DesktopOK — No more screaming when your icons get scrambled

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FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT By Deanna McElveen I have two large monitors and a lot of icons filling those screens. It may look like utter chaos, but my brain k
[See the full post at: DesktopOK — No more screaming when your icons get scrambled]

9 users thanked author for this post.

WCHS, fisher75, DLivesInTexas, SueW, Mr. Austin, Alex5723, abbodi86, Job48, rc primak

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ReIcon is our personal choice.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Pepsiboy

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ReIcon for me, too.

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Can it auto-save on a schedule like DesktopOK?

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Not only third-party software, but Windows Updates themselves often rearrange the desktop icons. This can be anywhere from annoying to overwhelming, depending on how many icons and how many monitors you are using.

Then again, Microsoft (and pretty much everyone else) has been trying for decades now to “deprecate” the traditional Desktop. (Even Linux (Gnome) has been trying to do this.) Instead, we are being steered toward Start Menus, Search Boxes and AI Assistants (e.g., Windows Copilot).  In a word, BLECH!

-- rc primak

4 users thanked author for this post.

rizzquery, windbg, rbailin, Mr. Austin

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I’ve been using DesktopOK for over a decade. Great program.

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Download and playing with it.  REALLY glad I found this.

Question about Tools, Windows
Does DesktopOK handle open explorer windows in the backup?

It is common for me to regularly have 8-10-12 file explorer windows open depending on what I’m doing.
It is also common from time to time for windows explorer to reset, and I lose all the open folders.  Some programs require all open windows explorer windows to be closed prior to updating a program (Norton Security frequently has patches that require this).  There are times Windows Updates do the same.

So finding something to save desktop icon layout leads me to wonder if this, or another program, would be able to save the list of open windows explorer windows.

If DesktopOK doesn’t do this, does anyone know of another program that does?

Thanks much in advance for reading and responding.

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I didn’t know I wasn’t the only who’d watch Windows Explorer inexplicably reset. On my machine it does in when I’m opening Microsoft Outlook on a monitor with portrait orientation, while the other monitor is set to landscape.

Human, who sports only naturally-occurring DNA ~ oneironaut ~ broadcaster

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I use the app for years.

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I’ve been using iRotate for a long time to manage the Landscape/Portrait orientation of two monitors. As I write this one monitor’s on Portrait and one’s on Landscape. I tend to use Desktop icons very sparingly and I instead remember the names of folders and files and where I put things in human-friendly names. But iRotate doesn’t remember icon placement well because it hasn’t been updated by its developer since forever. Maybe I’ll try DesktopOK.

Human, who sports only naturally-occurring DNA ~ oneironaut ~ broadcaster

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This is one that I keep in my portables collection (including several from Nenad Hrg).

I think the design intent for this one is for a developer that is frequently changing screen resolutions (and subsequent shuffling of icons).

Besides that, I’ve found if I’m working on somebody else’s computer (especially somebody who uses their desktop as main storage), it’s useful to get a snapshot from DesktopOK before I start working.  From there, I can rearrange the icons in a way that assists with what I’m doing, and then when I’m finished, have DesktopOK put things back the way that they were.

Something that I learned years ago was that I never touch somebody else’s layouts and personal preferences without getting their permissions first.  It really doesn’t work well to force everything into my own preferences if disrupts how the other person works.  There can be a place for gentile instruction on how to do things better, but only with permission of the user.

However a tool like DesktopOK gives me more freedom to work in my own way, without disrupting the user.

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Thanks!  I used  the free Stardock Fences for years but now I see that it has become  yet another subscription  item so this little program should work just fine for what I need.

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Deanna, thanks for the Desktop Restorer. Could have used that last year when every new “preview” update from malewaresoft blew up my desktop icons. I would would spend 30+minutes fixing it. It got to the point I would do a screen capture before hitting restart now.

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I’ve used DesktopOK for years. I keep a lot of shortcuts on my desktops, and have saved myself many hours not having to rearrange them when they get scrambled.

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Yesterday, I downloaded DesktopOK and set it up as Deanna directed in the May 6 Newsletter. In addition, I put a checkmark beside ‘Only if changes the layout’, which I take to mean ‘Only if the layout changes’ (different word order – maybe the difference between Russian and English??).

As a result, yesterday there was an entry for auto-save layout #1 and today there is another auto-save entry for layout #2. These indicate that the auto-save kicked in ‘one time on day’, i.e., for yesterday and today.

After today’s auto-save , I added an icon to my Desktop. But, there is no new layout for the Desktop with the added icon. Why not? I checked the line for ‘Only if the layout changes’. The layout changed (new icon added), so shouldn’t there be a new entry for this new layout?? Why didn’t this happen?

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That would be two times on day.

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WCHS

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b wrote:

That would be two times on day.

OK, I get that. Once a day is once a day, even if an icon is added after it’s done it’s “once a day” thing.

The next day (May 12), the layout name changed. Before that (May 11), after autosave was set, the first entry was a layout name ‘Auto-save personalfoldername 1920×1080 1’ with a date of May 11. But on May 12, the entry was ‘1920×1080’ (no longer ‘AutoSave’ & ‘personalfoldername’ and ‘number’). So, it looks like autosave didn’t happen because there was a layout change instead (icon added) and that was it’s ‘once-a’day’ thing.

It will be interesting to see what the layout name is tomorrow (May 13).

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I don’t see an option for backing up. How would I do that?

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I’ve been using DesktopOK for MANY years! But now have a Mac as well and hard finding something comparable. Any suggestions?

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