Customizing Your Desktop

The default configuration of Windows XP—including the way the desktop and Beginning Menu are configured and which optional Windows components are installed—was decided by a committee at Microsoft. The motivation was non so much ease of use equally it was how to all-time showcase the features included in the new operating system. This criterion may be great for the marketing department at Microsoft, but information technology doesn't make for a very pleasant experience for the user.

The best place to starting time when customizing an interface is to throw out all the stuff you don't want, which will make much more than room for the stuff you really use. By non being forced to wade through dozens of icons or menu items to find the one you lot desire, you tin can complete your work more than easily and with less aggravation.

Cleaning Upward Desktop Clutter

Not only does Windows XP sport fewer icons on the desktop, past default, than any preceding version of Windows, but the icons that accept remained are actually easy to remove. The removal process, however, depends on the type of object you're trying to remove.

There are two types of icons that announced on the desktop (not including the taskbar or Start Carte du jour). Those objects that are concrete files or shortcuts to files are simply stored in your desktop folder (typically \Documents and Settings\{username}\Desktop); these items can exist deleted, moved, renamed, etc. every bit hands as any other file on your hard disk. The Desktop Cleanup Sorcerer, an interactive program designed to help the truly lazy among us remove less often used file and shortcut desktop icons, can exist found in Control Panel → Brandish → Desktop tab → Customize Desktop (shown in Figure 4-i).

The Desktop Items window allows you to show or hide a few prominent desktop objects, as well as customize their icons

Figure four-1. The Desktop Items window allows you to show or hide a few prominent desktop objects, as well as customize their icons

Other icons, such equally the Recycle Bin and My Computer are virtual objects , in that they don't represent physical files on the difficult disk, only rather are internal components of the Explorer.exe awarding. These icons are referenced in the Registry and can be removed by deleting the corresponding Registry keys (details tin can be institute afterward in this section); the only exception is the Recycle Bin, which is discussed subsequently. The Internet Explorer and My Documents icons are also virtual objects, despite the fact that they announced to be functionally identical to shortcuts to the Cyberspace Explorer application and My Documents folder.

You can remove or reinstate the My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, and Cyberspace Explorer icons by going to Control Panel → Brandish → Desktop tab → Customize Desktop . This displays the Desktop Items window, shown in Figure 4-1, where you can also change the icons for these objects. Additionally, you tin rename any of these items (except for the Recycle Bin) as you would whatever ordinary file: by selecting and pressing F2 , by right-clicking and selecting Rename , or past clicking twice (slowly) on the icon caption.

Special case: the Recycle Bin

Having the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop can be convenient, but because there are several other ways to delete an object (such every bit right-clicking and selecting Delete or highlighting an item and pressing the Del key), it really isn't necessary. Furthermore, there's a Recycler folder on every drive, which works just like the Recycle Bin desktop icon.

The Recycler folder, found on every hard deejay and some removable volumes, is actually where the Recycle Bin stores files earlier they're actually deleted. Dragging items into these folders has the same effect as dragging them into the Recycle Bin icon. If you don't come across it, yous'll need to configure Explorer to show hidden files and folders ( Control Panel → Folder Options → View tab).

The following solution allows you to alter the Registry data for the Recycle Bin object, making it easy to rename or delete it, as shown in Figure 4-two:

Adding the Delete option to the Recycle Bin's context menu

Figure four-2. Adding the Delete option to the Recycle Bin's context carte

  1. Open up the Registry Editor (discussed in Chapter 3).

  2. Expand the branches to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder\. You know you lot have the right Class ID key if its (Default) value is prepare to Recycle Bin. It may exist easier to locate this key by searching for the first few characters of the Class ID or for the text Recycle Bin.

  3. Double-click the Attributes value, and replace the contents with lxx 01 00 twenty. If you only desire to add the Rename context bill of fare detail (without Delete ), type 50 01 00 twenty instead.

    Note that this is a binary value, and the input box may not deport like a normal text box; if you mess up, just click Abolish and try once more.

  4. Shut the Registry Editor—the change should take effect immediately.

  5. You now accept the option of deleting the Recycle Bin at whatever fourth dimension by right-clicking on it and selecting Delete , or renaming information technology just as you lot'd rename whatsoever ordinary file.

To restore your Recycle Bin to its default, removing the Rename and Delete options from its context card, repeat the higher up procedure but instead enter an Attributes value of 40 01 00 20. Note that this won't restore the Recycle Bin'due south original name, nor will information technology put it back on the desktop if it has been deleted (see the following topic for a solution).

If you delete the Recycle Bin, it'south still possible to delete files and subsequently call back them. Any file or folder tin always be deleted past right-clicking and selecting Delete , or past selecting and pressing the Del cardinal. If you lot take the Recycle Bin configured to store recently deleted files, you can call back them past opening Explorer and navigating to c:\Recycler.[1] In that folder volition exist a folder for each user on the arrangement, signified by a long numeric code (described in Department iv.2.1, later in this affiliate); in virtually cases, in that location will be simply one such folder hither. Open the folder to view recently deleted files.

