will come in handy even when you've never made a backup of your device. You now know how to partition Mac hard drive and unpartition it. But knowing how you can recover the lost or deleted files from the drive is also necessary.
2. How to Recover Lost Word Files on Mac:
Step 1: Select a Location
Launch the software and select the drive from where the data files are lost. If you don't know which drive to search, tap on the 'I can't find my partition' option, and hit the Start button.
Download Icon Disappeared On Mac Os
Step 2: Scan the Location
Typically, the software will run an All-Around Recovery scan and search for the lost and deleted files on the entire drive.
Download Icon Disappeared On Mac Desktop
Step 3: Preview and Recover
When the scan completes, the files will be listed on the screen. The software will sort out the files according to format to make the search easier. You can select multiple files at a time and have a preview at them.
Method 3. Use macOS Mojave Stacks
There is no doubt that if there is any convenient place to store and place files on Mac, it is desktop. By saving files on the desktop, you can access them easily and quickly and the best thing is that you don't have to go through various folders. But, sometimes important files present on your Mac desktop get disappeared or lost somehow.
Luckily, there is good news for users who have updated their Mac system to macOS Mojave. There is one new desktop feature added in the macOS Mojave, and it is desktop stacks. With the help of this new feature, you can easily locate your missing files on Mac. Before you learn how to locate files on Mac using macOS Mojave stacks, you need to first understand what exactly the stacks feature is?
What is Stacks?
Well, they are virtual folders that can help you to manage and corral your files on Mac. You might don't know that they have been included in macOS Dock for many years, but they are now quite helpful for users who are looking for ways to locate missing or lost desktop files.
The main concept here is 'virtual folders'. They are not actual directories in the file system of your Mac. All of your Mac files remain in their original locations. However, macOS Mojave stacks collect all of these files and show them to you under one expanding folder.
Thus, if you have updated your Mac to Mojave, and files present on your desktop seem to disappear, then you don't have to worry. They are probably hiding behind this new stacks feature. Here, we are going to show how you can use desktop stacks in macOS Mojave.
Turn on desktop stacks in Mojave:
- Go to your Mac desktop, here you need to select the 'View' tab from the menu bar located at top of the screen.
- Next, you need to choose the 'Use Stacks' option. Or you can right-click on the desktop to get this option to enable it.
Find missing files using stacks:
Once you have enabled desktop stacks new features, you can easily access the data of each stack and all you have to do is to click on its icon. Files it contains will be shown below and plus, other desktop files will be moved to the left for a temporary basis to make the room as required. If you click the stack once more, then it will get close, and also, it will return all icons to their original locations.
Bonus Tip: How to Delete Files on Mac Desktop Safely
If you have a lot of folders and files on your Mac, then you might want to delete some files in order tofree up storage space on your system.
Here is the simple guide on how to delete files on Mac desktop:
- To start with, locate files you want to delete on your Mac.
- Select the files you want to get rid of them and drag them into the trash can located at the bottom of the screen. Or you can simply right-click on the selected files, and choose 'Move to Trash' option from the list menu.
If there are some files you've deleted accidentally, then simply use 'Command + Z' right away to undo the previous action. You also need to delete these files from the Trash folder if you want to delete them permanently from your Mac.
There is no doubt that deleting or getting rid of unwanted and useless files on Mac is quite easy and straightforward. But, sometimes you end up deleting some important files while you are trying to clean your Mac system. Luckily, there are some tips you can follow to keep your data protected on Mac. Let's give a look at all these tips and tricks:
- Back up your important files: The first and foremost tip to protect your data on Mac is to backup your important files. You may never know when you encounter a data loss situation on your Mac. If you've already back up your files, then you can easily recover them with ease in case if your files get lost or deleted somehow.
- Lock your Mac: When you have to step away from your Mac, don't forget to lock your Mac to avoid unauthorized access to your important data.
- Keep passwords strong: While you are setting a password on your Mac, try to set a strong password that is hard to guess by someone else.
With the help of the above-mentioned tips, you can easily protect your data and Mac too.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide helps Mac users who have reported that all my files are gone on Mac. There are good common measures to locate disappeared files on Mac. If you are unable to find your desired files even after using common methods, then Recoverit is here to help you. This data recovery tool for Mac can locate and recover lost, missing, or disappearing files within a few minutes.
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Is the Downloads folder missing from the Dock on your Mac? No problem. You can easily get it back. There are two simple ways you can re-add Downloads folder on your Mac. While one way is to drag it from Home directory, the other way is to reset the dock. Let’s head over to know how they work:
Downloads Folder Missing from Dock on Mac? Check Out these Quick Ways to Get it Back
Method #1: Drag the Downloads folder from the Home Directory
This is the easier method of re-adding the Downloads folder to the Dock. Besides, it won’t change the existing customization.
Step #1. First off, launch Finder on your Mac.
Step #2. Now, click on the “Go” menu.
Step #3. Next, you need to select “Home.”
Step #4. Next up, find the “Downloads” folder in the Home directory. Then, you have to click and drag on Downloads and drop it into the Dock.
The Downloads folder will be back to the Dock. These steps can work for adding other files to the Mac dock as well.
Method #2: Reset Dock
You can bring the Downloads folder back to the Dock by resetting it. However, this method will remove the existing customization.
Step #1. Open Terminal on your Mac.
Step #2. Enter the following command syntax:
defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock
Step #3. Now, press the Return key.
Aug 28, 2020. May 26, 2020. 
Mar 05, 2020. Jun 10, 2020. Memory Free will help you check and clean up the memory, so that you can continue to release part of the fast memory to run other programs, which often allows a large program it is very useful.
The Dock will now quit and relaunch with default icon choices.
That’s it!
Wrapping up:
I keep Downloads folder in the Dock to easily access the downloaded files. I had once mistakenly removed it from the Dock but using the above-mentioned steps, I could get it back without any problem.
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Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.
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