@seeandyspin:

I wish you could chose where files group together automatically, for example when I plug in my iPod it would be awesome if the icon went to the right side of the screen instead of the left.

LifesSweetDrug

Ive done this myself. Ive made desktop pictures to help organize and locate. I've since tried to not use my desktop and put files in the proper places. Good idea though.

radink

i chuckled at first...but after second thought...its perfect for my comp at work. excellent! only wish i could have firefox dl to the right 'area'

seeandyspin

At first I thought this would be an application that actually lays multiple wallpapers or workspaces on your desktop to sort of flip through but this "hack" is just... none. =p
If you need such wallpaper to organize, categorize and remember the location of your desktop icons and to be "productive" you've got some serious user problems.

anticitizenone

@LifesSweetDrug: Ooh - that would be great. Even for downloading - if you download a jpg it goes to one group/area. A .doc goes to another. Then you could just grab the group and file. :) One can wish.

wickedcupofjoe

I used to sort my desktop using exactly this method, except using only my brain without the wallpaper as a visual aid: work programs in top right, utilities in lower right, files in top left etc. Except stupid windows occasionally takes it upon itself to auto-arrange everything up in the top left corner where it also likes to place new icons. Shock Desktop sometimes helped get it back quicker, but eventually I just abandoned that method and keep the desktop clear for all but temporary working shortcuts, using rocketdock for launching applications and a well-managed documents folder for files.

Fierock

I just don't understand why so many people are so fixated on tweaking their desktops with to-do lists, calendars, rss feeds, etc. I often look at these suggestions and think; "Wow that's cool..". A moment later reality hits and I realize that when I am actually using my PC I look at the desktop VERY LITTLE. I typically see it when I log on,when I log off, and when I get tired of my wallpaper.
Having said that the general idea of this post is good IF you use your desktop as a storage space for stuff. I personally don't so it's a good idea that has no benefits for me.
Keep the suggestions coming though. There is something here for everyone.

EracMan

I am going to ask for the PSD of this, as I want to make a small change.

I like the idea of the different layers a lot, however I don't think it should be a complete sacrifice of any personality you wish to add to your desktop (in the form of different wallpapers) so I am going to have my normal wallpaper, and lower the opacity of the layers so they will 'overlay' it.

Personality and Organization. Perfect :-)

the_boffin

I vacillate between doing something similar to this (without the wallpaper, but I'm going to try this out for a day or so) and setting my desktop to auto-arrange with a periodic dump of every non-shortcut file to its proper folder or a dump folder. I really like having an empty desktop, but when I'm working on files, especially ones with similar names, I like to group them. This might work for those times. :)

skadus

> get launchy and go iconless, it's liberating!

Until you forget the name of what you were looking for.

I throw temporary stuff on my desktop all the time. This background sounds like a neat idea.

Rhywun

ooh, we're evolving backwards. will windows 8 look like windows 3.1 with a desktop full of icon groups arranged in neat little boxes?

desktop icons are for ninnies. get launchy and go iconless, it's liberating!

garbanzo-bean

@OX4:
@EracMan:
I so agree with ya'll.
@garbanzo-bean:
On my way there, I still do some photo organizing on my desk top, moving back and forth from one folder to another.
I have tried something different in my quest to go for a clear desktop, changing folder icons to a blank icon and try to use a small folder name, something easily overlooked and memorable.

Archnemesis_Goldenhair

I used a technique like this on my Windows desktop for a few years beginning back in 2002. Since then I've become a "zero icons on the desktop" convert.

onesix18

This is kind of interesting except ... I don't use my desktop at all. Heck, at work when I type I'm in MS Word 5.5 for DOS saving everything to a mapped network drive.

battra92

I don't know why exactly, but I have an extreme adverse reaction to desktop icons. They seem redundant to menus and/or docks and, worst of all, they're just plain ugly no matter how you arrange them. In order for this system to work I'd have to create a shortcut to the files I'm working with -- which seems an extra step since I've presumably just filed those files away somewhere. And I agree with @EracMan -- how often do you actually see your desktop?

OX4

The desktop is just a storage space like any other - one that happens to be visible at the press of one (Mac) or two (PC) keys. The obsession with keeping it empty seems a bit bizarre. For years my method has been to put stuff there while I'm working on it, and when I'm done put it in its proper place. Sometimes I don't even KNOW what the proper place is until I'm halfway through working with a file. What better place to keep it in the meantime than the desktop?

Rhywun

I also joined the "zero icons on the desktop" club a couple of years ago. Things get downloaded into a ../Down folder to be dealt with as I get to them, I use ObjectDock for launching, and like an otherwise clean desktop. Hey, I searched DeviantArt or SocWall.com for just the right wallpaper to fit my mood of the day/week... ;-)

jsmorley

@Rhywun: To me it looks like litter. Like, little pieces of file trash strewn about my monitor. *shudders*

OX4

@Rhywun: So you use your computer desktop like a real desk surface? ;-) I'm in the same boat as you. After trying a bunch of different things over the years... I ended up using my virtual desktop just like the real desktop in front of me.

Jason Fitzpatrick

You people are crazy :)

It's there for a reason; use it!

Rhywun

The desktop idea is cutesy- not sure it really helps you stay ALL THAT organized. It might be fun top create your own layered-look wallpaper though based on your interests.

I don't have any program icons on the desktop, but I will ofter store and save documents there while they are in progress once they are ready to be filed or deleted permanently they are taken off the desktop and put in storage elsewhere.

johnhorneguitar

I never have icons on my desktop, but as a tablet pc owner with Ink Desktop installed, I'd put a calendar in there also and use it for organizing the random notes and dates that get scribbled across my desktop. Something like this is perfect for that, I'll probably try and make a couple myself.

