Thanks, Adam. That clarifies the situation... and I've tried TinkerTool and, yes, it does just what I need - almost... as you recognised, desktop icons visible in Finder only is what I was after... I'll have to add that to a wishlist for Apple's OSX 10.5! In the meanfime. I just have to learn how to write an Applescript to turn the feature on/off... or see if Automate will provide a quick switch. Thanks again.