Special Case: really stubborn icons

Once in a while, you'll encounter an icon on your desktop, most likely installed by an older awarding from Microsoft or another manufacturer, that yous just can't get rid of using the solutions in the proceeding sections.

The easiest style to hide (or show) these icons is to use Microsoft'south TweakUI (see Appendix A): just select the Desktop category and uncheck any desktop particular y'all'd like to hide. If yous don't have admission to TweakUI, or but don't desire to have the fourth dimension to download and install it, the post-obit process will do the same affair:

  1. Open the Registry Editor (discussed in Chapter 3).

  2. Expand the branches to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Micro-soft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\ Desktop\NameSpace\.

  3. The cardinal itself volition most probable be devoid of values, but information technology should have a few subkeys, which volition exist named something like {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}. These codes are called Class IDs and betoken to other parts of the Registry that contain more information about them. Class IDs are stored in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID co-operative and are discussed in Appendix D.

  4. Kickoff by clicking on a primal and looking at the (Default) value to the right. It should contain a description of the particular. If information technology doesn't, you tin can still detect out what it is by right-clicking on the primal name in the left pane, selecting Rename , then right-clicking on the text itself, and selecting Copy . This will copy the key proper noun to the Clipboard. Then move to the top of the Registry tree (select My Computer at the root), and select Detect from the Edit menu. Right-click on the Observe What field, and select Paste . Click Find Next to search through the Registry for that key. When you find it, practise a piffling earthworks in that key and its subkeys to find out what it's really for.

  5. If one of the keys under the ...Namespace branch turns out to lucifer the particular you're trying to get rid of, you lot can go ahead and delete the primal.

    At present, deleting an item here is a little similar deleting a shortcut in Explorer: it doesn't actually delete functionality from your system, it but removes the pointer to the information from the desktop namespace fundamental. If you're worried that you might want it back some day, highlight the primal, select Export Registry File from the Registry menu to back it up. See Affiliate 3 for more information on Registry patches.

  6. When you're done making changes, close the Registry Editor and refresh the desktop. See Department 2.iii.4 for more than information.

Hide all desktop icons

To achieve a truly clean UI, yous may wish to hide desktop icons altogether. This solution volition disable the display of all icons on the desktop, including whatsoever files in your Desktop folder, too as the virtual icons discussed in the previous sections. Information technology doesn't involve the actual deletion of any data; it merely instructs Windows to get out the desktop blank. A benefit of this solution is that, dissimilar the previous solutions in this section, it has no outcome on the desktop contents when viewed in Explorer:

  1. Right-click an empty area of the desktop.

  2. Select Arrange Icons and then plough off the Prove Desktop Icons option.

If the Show Desktop Icons entry doesn't appear in your correct-click menu (possible if you've upgraded a computer on which the "Active Desktop" characteristic found in some earlier versions of Windows was disabled on your system), here's an alternate solution:

  1. Open the Registry Editor (discussed in Chapter 3).

  2. Expand the branches to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ Explorer.

  3. Double-click the NoDesktop value. If it's not there, select New from the Edit carte, and so select Binary Value ; blazon NoDesktop for the name of the new value.

  4. Supplant the contents with 01 00 00 00. If at any fourth dimension you wish to restore the desktop icons, just delete the NoDesktop value or supplant its contents with 00 00 00 00.

  5. Note that this is a binary value, and the input box may not behave similar a normal text box; if you mess up, just cull Cancel and try again.

  6. Click OK and close the Registry Editor. You lot'll accept to log out and and then log back in for the change to take effect.

Warning

If you hide all icons on your desktop, it will no longer respond to correct-clicks. To open up the Display Backdrop dialog, you'll have to get through Control Console.

Customizing My Estimator and Other System Folders

The My Computer and My Documents icons on the desktop, as well as the respective windows they open up, are both gateways to the files, folders, and drives in your calculator. Both their advent and beliefs tin be customized, every bit illustrated by the following solutions. Also, My Network Places is a gateway to the resource available on your network (discussed in Affiliate seven) and can be similarly customized.

Renaming My Figurer, My Documents, and My Network Places

Equally described earlier in this chapter, you tin can rename whatsoever of these items with the same technique you'd use to rename whatever other object: past selecting and pressing F2 , past right-clicking and selecting Rename , or by clicking twice (slowly) on the icon explanation.

Note that whatsoever new name you choose for either of these icons will also be used elsewhere in Windows where these objects are referenced. The exception is the folder to which the My Documents icon points; its name on your hard disk volition not change when the icon is renamed.