Jalean11

If the clutter thing doesn't bother you, try using this in combination with GeekTool to add Todo notes or monitoring. I use it instead of Sticky notes or Dashboard.

ecrissman

My brother was using this method atleast an year ago!! Since he doesn't have any experience with photoshop, or a similar application, he created a simple wallpaper for himself in MS Paint, for the same task. I don't know if he's posted about it on his blog [www.eguru.info] but will check it now. And, I will post about this on my blog too, over at [www.prithvikrishna.com]
I don't know if you are allowed to post links in the comments here, but in case it is not allowed, I'm sorry, and this comment can be deleted.
Thank You.

mandava

@Rhywun:

To each his own of course...

I don't leave piles of stuff laying on my real desktop either. While I am actively working on something it's on my desktop (in an open application in a windows) and it gets saved to some appropriate folder in "../Documents" when I am not actively working on it. Throwing stuff on the desktop because "you haven't figured out where it goes" is just well, lazy. You only end up with this sooner or later:

jsmorley

@Jason Fitzpatrick: It's much easier to manage it that way, isn't it? I think of it as my human cache, LOL.

kureshii

My virtual desktop works just like my real desktop: a holding area for work-in-progress. If I have to open a document everyday to look at it and make changes, I'd rather it be on the desktop than anywhere else. And at the end of each week I declutter and put things back in their places if there's no more use for them.

It's just a workspace there to be used, no need to be all zealous about keeping it completely clean. I've already removed My Computer and other shortcut icons anyway, so it truly is a holding area for work and nothing else.

kureshii

[flickr.com]

TexasJon

@jsmorley: OMG, you really need to get Launchy. That'll clean up like 70% of that clutter. It's very easy to use... go get it, children are dying! (my hurry up phrase =P )

Jokerx9

@kureshii:

I agree that zealousness (is that a word?) isn't called for, as everyone likes to work differently. That's the beauty of a modern GUI (whether Windows, MAC, Linux) that gives you the flexibility to work how you like.

I find having documents on my desktop only makes them seem like little "nags", kinda like the blinking red button on my phone when there is a voicemail (I finally solved that with a little piece of black electrical tape) ;-)

jsmorley

@Jokerx9:

LOL.. That wasn't MY desktop, just a random pic from Google Images.

jsmorley

Does anyone know how to cue a tablet to change the background image when the screen is rotated in tablet mode? Is there some software out there that can do that?

NumbersGuy

@Rhywun: I agree that for "working files" the desktop is a useful place. If someone truly uses it that way, it can be effective. I still do this myself. However, 99.9% of the desktops I see just have mostly-forgotten files and rarely-used links that people have been too lazy or afraid to file or delete. A place for everything and everything in its place.

onesix18

I did something like this for a while back in the day, but I found it didn't really help my productivity.

I'd create dark low-opacity boxes in Photoshop and place them over my wallpaper.

nczuma

@jsmorley:

Nothing "lazy" about waiting to file things away until you know more about them. My example would be a set of experimental data (I work in a Biochem' lab), or a manuscript I'm working on. Often times it is very difficult to know which sets of data belong together until you've finished a series of experiments. Of course, nothing ever ever lives on the desktop without also being backed up on the network drive, so it's not as if the desktop is a black hole for lost work.

My general rule of thumb is that when I have more than 1 vertical row of icons on the left, it's time to either finish up some things or file them away and revisit later.

virgilstar

I can only see my desktop after boot and before shutdown for some second, no more :).

I do not have any icons, only the default ones, instead it, I have a well-configured PStart with a tons of hotkeys.

Dagenham

I have exactly 5 icons on my desktop - for projects I'm working on right now + the recycle bin. Burying these items where they will eventually belong and then accessing them with any sort of launcher or god forbid Explorer would slow down my productivity enormously.

Rhywun

I don't have any icons except for the Recycle Bin. It's only RocketDock for me.

masterthundar

I use Indy's Desk from Iconfactory's free stuff because it's a cool looking desk. I didn't see anything 1600x1200 which disappointed me.

kaiz3n

I have very few icons, my father has an entire background full of icons; but then again his house is a mess and matches his desktop. I like things cleaner than that, I guess I took after my mom. lol

kaiz3n

@seeandyspin: "i chuckled at first...but after second thought...its perfect for my comp at work. excellent! only wish i could have firefox dl to the right 'area'"

That would be cool. One possible version (which requires changes to Firefox and your Desktop):
1. Modify Firefox to support multiple download locations/folders.
2. In Firefox's download dialog, "tag" the file with "work", "home", "to file", etc. (Modify the existing "Automatically handle certain file types" system to support tags.)
3. Based on the tag, Firefox downloads to correct folder.

Now for the Desktop
1. Instead of layers on wallpaper, use folders.
1.1. Folders get custom background image (ruled, corkboard, etc.) as appropriate.
1.2. Turn off folder chrome so you only see the background image. (Similar to how ActiveDesktop displays web pages on Windows, or KDE 4.1's folder view plasmoid.)
2. Set the folder to your preferred view.

mbear

@NumbersGuy:
Does anyone know how to cue a tablet to change the background image when the screen is rotated in tablet mode? Is there some software out there that can do that?
Wallpaper Gyro.

kureshii

This is pretty cool. As someone else mentioned, I do this 'in my head'. I have icons in different places on my desktop depending on what they are or what their usage is. My trouble is that Windows screws it all up if you change resolution (including monitor orientation) or if it crashes, or, well for a bunch of reasons. I just want something that will lock my icons in place and not let Windows toss them about like the toys of a two-year-old.

Any ideas? And it should work for a dual (or more) monitor system, too. I wonder if there's a way to make Samurize do this....

hnkelley