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October 15, 2009 12:00 PM PDT

Kill desktop clutter

by Jessica Dolcourt
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Let's play a fun game. Take note of your Windows desktop. Now count how many shortcut icons are on it. If there are more than 20 icons, you need a new system.

Allow me to direct your attention to Fences for XP, Vista, and Windows 7. This freeware app helps you create flexible boxes, or "fences" on your desktop that help you cleanly organize your shortcuts. You can rename these fences easily, and drag and drop shortcuts in and out of them.

The free Fences 1.0 is a unique desktop enhancement app because more than adding style and sheen to your work space, which it does, it's also straight-up practical. At a little larger than 8.6MB, it's also smaller than many other enhancement apps, including Fences' publisher's own CursorFX. Watch our Fences video for a walk-through of all the features.

In other Windows news this week, AVG Technologies releases an update to its popular AVG Free antivirus app, and we show you how to remove files attached to messages in Outlook, Thunderbird, and Yahoo Mail.

Jessica Dolcourt reviews the latest and greatest smartphone apps, in addition to a healthy dose of Windows software. E-mail Jessica and follow her on Twitter.
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by DamageIncM October 20, 2009 1:15 AM PDT
Funny thing is, I probably have dozens of shortcuts, but they're not on my desktop (anymore).
I have XP though, but you can always put them in folders and put those folders on the toolbar too.
Then I just pop up the menu with shortcuts and use whichever shortcut I need.
One of the neatest things I ever let Windows itself do, too bad I found out after many years.
Reply to this comment
by Carsto October 26, 2009 1:33 PM PDT
Go Almoace! Make a main folder say Shortcuts with other folders inside - like Web, System, Net, whatever. Then do your New Toolbars thing but do not right click on the folder in the Taskbar. Right click the Taskbar and uncheck the "Lock Taskbar" item. Now drag the folder - it is a new Toolbar - onto the desktop. Do this for all your folders in Shortcuts and haul them onto the desktop. Drag icons into toolbars and rename them to short iconic labels e.g. Power, Mouse, HDisc, NetProp, NetCon etc. Control Panel just has a different trick to it. I've overdone it with over ninety shortcuts in ten toolbars and this goes into the bottom one and a half inches of my desktop. Everything is always available.
by Anysia October 20, 2009 3:07 AM PDT
There is another program, freeware, that can be used to keep the desktop uncluttered. It's called YLaunch. Once you install in, and start editing the tasks list, it tidies up your desktop very nicely.

http://www.spacejock.com/yLaunch.html
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by Almoace October 20, 2009 4:55 AM PDT
Yeah I do the same as DamageIncM, it's the best way and you don't need anyother software.
Create a new folder in your Documents called something like 'Apps' or 'Games' and then right-click your toolbar (bottom of screen on Windows) and in the menu goto 'Toolbars' then 'New Toolbar' and locate the folder you just made and select it and it will turn up on the toolbar near your clock.
Now right-click on the folder that just appeared on the toolbar and select 'Open Folder', now drag the icons off your desktop into that folder and close the folder and your done, now all you have to do is click the arrows next to the folder name and your shortcuts will pop-up :)
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by ggarnier1 October 20, 2009 6:56 AM PDT
Almoace - I like this, followed your instructions and this looks like a very simple safe way to do the same thing natively. One question: is there a way to add an icon to the folder name in the toolbar? Right now it just shows up in text that doesn't contrast much with the toolbar background.
by windancer379 October 20, 2009 10:39 AM PDT
Hey Almoace! THANKS! I love this feature and I NEVER knew you could do this! Why didn't we all know about this cool feature so that we don't have to load down our computers with ANOTHER program? Too Cool! Thank you!!!!
by October 20, 2009 5:51 AM PDT
I can't find the DOWNLOAD BUTTON for "Kill Desktop Clutter" in the article in the 10-20-09 CNET Download.com.
Reply to this comment
by guardian1935 October 20, 2009 7:17 AM PDT
WHERE IS THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON FOR THE FEATURED SOFTWARE??? THE DESKTOP ICON KILLER??? AND YES, I MEAN TO SHOUT! ONE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO POST A COMMENT TO TRY TO FIND OUT HOW TO DOWNLOAD IT!!!
by silverwebseven November 21, 2009 4:25 PM PST
Did anyone EVER find the button for the desktop de-cluttering software? I actually expect no one has ever found it ? I'd have liked to give it a try, too.
by bette50 October 20, 2009 5:54 AM PDT
I've been using Fences for a few months and I love it. I love the fact that I can move everything around easily and I can turn off the icons so the desktop is empty. It's a great little program.