Choosing icons for desktop objects

Y'all tin choose new desktop icons for these system objects by going to Control Panel → Brandish → Desktop tab → Customize Desktop (shown in Figure four-i). Come across Section 4.four.one, later in this chapter, for more solutions.

Customize the contents of My Computer

The My Reckoner window, by default, contains links to all your drives, shortcuts to your My Documents and Shared Documents folders, icons for any installed scanners, and, optionally, an icon for Control Console.[2] To add more than system objects to the My Estimator window and, consequently, to Explorer, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Registry Editor (discussed in Chapter 3).

  2. Expand the branches to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace. Hint: create a Registry patch of this branch before continuing, in the result that you demand to restore the default setup.

  3. Under this co-operative, you should come across ane or more keys—each named for a different Class ID. For help in identifying unlabeled keys, see the "Special Instance: Really stubborn icons" section.

  4. To add a new key, select New from the Edit menu, and then select Key . You can then enter any Class ID for the proper noun of the key, and the corresponding organization object will be added to the My Computer folder. Come across Appendix D for a table of Form IDs, or copy and paste a Grade ID from elsewhere in the Registry.

  5. Refresh the My Computer window to come across your changes by pressing the F5 fundamental.

This solution does not work as you might await for all system objects. For example, the My Network Places icon will acquit erratically if placed in My Computer. You'll have to use a little trial and error to get the desired results.

You lot can remove any icon added in this way by deleting the corresponding Registry keys. You tin also use TweakUI (see Appendix A); only expand the My Computer category and select Drives, and uncheck any drives you lot want hidden.

Customize the contents of My Network Places

You tin add items (shortcuts, folders, etc.) to the My Network Places window by simply calculation Windows Shortcuts to the \Documents and Settings\{username}\Nethood folder. For case, place shortcuts to frequently accessed network folders here. The process is similar to the way custom items are added to the Start Carte and the Send To card.

Redirect the My Computer desktop icon

All of My Computer's default resource are also available in Explorer and the Start Carte, and so you may prefer to connect another program to the My Figurer desktop icon. For example, if yous simply adopt Explorer's hierarchical tree view to My Calculator's Macintosh-style, single-binder navigation, y'all tin can configure My Computer to launch Explorer:

  1. Open the Registry Editor (discussed in Chapter 3).

  2. Aggrandize the Registry branches to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE03AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\vanquish. You know yous have the right Grade ID central if its (Default) value is gear up to My Computer.

  3. You'll see an existing central already in this co-operative named find, representing the Search command in the My Calculator icon'due south context carte. Select New from the Edit card, and and then select Key . Blazon Open for the name of the new key, and printing Enter .

  4. Right-click the new Open key, select New over again and and then Key . Type Control for the name of this new key, and press Enter .

  5. Click one time on the new Command key, double-click the (Default) value in the right pane, type explorer.exe in the box, and printing Enter . Your Registry Editor window should resemble Effigy four-3, except that I've also included some optional command-line parameters (discussed in Section 2.1.2). You lot can, of course, supplant explorer.exe with the full path and filename of any other programme y'all'd rather use.

  6. Next, navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\beat out, double-click the (default) value, and type open for its contents.

  7. Close the Registry Editor when y'all're finished. Click on an empty area of the desktop, and press F5 to refresh the desktop so that this alter will have effect. Double-click the My Computer icon at whatever fourth dimension to start the specified application.

Use the Registry Editor to customize the behavior of the My Computer icon

Figure 4-3. Utilize the Registry Editor to customize the beliefs of the My Computer icon

Using this method, you tin also add additional entries to My Figurer'south context menu; see Section four.3.one, later in this affiliate for details.

Redirect the My Documents Desktop icon

Right-click the My Documents icon on your Desktop and select Properties. The Target tab, shown in Effigy iv-4, allows y'all to choose any binder to exist opened when the My Documents icon is double-clicked. Yous tin too click Motion to relocate the "official" My Documents folder, regardless of whether the My Documents icon points there or not.

The Properties sheet of the My Documents icon allows you to easily change what happens when it's double-clicked

Effigy iv-four. The Properties sheet of the My Documents icon allows you to easily change what happens when information technology'due south double-clicked

Getting rid of the Shared Documents binder

The following procedure will remove the Shared Documents folder that shows up in Explorer and My Computer:

  1. Open up the Registry Editor (discussed in Chapter 3).

  2. Aggrandize the branches to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ MyComputer\NameSpace\DelegateFolders.

  3. Under this branch, you should see several subkeys, each named for a different Class ID. Delete the one named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}.

    One of the other branches hither, {E211B736-43FD-11D1-9EFB-0000F8757FCD}, is responsible for adding folders for each of your installed scanners and cameras to My Reckoner and Explorer. It can likewise be deleted, if desired.

  4. Close the Registry Editor when you're washed. The modify will take consequence immediately, just y'all may have to close and reopen whatever Explorer windows to force them to recognize the change.

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