Unclutter your desktop

How can I manage desktop icons?

This question was answered on April 13, 2006. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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The desktop can be a good place to temporarily store certain files, but if not tended to, it can turn into a very messy workspace It’s terribly convenient to download programs directly to the desktop The trouble is, it’s also terribly convenient to leave them there, and after a few months the desktop is littered with inscrutable shortcuts Here’s how to keep things in order:

1. In your My Documents folder, create a subfolder and give it a descriptive name (like Unfiled or Shoebox).

2. Right-click the icon for the folder you just created and choose Copy Go to the desktop, right-click any empty space, and choose Paste Shortcut from the shortcut menu.

You’ve now got a handy place to file stuff you no longer need but can’t bring yourself to toss or file properly Drag web shortcuts, documents, and other files onto this target to move them to the Unfiled folder To view the contents of that folder, just double-click the shortcut icon on the desktop.

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Posted by Chad of Data Doctors on April 13, 2006

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