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Clearing off your desktop


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#1
Tyger

Tyger

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You've decided that you have too many shortcuts cluttering up your desktop. Here's how to move them to a convenient location and clean off your desktop.

Go to the Start button on the lower left, right click on it and choose Open. When it opens into a folder, go to File and Make a new>Folder. You can give the new folder any name you want, but Shortcuts will do just fine. Now just open the new Shortcuts folder and start dragging and dropping the shortcuts you don't want on your screen into it. In a few minutes your desktop will be cleared enough that you will be able to see your background picture again.
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#2
acklan

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This little utility may be what you are looking for. Iconoid
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#3
1101doc

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Here's a cool way to have a clean Desktop and one-click access to all your shortcuts all the time.

I have my Desktop set this way in XP Home
Don't know about other XP variations


Rt. click your taskbar.
Hover over "toolbars."
Choose "new toolbar.

In the "New Toolbar dialog box left click "Desktop," to highlight.
Choose "Make New Folder" button at lower left.
OK

You now have a "New Folder" on you desktop. BUT.
This is a Toolbar Folder!
Drag the folder to any open margin of your screen(left,right,or top) and drop it there.
You now have a new toolbar!

Go to the little bumpy line at the top of the new toolbar and Rt. click.
Choose "Always on top."
Do it again and choose "Auto-hide."
Now the toolbar will pop out when you bump that Desktop margin with your cursor.
Other Rt. click context choices are "Show text" (gives title of icons)
and "Show title." (Displays name of toolbar) " View" offers large or small icons.

But wait! The "New Folder" is still on the Desktop. Rename it as you wish, but leave it there.
Any shortcut icon you drag and drop into that folder appears in your new toolbar
AND disappears from your Desktop!

Shortcuts in the toolbar are one-click launch shortcuts, just like "Quick Launch."
All normal Rt. click shortcut icon context functions are available inside the toolbar.
Drag and drop inside the toolbar to arrange icons.

If you move the toolbar folder off the Desktop, you will lose all your icons.
Ditto if you put it in a containing folder. Just leave it there. If you really want it gone,
rt. click an open part of the desktop>Arrange icons by.. and untick "Show desktop icons."
Reverse procedure to bring them back. If you rt. click the taskbar and choose "Toolbars,"
you can check "Desktop" to have a popup menu of your desktop icons. (even when "hidden")

YES! You can do the same for the other empty margins of your Desktop and have four
Quick Launch toolbars that autohide, but are always on top even when you have the screen
full of something else. (I leave the Taskbar up and autohide the other three, but that's up to you.
Now when you get a new shortcut on your Desktop you can just drop it in whichever toobar you want.

To customize the covers of your three remaining desktop items
(I added a fourth-work folder-for balance)
Rt. click,choose "Properties">Customize>Change Icon.
Here you can select one of Windows' lovely preinstalled icons,
or "Browse" your computer for your own icons.

You now have a Desktop with only three or four customized icons and
nothing else but your beautiful wallpaper AND all your regularly used
Shortcuts are always avaliable in one click.

Happy Clean Desktop New Year to all!
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