First, you can double-click any open space on your desktop to hide all the fences and the icons they contain. On Windows 7, it will appear as a shortcut at the left side of your start menu. For example, you could create a “Work” group with shortcuts to applications you use for work or a “Games” group that contains shortcuts for your games. If you have many apps that are used regularly, then it makes a lot of sense to add them to the desktop for faster access. On Windows 10, you can drag and drop application shortcuts pinned to the Start menu to organize them into groups and click on the header at the top of the group to give it a name. Step 1: You can either press simultaneously Window + Tab keys or click on Task View icon from your Windows 10 taskbar. Choose Set Desktop Picture from there. Whenever the desktop is overrun with icons, its not easy to get things under control for professional and advanced users, so what can be done to declutter your Windows desktop? To arrange the same window so both windows are again side by side, drag the window by the title bar and move it back to the left side of the screen until you see the … A quick double-click brings them all back, so it’s a great balance between having a clean desktop and one with all the icons you love having there. You can also press Ctrl+Alt+Tab to open the task switcher. Join 350,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. There, you can resize the boxes, alter their colors, and apply new effects to them. eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'thewindowsclub_com-banner-1','ezslot_6',682,'0','0']));The last tool on our list that is great at working wonders with organizing the desktop icons is TAGO Fences. For example, you could create a rule that automatically puts image files into a Photos fence. If you don’t have Windows 10, check out some of our HP laptops with Windows. Is your desktop overcrowded with too many icons? What we have here is a powerful tool because a single instance can support multiple docks. Control-click (or right-click) the file, then choose Set Desktop Picture from the shortcut menu. Sort your files into folders. We especially love the hotkeys function because it improves the ease of use a great deal. Click the “+” sign from your lower right side of the Window to add new virtual desktop; 2. Some people don’t approve of storing files on the desktop at all, but there’s no shame in using the desktop if that’s what works for you. You can create as many fences as you want, name them, and assign different colors to them. Programs often add shortcuts to your desktop when you install them, which makes your desktop get more and more cluttered over time. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Now, moving on to the methods: 1. Or, you can open a File Explorer or Windows Explorer window and click the “Desktop” folder to view the contents of your desktop in a standard file browser window. Organize Windows 10 Desktop Icons When you install Fences, it automatically sorts out all of your icons into a separate Fence except the Recycle Bin icon . Users can also change the background color of any tile, change icon size, rename or delete fences, and much more. How To Organize Computer Files & Folders: 10 Ways. All is not lost. Also, if you use Windows 10, you can unlock all blocked apps that Microsoft has placed there by … TheWindowsClub covers Windows 10 tips, tutorials, how-to's, features, freeware. eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'thewindowsclub_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_8',820,'0','0']));Other similar tools that may interest you: Vamien McKalin possesses the awesome power of walking on water like a boss. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times---and that's just here at How-To Geek. Also, if you’re using Windows 10, you can unpin all those pinned apps Microsoft put there to make the Start menu your own. How to Organize the Windows 7, 8 and 10 Desktop. For example, select “Name” to sort files alphabetically or “Date Modified” to sort them chronologically. Additionally, it comes with a picture slideshow, which is probably where the name comes from. Created by Anand Khanse. I noticed some of my friends like to save all files inside a single folder. Now, we like the fact that the graphical user interface is retractable, which means, it won’t be taking up a lot of space on your screen unless you want it to. To further customize those desktop icon boxes, right-click one and select Toolbox Properties from the contextual menu. You can also click Cortana > Show Cortana Icon, which will make Cortana be a standard taskbar icon instead of a large search box. Icons overlap each other, and you waste time finding the right shortcut in a cluttered desktop. For a quick organization, you can right-click your desktop and … To toggle desktop icons on or off, right-click your desktop and select View > Show Desktop Icons. Organize windows using Windows tricks Keyboard shortcuts. You can manually move, create and delete Start menu shortcuts to restore some order to your PC. The Photos app allows you to sort your pictures into albums, and it also enables you to sort photos into folders so you can create your own hierarchal DPH [2]. Select the group name and then drag to move the group to a new spot in the Start menu. How To Organize Your Messy Windows Desktop (And Keep It That Way), hide the Cortana search box on Windows 10, configure rules in Fences to automatically place files, the Stacks feature Apple is adding to macOS Mojave, How to Use Breakout Rooms in a Zoom Meeting, How to Quickly Turn a File Into a Tab in Microsoft Teams, How to Check Your iPhone Warranty in the Settings App, How to Cancel Your Apple One Subscription, How to Use Appointment Slots in Google Calendar, © 2021 LifeSavvy Media. Join 350,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, comics, trivia, reviews, and more. Opt to pin oft-used shortcuts to your Start Menu or Taskbar. To remove a desktop app from the Windows 10 Start Menu’s All Apps list, first head to Start > All Apps and find the app in question. If you’d like to clean up your desktop quickly, you can select everything on your desktop and then drag and drop them into a folder. The free tools were going to talk about should make things better, but we leave the judgment up to you guys. If you like storing files and program shortcuts on your desktop, you won’t want to hide them all. With your icons in fences, you don’t have to worry about that. How to Organize Your Messy Desktop Icons in Windows 10 [Disk Recovery] Hide or Delete All Unwanted Desktop Icons. The key features offered by this software include high-DPI monitor support, shaded areas, wallpaper blurs, hide and show icons with a double click, and swipe between multiple pages. Quickly Sort Your Desktop Icons. Microsoft starts Windows 10 with some default groups. In other words, treat the desktop like you should treat a physical desktop or counter—place things on it while you’re using it, and clear them away afterward rather than letting them pile up. You can also use the options under the “View” menu to choose the size of your desktop icons and decide whether they’re aligned to a grid. We like it because it is highly customizable, and adding your desktop icons doesn’t take much at all.