Occasionally I hit a key, or key combination on the laptop by mistake, that instantly reduces the icons on the desktop to their minimum size. It's no real problem to go to View > Show View Options and increase them again, but it puzzles me, what keys I'm touching by mistake, to make this occur. Plus I wonder if there is a key combination to reverse the action. Any ideas?
John,
you don't say which MacOs you're using, nor which programmes are running when this happens. System Preferences > Keyboard offers keyboard shortcut editing in Snow Leopard (can't remember if earlier versions do).
Programmes sometimes allow shortcuts to be set (see their preferences). You might also have some sort of older super-finder utility software installed.
Stuff you may already know:
Otherwise it may just be a glitsch, in which case the best and greatest specific is Safe Boot -- startup with shift pressed. It takes a long time, but sorts out what is pure MacOS, checks all sorts of things, and empties various caches and does some other esoteric things know only to Apple. You won't get web access under safe boot, but most standard software will work, sort-of, so don't forget to restart afterwards in the normal way.
Beyond this you could try Onyx (free, Titanium Software, via Version Tracker). Make sure you have the correct version for your system. As a front end to Terminal it works fine under Safe Boot, but duplicates some of the latter's functions -- read its Help files.
Ewan, many thanks for taking the trouble. As it happens, I remembered that I have a copy of 'Snow Leopard Missing Manual'. In it, I found what I think may have been happening.
I'm not too keen on the Macbook Pro trackpad at the best of times, now I dislike it even more. Whereas I thought I was hitting the occasional odd key combination, I now realise that I must have been brushing the trackpad with my fingers and it interpreted this as pinching.
It seems you can pinch and spread on the trackpad to reduce or enlarge the icons. Must be a need for it, but at the moment, I can't think of one.
John, "Whoops, apocalypse" showing near you! (And David Pogue rides to the rescue -- again).
Great diagnosis, always best to look for the simple solution, and it shows how important it is to include as much background info as possible when asking for solutions. I'll squirrel this one away -- thanks.
Can't do pinching on my MacBook, but can you alter this behaviour via the trackpad preferences on the Pro? On my MacBook you can (right down at the bottom of the options) "ignore accidental trackpad input"; does this help?
Ewan, It certainly does help. I hadn't even realised that Trackpad preferences existed. I couldn't find "ignore accidental trackpad input", but I was able to un-tick the 'Pinch Open & Close' box, and that has done the trick. Thanks again.
John, "Ignore accidental trackpad input" is a check box right at the bottom left of the T-pad prefs page (Snow Leopard 10.6.4, and I thing Leopard). I used to keep it checked but somewhere or other read that it could cause a (very minor) nuisance -- slowing up responses or somesuch. I don't check it these days but the reason is lost in my ancient unreason.
John, Doug Cheney has kindly pointed out that my trackpad prefs relate to my early 2009 MacBook 5,2. Yours is infinitely more sophisticated and has all manner of gestures, both unkind and friendly.
It seems that users of these Pro Macs are expected not to make inadvertent trackpad errors. Sorry for confusion.
John Surtees 