Keeping ICON Arrangement on Desktop Schemes

[Guest]

I've got a new laptop with a widescreen. My desktop ICONS and
Shortcuts are arranged perfectly.

Sometimes I run an app or play a game that needs a different SCHEME --
for example, 800x600 resolution, centered, maintain aspect ratio.

When I change Schemes, I lose the arrangement of my desktop icons.

QUESTION:
Is there a way to have the system remember and restore the
desktop icons to their previous arrangement when I switch between
schemes?
Is there an easy fix that I could run each time, instead of
moving the icons around again, one by one?

 

[Juerg Reimann]

I've got a new laptop with a widescreen. My desktop ICONS and
Shortcuts are arranged perfectly.

Sometimes I run an app or play a game that needs a different SCHEME --
for example, 800x600 resolution, centered, maintain aspect ratio.

When I change Schemes, I lose the arrangement of my desktop icons.

QUESTION:
Is there a way to have the system remember and restore the
desktop icons to their previous arrangement when I switch between
schemes?
Is there an easy fix that I could run each time, instead of
moving the icons around again, one by one?

You're looking for Desktop Icons, a little tool that is part of ShellToys
XP, a Shareware collection of utilities and system enhancements for Windows
XP. Have a look at http://www.shelltoysxp.com/desktopicons.asp

Juerg

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Desktop Layout is saved here...

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\1\Desktop

You might export that key and import it later.

Or...

[[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


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Alec S.]

I've got a new laptop with a widescreen. My desktop ICONS and
Shortcuts are arranged perfectly.

Sometimes I run an app or play a game that needs a different SCHEME --
for example, 800x600 resolution, centered, maintain aspect ratio.

When I change Schemes, I lose the arrangement of my desktop icons.

QUESTION:
Is there a way to have the system remember and restore the
desktop icons to their previous arrangement when I switch between
schemes?
Is there an easy fix that I could run each time, instead of
moving the icons around again, one by one?

Yes, there are plenty of solutions for this. You can use any of several different tools.

One of the best is PC Magazine's WinTidy 2.0. They no longer give their utilities out for free, now charging a fee for subscription
to their downloads. However, you can easily find a copy on the Internet because so many people have it since they were free for
many, many years. Just search on the filename.

It allows you to save multiple layouts, so you can create different icon layouts with different wallpapers which is really nice. It
also lets you create different layouts for different resolutions and have them automatically restored whenever the resolution
changes, which is, I believe what you are looking for. It also lets you use small icons instead of big ones (details mode). Plus,
there's several predefined (common) layouts that you can use.


HTH,

I can recommend a few others if this one is not what you need.

 

[Guest]

Hi Alec,

Well, that was great advice. I found the program and am
happy!



<*(((><

Yes, there are plenty of solutions for this. You can use any of several different tools.

One of the best is PC Magazine's WinTidy 2.0. They no longer give their utilities out for free, now charging a fee for subscription
to their downloads. However, you can easily find a copy on the Internet because so many people have it since they were free for
many, many years. Just search on the filename.

It allows you to save multiple layouts, so you can create different icon layouts with different wallpapers which is really nice. It
also lets you create different layouts for different resolutions and have them automatically restored whenever the resolution
changes, which is, I believe what you are looking for. It also lets you use small icons instead of big ones (details mode). Plus,
there's several predefined (common) layouts that you can use.


HTH,

I can recommend a few others if this one is not what you need.

Awaiting your responses with baited breath, I remain, yours truly,

<*(((><