How can I show desktop icons in Elementary OS?

Question

How can I show icons on the desktop in Elementary OS Luna?

I tried using gnome-tweak-tool and gconf-editor but they didn't work.

Answer 1

1. Install Nautulus (avoiding the whole gnome desktop with --no-install-recommends)

   sudo apt-get install -–no-install-recommends nautilus dconf-tools
   

2. Open dconf-editor. Click twice on org -> gnome -> nautilus -> preferences -> desktop-is-home-dir. It should be left disabled.

3. Edit ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs. Add XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="$HOME/Desktop to the bottom of the file and remove any existing XDG_DESKTOP_DIR lines if they exist.

4. Create a Desktop directory under your home directory.

5. From a terminal, run nautilus -n

6. To make it run automatically open dconf-editor and navigate to org -> pantheon -> cerbere. In the monitored process line, add nautilus -n entry. It should look something like this:

   ['wingpanel', 'plank', 'slingshot-launcher --silent', 'nautilus -n']
   

For more details, see this post from elementarytips.blogspot.co.uk.