Removing icons from individual users desktop

[Canoeman]

How do I go about removing icons from individual users desktops. When I try
to remove an icon from my desktop it also removes it from other users when I
only want to remove it from mine. I am using Windows Vista with service pack
1.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

To understand what is happening, you first need to understand the concept
involved here.

Many programs will ask, before they install, if you want the program to be
available to all users on the system or just the user who is installing the
program. Some programs don't ask and just install the program for all users.
When this happens you get the result that you are seeing.

There are 2 locations for the desktop in Vista.

C:\Users\Public\Desktop is the location for All Users. Any shortcut icon in
this folder will appear on every users desktop.

C:\Users\user name\Desktop is the location for each individual user. Any
shortcut icon in this folder will only appear on that invidual users
desktop.

To get the result you want, If a programs installation places an icon in the
all users desktop folder, you can simply move that icon from that folder to
your individual desktop folder.

Note: You may get an administrator prompt when you add or remove icons from
the all users location.

 

[mike_XP_Vista]

Hi, I used to be annoyed by that in XP and am about to buy a Vista PC, so
would like to add something here. Let's say I install another vendor's
product, like Quicken or Turbotax and I am the administrator. If I have an
account for my son, I can see the icon for TurboTax on his desktop (at least
in XP I can). I don't want that. So are you saying in Vista I can install
it when I am logged in under my name (an Admin account), and it will give me
the "this user only" prompt?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[riddik]

Hi, I used to be annoyed by that in XP and am about to buy a Vista PC, so
would like to add something here. Let's say I install another vendor's
product, like Quicken or Turbotax and I am the administrator. If I have an
account for my son, I can see the icon for TurboTax on hisdesktop(at least
in XP I can). I don't want that. So are you saying in Vista I can install
it when I am logged in under my name (an Admin account), and it will give me
the "this user only" prompt?

Thanks,
Mike

It depends on the program you are installing.

It's not a new thing with Vista, XP supports the behavior as well.
So, if you installed a program on XP and it didn't stop and ask about
installing for all users or just one, it won't do it on Vista, either.

You can remove a shortcut from an individual user's desktop on either
OS by moving the icon from the All Users (on Vista, Public) Desktop
directory into the Desktop directory(s) for the user(s) you want.
While you're at it, you can do the same for the Start Menu listing of
any applications, as well. Just be aware that you're only moving
shortcuts around, and the executable file for the program can be
launched without a shortcut, via Windows Explorer or a command prompt,
unless you set permissions otherwise.

M Patterson

 

[mike_XP_Vista]

Very helpful, I did not know that. I guess, then, that Quicken or Turbotax
can still be opened by others unless I got that warning to install for all or
just this user. Of course they are password protected so that's OK. Thanks
again, good answer.

mike