Creating a Desktop Alias (Mac)
If you are a PC user, please refer to the previous entry: Creating a Desktop Shortcut.
Would you like to be able to create a desktop icon that would bring you directly to a website or computer program that you use daily? On Mac computers this is called an “Alias” and it is relatively easy to create one yourself!
Note: Before you start this process, make sure that you can see your desktop. If you cannot, make sure to minimize or close the windows that are obscuring your desktop before you proceed.
To Create an “Alias” to a Website:
- Open up the website in your preferred web browser (at ITS we suggest Chrome)
- Select the URL (web address) by clicking on it once
- URL selected in Chrome
- Click and drag the URL to the desktop
URL dragged to desktop
To Create an Alias to a Computer Program:
- Open a Finder Window
- Right click on the finder icon (ctrl + click if there is no right mouse button)
- Choose “New Finder Window”
- Click on the Applications in the sidebar, then hold down Option and Command as you select the application for which you want to create an alias
Drag icon to desktop while holding down the option and command keys
- Drag it to the desktop
Fun Fact: Aliases are used quite often in Mac OSX. The icons in the sidebar of the Finder windows and the icons in the Dock are also types of aliases.