? over web site links on the dock

[MacDummy]

I'm a Windows guy trying to help a Mac Book owner with less than zero technical skills.

She wanted to get to a few web sites (using Chrome) easily by having icons for them on the dock. After some research I figured it out. I dragged the icon to the left of the URL in Chrome to the desktop. I renamed the icon label on the desktop. I got an appropriate logo for an icon from the web and used Preview to copy and paste the icon into the appropriate place in the desktop "get info" window. I dragged the new window icon from the desktop to the left of the trashcan on the dock. I then trashed the icon from the desktop. I put 3 of these shortcuts on the dock. They worked perfectly. Now 3 days later, when these icons on the dock are moused over and enlarged, they have question marks over them and they no longer work. The Chrome icon on the dock still works, but not my shortcuts. What happened?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Sounds like you made a webloc by dragging the URL to the Desktop, then customized it with an icon. Then you dragged it to the Dock, which may have simply made an alias to the file on the Desktop. Then, when you dragged it to the Trash and emptied, it broke the alias to the file on the Desktop.

You can drag the URL directly to the Dock, but customizing it isn't an option then. It should however stay in the Dock.

You could make a folder called URLs in say the Documents folder, drag the URL there to customize it as you did, then drag it to the Dock, but don't Trash the file you made. It should then stay in the Dock, as long as the file that is aliased remains in the folder you created.

C

 

[MacDummy]

Thanks Cory, Are you saying it was OK until the trash was emptied? I'll have to ask the owner if she emptied it.

Fast forward... I think you nailed it. The owners computer is an old, new to her computer. She was going to trash her even older computer that was replaced, but I took it off of her hands so I'd be able to figure out her issues at my leisure. Before I added the shortcut to her new computer, I added it to the one she gave me. I just checked, and the FaceBook shortcut I had put on the dock worked until I emptied the trash. Now it has the question mark.

I like your suggestion of making a folder for these in the Document folder. Personally, I'd have just left the shortcuts on the desktop, but it's chuck full of garbage, most of which she doesn't even know what they are or where they came from. But that's a problem for another day.

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries.

Correct. The alias link would still work when the Desktop file was in the Trash, but the link would break and the ? would appear when the Trash is emptied.

The folder idea is nice if she requires the customization. I would simply use bookmarks for them, or simply drag the URL into the Dock instead of the Desktop. They will all look the same, with the webloc blue "Earth" icon, but they do have a descriptive label if you hover the mouse over them.

As for the large amount of files on the Desktop, you could have her organize them in a folder or two, or use the QuickLook feature to identify and Trash the ones she doesn't want.

C