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'thewindowsclub_com-box-4','ezslot_3',816,'0','0'])); Furthermore, it comes packed with an RSS feed, mouse, and keyboard support (which is standard in this day and age), themes, and hotkeys. Each virtual desktop you create allows you to open different … Drag desktop icons into the box or boxes to organize them. If you like storing files and application shortcuts on your desktop, … And yes, you can drag and drop program shortcuts into folders, too. And if you’re into aesthetics, having so many icons beats the purpose of a beautiful background. If you want the … So, tell me: who has a messy computer desktop full of icons everywhere? Drag and drop the shortcut to your desktop. Just call it whatever you like, no one really cares as long as the job gets done. File Juggler. On desktop, Right-click go to View on context menu and then select Auto arrange icon.By this option the icon will be arranged in proper order. If you have Windows 10, you can use the Photos app to assist you in organizing your photos. How To Organize Your Messy Windows Desktop (And Keep It That Way) The desktop is a convenient place to store files and program shortcuts, but it can get messy fast. Old title: greg Hi Greg, Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community. If you find Fences useful after those 30 days, it’s well worth the purchase. This makes it easier to find what you’re looking for if your desktop is very messy. Drag and drop items from your desktop into the folder. Multiple desktops at your fingertips. Right-click on its icon and select More > Open File Location . Download LaunchBar Commander from the official website. One problem many Windows 10 users have failed to address with their desktop, is the problem of organization. In each space that we create, you can have a file or folder belonging to different locations that will be shown as smaller icons. All the icons work and behave exactly as before, double-click to open, right-click for options. That opens the window in the snapshot directly below. To do so, right-click a shortcut and select “Pin to Start.” On Windows 10, it will appear as a tile at the right side of your Start menu. After you’ve moved all the shortcuts you want to your taskbar and Start menu, you can delete them from your desktop like you’d delete any file—or move them to a folder. Folder Structure. You can then move items back onto your desktop as you need them. https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-organize-your-desktop-in-windows-10 RELATED: 10 Ways to Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu. Fences costs $10, but there’s a 30-day free trial you can play with. They stay where you put them. Label these by year and folder hierarchy. The drag and drop feature is supported here, and that’s really nice, at least from our point of view. Install Fences. If you're using multiple displays, this changes the wallpaper of your primary display only. Feel free to unpin any shortcuts you don’t use. For example, you might store spreadsheets you’re working on, documents you’ve scanned, photos you’ve just taken, or things you’ve just downloaded on your desktop. The desktop is a convenient place to store files and program shortcuts, but it can get messy fast. To keep the desktop useful for this task and prevent it from getting too cluttered, try only storing files on your desktop for as long as you need them. If there are many programs that you don’t use much often, hiding or deleting... Quickly Organize Desktop Icons Windows 10. This works similarly to the Stacks feature Apple is adding to macOS Mojave. If you don't see Set Desktop Picture in the shortcut menu, you should see a submenu named Services instead. That’s the nuclear option, of course. You can keep these as-is, edit the names, change the apps, reorder the groups, or delete them entirely. To create a folder, right-click the desktop, select New > Folder, and give the folder a name. It docks to the side of your screen, for starters, therefore, it shouldn’t be an annoyance when not in use. RELATED: How to Get macOS Mojave-Style Desktop Stacks on Windows. This post will show you how to organize your Windows 10 desktop manually or using these free Desktop Organizer software.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'thewindowsclub_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_0',815,'0','0'])); While all this may help to a degree, you can also make use of these free desktop organizer software: The first app in question is called SlideSlide, and it was primarily designed to remove clutter to deliver a desktop that is easy on the eyes. You fix the issue by enabling Auto arrange icon option. If you make a fence too small for everything you’ve placed in it, that fence will gain a scroll bar you can use to scroll through its contents. When the time comes for adding an icon, just drag and drop them to any container, or box. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami's NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Consider using folders to keep your desktop organized. To cycle through the choices, press and hold Alt and press Tab until the window you’d like is highlighted. These options can be helpful, but they’re no substitute for truly taming the clutter. You can even “roll up” a fence to temporarily hide all its contents. You can also pin apps right from the Start menu—either right-click a shortcut in the all apps list in the Start menu and select “Pin to Start,” or drag the icon to the pinned apps area. If you want to keep your desktop clean from clutter and do so with an intuitive user interface that is very clean, then this is your best shot. If you like storing files and application shortcuts on your desktop, give Stardock’s Fences a shot. On Windows 10, you can drag and drop pinned application shortcuts in your Start menu to organize them into groups, and click the header at the top of the group to give it a name. The program allows the user to configure the menus and buttons to launch any one of your top apps. If you uncheck “Auto Arrange Icons,” you can drag and drop icons anywhere you want. Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. Look for temporary files and application residual files in program files and remove them before organizing files in the computer, clutter-free. You can resize them, too. He's also a person who enjoys writing about technology, comics, video games, and anything related to the geek world. That’s what it’s for, after all. To get more space for icons on your taskbar, you can remove some things to free up space. Minimalist desktop on Windows 10 Minimalist desktop without third party apps. For a quick organization, you can right-click your desktop and select an option in the “Sort By” menu. It is an application that allows us to organize the desktop through customizable spaces where we can place folders, files, documents and shortcuts of our programs. Click the command that indicates how you want to arrange the icons (by Name, by Type, and so on).