For once, Windows wasn’t wrong: it’s handy to have things close at hand, just like on a real desk — even (and especially) if it’s sometimes a mess.
But wouldn’t it be even better to only display icons when you need them? If only to enjoy the beautiful photo you’ve set as your wallpaper:
The subject has already been discussed on the forum and an applet has even been proposed:
For my personal use, I thought that a combination of three keys that is easy to remember and should not interfere with other system shortcuts would be more convenient.
It’s not complicated, but don’t get lost along the way:
Budgie Control Centre > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > View and Customize Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts > + > Add Custom Shortcut
We will start by creating the keyboard shortcut that will hide them:
Fill in the ‘Name’ and ‘Command’ fields by copying and pasting the following:
Hide desktop icons
gsettings set org.nemo.desktop show-desktop-icons false
Then click on ‘Set Shortcut’ and type the key combination ‘Super Alt -’ — in other words: the Windows key, Alt and the ‘minus’ key on the numeric keypad:
Don’t forget to click ‘Add’.
The quick ones will have already typed ‘+’ and created the shortcut that will restore the icons:
Show desktop icons
gsettings set org.nemo.desktop show-desktop-icons true
Hoping that you find it convenient too. 