Finding things in Finder · The shortcut left behind
Why do some icons on my Desktop or in Downloads have little arrows on them?
Short answer: Those files were moved to your external drive by a rule and replaced with shortcuts — the arrow is Finder's shortcut badge. They still open while the drive is connected; adjust the rule in Settings → Rules or use Move back to keep them local.
Those items have been moved to your external drive and replaced with shortcuts, so they no longer take space on your Mac. The arrow is Finder's standard badge for a shortcut. Usually this happens because a rule in Settings → Rules moves older files from folders like Desktop, Downloads or Documents.
They still open normally while the drive is connected. If you'd rather a folder kept its files on your Mac:
- Change or turn off the rule in Settings → Rules so nothing more is moved, and
- use Move back in What's Using Space → Relocated (N) for anything already moved.
Rules check macOS's record of what you've opened recently and leave those files in place, so the arrows mostly appear on things you haven't touched in a while.
See Auto Rules.