[comp.sys.mac] what does "rebuild desktop" mean?

doug@mathel.ncsu.edu (Doug James) (08/17/89)

What exactly does the phrase "rebuilding the desktop" mean?

I have seen the phrase used frequently on the net, but usually just "how to".
The only reference I can find in "the literature" is a one-liner in
MacUser Tips -- also a "how to".  I'd like to know when, why, what.  I would
also like cautions and warnings -- what bad things can happen to me.

Please email the answer to what I suspect is a basic question.  If some kind
soul would also tell me whether this is worth a summary, I'll follow the
suggestion.

Thanx...

                                                --doug james
                                                  doug%mathel@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu