Cleaning the Desktop

CLEANING UP THE DESKTOP VIA USE OF THE START BUTTON
(Graphics are all at the bottom of the text)

INTRODUCTION

For many years my strategy for loading applications quickly was to have the shortcut icons for all my frequently used apps on the desktop. Using an algorithm initially developed by the Whereizit? cult I arranged the dozens of icons into visual clusters to enable the one I wanted to be found "quickly". Three problems with that: (a) occasionally some application or computer problem rearranged the locations of all the icons, (b) I lost track of where things were as the number of icons increased, (c) finding an icon when there is a visitor watching becomes very difficult!

Some C&C folk are using Freelaunchbar (see http://www.freelaunchbar.com/) to move icons off their desktops. That application enables you to shift icons from the desktop into pop-up menu clusters accessed via the quick launch bar. I understand that this app is a little tricky to configure (although having worked out how to do it, "it's easy", they say. Like quantum mechanics, I guess.) An alternative worth looking at was mentioned by someone (maybe the Silicon Kid) way back. I've been using it for some years, and it works very well. It does not require any application to drive it, uses Windows Explorer for implementation, can be modified easily, and the configuration does not ever get rearranged without you doing it yourself.

NET RESULT OF SETTING UP THE SYSTEM

The end result for me is a very clean desktop. I still launch a few apps that I use very often with one click on icons in the quick launch bar (PowerDeskPro, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Outlook Express, Process Explorer, TCPView, DUmeter). I access all my other often-used apps through the Start button (on the lower left corner of the desktop).

An initial left click on the Start button pops up a panel containing the usual items that Microsoft stuck under the Start button. But in addition, the items displayed now include ones that I have added (see 2_start1.gif). For instance, I have added an icon and label for "Audio & Video" apps - the 3rd item from the top in the pop-up panel. The black triangle to the right of any icon indicates that there is a sub-group of other items under it. Moving the mouse pointer onto a label which has a triangle pops up the next level of items in that sub-group. For example, for the Audio & Video apps item, there are 9 items, one of which is "MP3 utilities" (see 3_start2.gif). Again, moving the mouse pointer onto an item which has a triangle pops up the next level of apps under that item. For my MP3 utilities item, there are 7 sub-items (see 4_start3.gif). None of these 7 items have triangles - they are all are shortcuts to applications, so that a single click on any one of them loads the app. Most folk would probably only need one or two levels of popups. Three levels would be required only if you access a lot of apps regularly. More than three levels would hardly ever be required and is counter-productive because getting across to the last level is a long trip.

Most people would have used such a Start button process system for running programs accessed through the Programs item. However, when you invoke the programs item you will end up with a very large list of folders and shortcuts, arranged in an order that is not as helpful as it might be, and including just about every application that is installed on the PC. The system I have described set up just my most frequently used applications, in a tree structure of popup panels that reflects conceptual grouping that mean that I can quickly locate the application I want to load. The tree structure and the items in the popups are ordered the way that I want, and all the items in the popups have a meaningful icon attached. In XP icons can be attached to any or all items. In Win 98 (and presumably other non-NT systems), there is less flexibility for attaching icons.

Determining the content of the popups, the nesting of popups, and attaching icons is easy (when you know how). The process for XP is as follows; for other operating systems, the process is very similar albeit not identical.

SET UP FOLDERS AND SHORTCUTS IN THE START MENU FOLDER

For the method to work, first of all you need to set the Properties of the Start button so that left clicking it will show the so-called "Classic menu" instead of the XP style menu. To do that, right click the Start button, select Properties, and on the Start Menu tab, select Classic Start Menu, then Apply.

Having done that, exit to the desktop, then right click the Start button and click on "Explore" (3rd item from the top - see 5_right.gif). The "Start Menu" folder should then appear in Windows Explorer (see 6_explor.gif).

Within the Start Menu folder, create any new folders which you would like to see popup at the first level when you left click on the Start button. In the example shown in 2_start1.gif, you can see I have added items for Antivirus & Anti-spyware, Photo editing, Audio & Video, etc. Create such folders through the Explorer's File/New/Folder menu item. Then if you want them, create sub-folders within those folders, and sub-sub-folders to reflect the way you want to locate your apps in 2nd or 3rd or other levels.

If you want a shortcut to a single application (rather than a folder) to appear in the first level of popups, put a shortcut to that app in the Start Menu folder, not within a sub-folder.

Then in the relevant folders and sub-folders, and sub-sub-folders, insert the relevant shortcuts to your individual apps. The easiest way to put a shortcut to an app into a folder is to drag it off the desktop (or copy it and paste it into the folder if you are still not sure that you want to delete the shortcut from your desktop). See 7_MP3.gif for how my folder \Start Menu\Audio & Video\MP3 Utilities\ contains shortcuts to 7 apps, one of which is MP3Gain.

Probably all your shortcuts will already have appropriate icons, generated when the app was first installed. However, folders will not have an appropriate icon yet. For folders, attach icons this way: Right click the folder, click Properties, click Customize, click Change Icon. Then select an appropriate icon by browsing icon collections and picking one, or you can select any application's executable file to get its icon and attach it to the folder as its icon.

For individual apps, if there is not an appropriate icon attached or you want to attach a different icon, then attach one this way: Right click the app, click Properties, click Change Icon, then select an appropriate icon by browsing icon collections, or selecting an application's executable file to get its icon. (See 8_MP3p1.gif, 9_MP3p2.gif and 10_MP3p3.gif).

Now exit Windows Explorer.

FIXING THE ORDER OF ITEMS IN THE POPUPS

If you left click the Start button, you should get the 1st level of popup panel, which should now include the folders and shortcuts to apps you have added. You can change their order by a left click drag and drop.

If you have included folders (marked by black triangles), moving the mouse pointer over the folder should popup the next level. Again, a left click drag and drop can be used to change the order of items in the popup.

The ordering you have set up will persist until you change it. (Note that the ordering shown in the Start Menu's folders visible in Windows Explorer will not be the same, so do not be concerned about that.)

RUNNING AN APPLICATION

Once you have located within an appropriate popup panel the shortcut for the application you want to run, left click it and it will run.

One advantage that the Freelaunchbar application has over this system is that (I understand) you can drag and drop a file onto the launch bar's icon and it will run. While that is neat, it would not be a major advantage for me.

I have not experienced any problems or instability with this system.

Mike Boesen

3 March 2005