Application to Save Desktop Icon Layouts?

[Will]

It's a constant problem with some applications (e.g., nVidia nView) that the
positions of the desktop icons gets screwed up. Is there an application I
can use to save off the desktop icon positions for later restore?

The application gets brownie points if:

1) I can save in a higher resolution and restore in a lower resolution and
have it make sensible decisions about what to do with icons that don't fit
the newer lower resolution of the desktop.

2) I can save off the current position via a Scheduled Task once a day or
week.

3) It can automatically archive N days or weeks worth of desktop icon
positions, so I can compare the last few settings against each other
interactively.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Disable as much Nvidia crap as you can.

[[Icons - Lock on Desktop
"In Windows 95/98/NT/2000/ME/XP you can lock down the position of the
Desktop icons using a couple of files from the MS Windows NT 4.0 Resource
Kit.]]
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_i.htm

[[Microsoft's Layout.dll (free) file, which is included in the Windows NT
Resource Kit, can be installed on Windows 2000 and XP systems. This adds the
Save Desktop Icon Layout and Restore Desktop Icon Layout options to the
pop-up menus associated with system icons like the Recycle Bin and My
Computer. It's a bare-bones solution that lacks the useful frills found in
EzDesk, but it gets the job done.]]
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1593475,00.asp

zipped layout.dll direct download..
http://www.nthelp.com/proggy/layout.zip

[[Make Desktop Icons Stay in Place
1. Download the zip file that comes from the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit.
Don't worry! It'll work with your Windows XP machine.
2. Copy the files in the .zip file onto the desktop. Then place Layout.dll
in your WINDOWS\System32 directory.
3. After the layout.dll is in the right directory, double click on the
layout.reg file.
4. Right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop. You should see two
new commands: Save Desktop Icon Layout and Restore Desktop Icon Layout.
Use them to save and restore your icon arrangement. ]]
http://www.wxpnews.com/index.cfm?id=52

This is Freeware.

Icon Restore
restore desktop icon layout

<quote>
Icon Restore allows you to save your desktop icon layout and restore it when
needed. If you have ever changed your desktop resolution temporarily, you
will have noticed that your desktop icons are all messed up, after you
switch back. This little tool allows you to right click on the My Computer
icon and select `Restore Desktop Icon Layout` and everything will be back in
order. Very useful for people that have to change the screen resolution
often.
<quote>
http://snapfiles.com/get/iconrestore.html

EzDesk Shareware - Manage your Desktop Icons
http://home.comcast.net/~ezwaretech/

They have a free evaluation copy. And if it does want you want, it might be
worth 15 bucks.

About EzDesk Version 1.8
http://home.comcast.net/~ezwaretech/ezdesk_about.html

If you find EzDesk useful and use it regularly please consider registering
it. The registration cost is $15.00 (U.S. funds: cash, check, or money
order). The registration form can be found inside the EzDesk package.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:56:14 -0700, "Wesley Vogel"

|Disable as much Nvidia crap as you can.

I've done same to desktop- OS puts Recycler &
MyComputer there but I added 0.

IMO Desktop & MyDocs r both PITA when u have multiple
XP's because of their effects on LNK's. see
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=18539
MS could have provided the LNK remapper which is
embedded in both as a stand alone app.

Just my 2¢ worth. Larry
Any advise is my attempt to contribute more than I have received but I can only assure you that it works on my PC. GOOD LUCK.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

I've done same to desktop- OS puts Recycler &

MyComputer there but I added 0.

Right click Desktop | Properties | Desktop tab |
Customize Desktop button | General tab |
Desktop icons | UNSelect what you do not want on the Desktop:

My Documents
My Computer
My Network Places
Internet Explorer

Desktop icons
[[Specifies whether these Windows items will appear as icons on your
desktop. Select the check box if you want the item to appear on your
desktop; clear the check box if you do not want the item to appear on your
desktop.]]
-------------

Use TweakUI to hide the Recycle Bin.

TweakUI
[+] Desktop\Desktop Icons

Icons on Desktop
[[This allows you to check whether Internet explorer, My Computer, My
Documents, My network Places and Recycle Bin appears on the desktop. The
default icon is Recycle Bin.]]
-------------

Use the registry to hide the Recycle Bin.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel
Value Name: {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value Data: 0 or 1
0 = Recycle Bin icon reappears on the Desktop.
1 = Recycle Bin is hidden.

There are other keys that can be used to hide it also.
-------------

Group Policy can be used to hide the Recycle Bin.
Local Computer Policy\User Configuration\
Administrative Templates\Desktop\
Remove Recycle Bin icon from desktop

<quote>
Removes most occurrences of the Recycle Bin icon.

This setting removes the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop, from Windows
Explorer, from programs that use the Windows Explorer windows, and from the
standard Open dialog box.

This setting does not prevent the user from using other methods to gain
access to the contents of the Recycle Bin folder.

Note: To make changes to this setting effective, you must log off and then
log back on.
<quote>

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:18:55 -0700, "Wesley Vogel"

|This setting removes the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop, from Windows
|Explorer, from programs that use the Windows Explorer windows, and from the
|standard Open dialog box.
|
|This setting does not prevent the user from using other methods to gain
|access to the contents of the Recycle Bin folder

Greetings Wes & thank you for your response.

Care to elaborate- I need to open Recycler in an app
that needs a path- now I'm using C:\RECYCLER\S-1-5-18
but there is also
C:\RECYCLER\S-1-5-21-3936860944-2075014391-284059253-1005
that seems to contain the same thing! Also I need a way
that wont change with time as I suspect these 2 have.

Your help is MUCH appreciated. Thanks- bye- Larry

Any advise is my attempt to contribute more than I have received but I can only assure you that it works on my PC. GOOD LUCK.

 

[Guest]

Wesley,

I followed your instructions to

zipped layout.dll direct download..

4. Right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop. You should see two
new commands: Save Desktop Icon Layout and Restore Desktop Icon Layout.
Use them to save and restore your icon arrangement. ]

I do not see the new command. Yes, the dll file went to the
Windows/System32 folder.

 

[Code-Curious Mom]

If it's the same dll I got some time ago, it requires right-clicking on a
blank spot on the desktop, not on the My Computer (or any other) icon.

 

[Guest]

Thank you C-C Mom. I found that out after I downloaded a different routine.

If it's the same dll I got some time ago, it requires right-clicking on a
blank spot on the desktop, not on the My Computer (or any other) icon.

Wesley,

I followed your instructions to

zipped layout.dll direct download..

4. Right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop. You should see
two
new commands: Save Desktop Icon Layout and Restore Desktop Icon Layout.
Use them to save and restore your icon arrangement. ]

I do not see the new command. Yes, the dll file went to the
Windows/System32 folder.