Bette
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by samanne October 20, 2009 6:08 AM PDT
I had this program. Fences has been surprisingly stable. So I tried to uninstall it. You had to download some other Impulse file in order to this. Then this other Impulse file could not be uninstalled. So I had to restore my computer just to get rid of it. I
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by samanne October 20, 2009 6:10 AM PDT
Fences has been surprisingly unstable. Is what I meant.
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by Blue-J October 20, 2009 6:35 AM PDT
Don't try this on a 64 bit system. I ran Fences for a while but it's last chance expired when after a fresh install of 1.0 just yesterday, Fences 1.0 made 1/2 my desktop icons disappear permanently.
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by Blue-J October 20, 2009 6:37 AM PDT
Don't try Fences on a 64-bit system. I did a fresh install of Fences 1.0 recently, and just yesterday, 1/2 my desktop icons are gone, permanently. It's removed now.
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by grivis October 20, 2009 8:24 AM PDT
I installed fences to test on my 64 bit Vista system - messed up my whole PC, had to uninstall and reboot 3 times to get everything back in order. I have a clean desktop anyway as I always hide the desktop icons and install a background picture of choice.
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by mrmanfam October 20, 2009 8:41 AM PDT
I installed "Fences" earlier today and it caused so much havoc with my desktop icons I had to uninstall it. The results of double clicking the mouse, which is supposed to hide/unhide icons and fences was unpredictable. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it hid some and not others. Another time it hid a different set. I found that scrolling my cursor over icons caused them to disappear. One time I had a hell of a time trying to click on an icon because every time I put my cursor on it, it would disappear. This happened three times. The fourth time I could click on it.
And as it turns out, even though I selected the option to make my desktop as it was before I installed Fences, it did not. I currently have a mess of duplicate icons on my desktop that I will have to go in manually and delete.

It's supposed to be compatable with Vista. Does that include 64 bit Vista? I'm using Vista Ultimate 64 bit.
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by pugmom06331 October 20, 2009 11:35 AM PDT
For goodness sakes! I use Windows XP, and you don't need any special app to manage your desktop icons. Just right-click on your desktop and you get a drop-down menu. On that menu are the options, "Arrange desktop icons by." Click on that. Then, on the submenu that pops up, there'll be an option, "Show desktop icons," and just click on that. It's a toggle option. Clicking on it will hide your icons if they're showing, and will cause them to reappear if they're hidden. Easy, peezy, lemon squeezy! {:-)
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by EL MACHOTE October 20, 2009 6:03 PM PDT
I don't know where she gets her info for bad advise?......
(If you have more than 20 shortcuts, You need a new system....) What kind of stupid adivse is that.?
Ho, no.! I have 21 shortcuts, I need to go and spend $$$$$$ for windows 7 and a new PC.....
People tend to create a short-cut for just about anything they do on their pc's, even for web-pages for an easy access.
She's just pusshing for window 7 and some a % commision.
It seems to me that Microsoft is one of the big paid sponsor of Cnet.
Reply to this comment
by pwillener October 20, 2009 9:20 PM PDT
I am perfectly happy with the 9 system folders and 95 shortcut icons on my desktop. In fact, there is a lot of space left for quite a few more.

