@chrisisgr8 @aardvark The Macintosh Finder UI has always depended on storing info that tells it how to draw file and folder icons and how/where to draw Finder windows when they are reopened. There have been various places over the decades where that info is stored: FinderInfo in the file systems (now that is an extended attribute in file systems), desktop files, the Desktop Manager (and it's desktop database files), “Icon<cr>” files, the LaunchServices database, and .DS_Store files.

Every mechanism used tends to be visible on some filesystems (mostly non-Apple filesystems) because those filesystems don't provide anywhere to stuff that information other than a file.

Even making those files invisible is difficult when a filesystem is mounted on a non-Apple OS because different OSs have different mechanisms for making files hidden.

🤷‍♂️