how to hide desktop icons with swiping mouse

[jcarter]

I just updated to High Sierra, and a couple of times Ive swiped the mouse somehow, and all the desktop icons disappear. And on the top of the screen there are 2 options, one says Desktop and the other one I cant remember. If I could replicate this I would be very happy!  Reason is that we have some amazing desktop travel pictures and I love to just have them rotating when not using the computer, just sitting here talking with my husband or kids about our travels.

Anybody know how to do this?  I found it by mistake and cannot do it again on purpose.

[jchuzi]

I don't know anything about swiping, but a fix, for me, is to click the Finder icon in the dock.

[jcarter]

Just tried it, but it just brings up the hard drive contents.
The screen is still covered with icons and the folder which opens when I click that.

[Xairbusdriver]

I'm confused (again?!).
First you say:

...a couple of times Ive swiped the mouse somehow, and all the desktop icons disappear.

Then you say:

The screen is still covered with icons [emphasis added]

What icons?

• Icons for what (Apps, documents, files, connected drives, etc.)?
• Are you using LaunchControl I guess it's called "Mission Control" and there are settings in its own System Pref (I had to pull down the View Menu as I had that Pref hidden in the main Prefs window)? [Mission Control->Mission Control and/or Show Desktop]
• Are the ones that "cover the screen" not the same ones that "disappeared"?
• Have you made any changes on your Mission Control, Mouse or the Accessibility Prefs?

A shrunken (we don't need a full resolution image) screen shot would be handy. 

[jcarter]

All the icons sitting on the desktop, the ones which are visible in this screenshot. I usually hide the dock, thats easy. Here is a typical picture.
Thank you,

[Xairbusdriver]

So, the ones you are showing on the Desktop (in the image) are not really there? That (I guess) answers my first question. Any chance on answering the rest of them? I'll go back and number them...

An additional question:
Do you have any idea how the icons shown in the image got back onto the Desktop or why they, perhaps, did not disappear? [note: there are two questions in that sentence]

Just an idea, but if, while the Desktop is the active window, you happen to press command-A, you will select everything on the Desktop. A simple, but fast drag to any edge will take the majority of the icons outside the visible part of the window.

BTW, thanks for making a reasonably sized image to post.

[jcarter]

Thank you! You hit the nail on the head, its Mission Control, which I had no clue about, as I had ignored it.
Googled it, and followed instructions. Double tap on mouse and here it is.
Exactly what I wanted.   
This is the view from the porch apartment we stay in, when we head to our favorite island in the winter.

[jcarter]

And if I really want to save a picture quickly, just PS the words out and its nice.
Here is another picture from the porch.

[jcarter]

Now to figure out how to do it on 10.10.5, on the other Mac. Double tap mouse wont work. And thats the computer with all the pictures the family has taken rafting thru the Grand Canyon, and other trips. Probably about 10,000 pictures on that one also.

[Xairbusdriver]

Thank you! You hit the nail on the head, its Mission Control

You are welcome, but I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't even understand what "double-tap" (double-click?) and "swiping mouse" have in common.

[jcarter]

I will try to explain better, a 'double tap' from what it said here, see screenshot. I tried it with 2 fingers, and tapped the mouse with them twice. It worked perfectly the first time that I did it. I had not used Mission Control before, but when you said to use it, I went right ahead.
Thank you, and sorry I am not too good at explaining things.
Now we can watch all our travel pictures on our Macs without the icons in the way. My grandson hooked up something so that we can run the same thing on our big screen television too.

[jcarter]

Im trying the other things on this Mission Control, and there is a key which says F3 way up on the top of keyboard. It works too, but I didnt bother with that one, but will from now on.
Yes, indeed, I learn something new here all the time.

This kind of takes the place of those picture frame thingies which people have in their living rooms showing all their pictures. My brother does this with a SD card you plug into the picture thing.  But doing it this way and transmitting the picture show from all of our 4 Mac household computers to the TV is much better.
We can choose the timing of how fast we want the pictures to change, and what album we want to use. I have my brother's pictures of the South Pacific islands too, so they will be fun to watch full screen on the TV.

[jcarter]

Playing with other options, you all get me started on something fun, and I pursue it. There is no end of fun with Mac computers.
This is from the same trip. I promise I will go and start dinner, and stop playing with this.