What's the point of an empty desktop...?
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by 68Panther October 20, 2009 10:39 PM PDT
To all those who can't figure out how to download something, such as the "Fences" app the "Kill desktop clutter" mini-article mentions, just look for the bold blue (or whatever color you've designated for clickable words on web pages) highlighted words...particularly the eighth word in the second paragraph, which very clearly reads "Fences". When you place your cursor over these bold/highlighted words, you discover that you can click on them. For example, if you click on the afore-mentioned word "Fences", you discover, miraculously, that it takes you to...low & behold...the cnet download page for...you guessed it..."Fences".
[CNET editor's note: Personal attacks deleted.]
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by Laptop57 October 20, 2009 11:55 PM PDT
This page http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10376045-12.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheDownloadBlog&tag=nl.e415 is so confusing. I find a download button for this damn registry mechanic which is so terribly difficult to get rid of, but not for kill desktop clutter. Do I need new glasses or is it possible to create a clearly laid out page?

I understand that publicity helps to finance free services, but I keep serching all the time which is very annoying!
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by 68Panther October 21, 2009 1:55 AM PDT
@ Laptop57

Yes, you do need glasses. First, there is nothing confusing. Second, there is NO download button for any such "registry mechanic", as you seem to think there is. Third, "Kill desktop clutter" is the name of the mini-article, NOT the name of the application (if you had read the comments left by various people, including mine, then you would have obviously known this, which tells me you didn't actually read, or, just further proof of needing new/stronger glasses). Fourth, obviously, you didn't really search all that hard, because, if you had, then you would have understood everything I said in my first three points.

Next time, try reading completely before making comments that don't make any sense. Well, either that, or quite being a nOOb and/or idiot, as I can't say which is more applicable in this situation.
Reply to this comment
by mrmanfam October 21, 2009 5:56 AM PDT
I have an update to my post yesterday: I have two other user accounts on my computer. When those two people went to use the computer, they had NO desktop icons!. I now am trying to figure out how to restore them. I appreciate any ideas.
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by 68Panther October 21, 2009 3:39 PM PDT
@ mrmanfam

I wish I had some good advice to give you, but, unfortunately, I don't. From past experience, cnet has been great for downloadable apps, at least when it comes to apps from primary players in the software industry, but when it comes to smaller companies, or, even worse, apps from individuals, my "luck" has been about the same as everyone else who has been complaining about problems. In others words, apps from these small companies & individuals should be avoided at (almost) all costs. In many cases, all one has to do is one of the follows steps, in their listed order: uninstall the app, perform a System Restore from an earlier restore point (I HIGHLY suggest manually creating a restore point prior to installing ANY new software).

Unfortunately, not even these two steps resolves the problem in every case, and as such, as I had to do once before from a downloaded cnet app, I had to do a complete restore from a backup. Thankfully, the most recent backup I had performed, using ShadowProtect Desktop (I also recommend Acronis TrueImage to my customers, as these are the two best backup apps), had only been done a few days earlier, and I only had to re-install two programs (although, with one being a game, I also lost my game save data, so had to restart game).

The point is, at the absolute minimum, I suggest everyone manually create a Windows Restore Point prior to installing ANY new software, and, better yet, perform weekly system backups. Best recommendation is to do a complete backup the beginning of each month, and incremental backups each week. At the beginning of a new month, perform a new complete backup, with, again, incremental backups each week. At the end of the second month, delete all backup data from the first month, and continue. At the end of the third month, delete all backup data from the second month, and so forth. Just something I've learned in my 30 years worth of working with computers.
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by nohelpno1 October 22, 2009 6:42 PM PDT
I only have 25 years working with computers & I totally agree with 68Panther.

One thing my computer programmer instructor told us, if you don't learn anything else
backup backup backup.

I had a program I worked on for a little over 2 years & when my system crashed the first 2 backups failed
thank goodness for the 3rd backup.
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