Save/Restore desktop icon positions

[Martin]

I recently performed a clean install of XP Pro on my PC.

After i'd installed a few basic drivers (and all major updates) i noticed
that a right click on a desktop icon gave me an option to Save or Restore
the desktop's icons' positions.
I'd never noticed this on XP before...

I carried on with various bits of my new installation and customised my
desktop a bit - added a background and postioned my icons to my liking.
I decided to save the icons' postions but the right-click context menu no
longer gave me either the Save or Restore options.
It was nowhere to be found - i tried right-clicking just about everywhere.

Can anyone tell me if this is a feature of XP that's somehow been disabled
on my install or is it likely to be part of another program's features?

I'm sure it's not part of anything else that i had installed as:

1) I'd installed just a few basic drivers when i noticed it.

2) I've not uninstalled anything that it may have been part of so it should
still be there.

Thanks.

Martin.

No replies to this email address please - replies in forums only.

 

[Martin]

I recently performed a clean install of XP Pro on my PC.

After i'd installed a few basic drivers (and all major updates) i noticed
that a right click on a desktop icon gave me an option to Save or Restore
the desktop's icons' positions.
I'd never noticed this on XP before...

I carried on with various bits of my new installation and customised my
desktop a bit - added a background and postioned my icons to my liking.
I decided to save the icons' postions but the right-click context menu no
longer gave me either the Save or Restore options.
It was nowhere to be found - i tried right-clicking just about everywhere.

Can anyone tell me if this is a feature of XP that's somehow been disabled
on my install or is it likely to be part of another program's features?

I'm sure it's not part of anything else that i had installed as:

1) I'd installed just a few basic drivers when i noticed it.

2) I've not uninstalled anything that it may have been part of so it
should still be there.

Thanks.

Martin.

No replies to this email address please - replies in forums only.

PS That's XP with SP2 slipstreamed that i'm installing.

Martin.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

It is not part of XP, but it can be added.

[[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
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

 

[Martin]

Excellent - it worked first time.

Many thanks.

Martin.

It is not part of XP, but it can be added.

[[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
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

PS That's XP with SP2 slipstreamed that i'm installing.

Martin.