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Possible To Hide Partition / Drive From Desktop On Classic Mac?
- Thread starter mcbeav
- Start date
I have 2 partitions due to needing more space, but I'd like to hide one of the partitions to clean up the desktop. I use an alias to access the single folder of games installed on the partition. I don't have much experience using ResEdit, would I open Finder using ResEdit?
I did try that, but it doesn't allow that. You can't select "Get File Info" on a drive or partition. The button is greyed out, and you can only open the drive to select a file or folder inside of it.
It works in some configurations and not in others; I can't recall offhand which Finder/media combos work, but it's worth a try
The alternative is to give the partition an "invisible" custom icon and file name, so it's still there but doesn't get in the way.
The question is still fairly confusing. You don't want it unmounted, you just want to be able to "Hide" the volume like you can with an application.
So, if this is possible [looks like it isn't], then it's possible to write a small app/ extension or Control Panel which allows you to select a drive and hide it? Or add a Finder RHS menu option to hide/show volumes?
That's probably my best bet and a great idea! Thank you! I'll give it a custom invisible icon and filename. Thanks!It works in some configurations and not in others; I can't recall offhand which Finder/media combos work, but it's worth a try
The alternative is to give the partition an "invisible" custom icon and file name, so it's still there but doesn't get in the way.
That would partially work: you will still have a small white rectangle where you typed a space to get rid of the name.
Thats a bummer. I think there is a control panel or extension that makes labels transparent, but I don't know if it's that important. I'll have to keep thinking. Either way doesn't sound like there is a simple solution. I appreciate the help.
I've used other characters instead of a space that had 0 width in the past; can't recall what, though.
Sneaky. I suppose with some font trickery this would be possible. Another possibility would be to have a completely white desktop pattern...
Well, it's an interesting feature to explore. Let's say we're in the Classic Mac OS era (7.x to 9.x) and we want to implement this feature. I think the neatest method is a RHS menu bar option (what's that called in Classic Mac OS?) with an icon. Maybe it should look like a drive, but the diagonal RHS is dotted. When you pull/click on it you see a list of the volume names and all the hidden ones are shaded: selecting one inverts whether they're hidden. There's an inconsistency in my design: the icon uses dots to show 'hidden', but the list shades the names to show hidden. Perhaps the icon should be solid drive and shaded drive?
So, hiding a volume hides any of its open windows and the volume itself. Showing it again makes them appear in their previous positions along with the volume itself.
Or, you could create an OtherMenu module to do it -- all drives get listed in OM, but you have the option to toggle any of them visible/invisible on the desktop. Of course, the tricky bit there is actually setting the invisble bit in a way that the current OS will abide by, as that changes between OS versions. On earlier ones, you could use ResEdit to check the Invisible bit that the Finder disables for volumes; on later versions, I think there's a partition attribute you have to set?
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