Brand-new in Windows XP is a much-needed tool for clearing the junk off your virtual desktop. Unfortunately, it takes more time and energy to use XP's Desktop Cleanup Wizard than it does to clean the desktop manually. If you find this wizard as useless as I do, or if you use another version of Windows, try a different way to keep your desktop shiny and bright.

The Windows way: If you have Windows XP, you might as well give Desktop Cleanup a try: Right-click the desktop and choose Properties, Desktop, Customize Desktop. Under 'Desktop cleanup', make sure Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days is checked. With this feature on, Windows displays a pop-up balloon every 60 days if it finds shortcuts on your desktop that haven't been used in that period (see FIGURE 1). To activate the wizard, click Clean Desktop Now. If you have any little-used desktop shortcuts, the wizard will give you the option of unchecking them if you want to keep them. Desktop Cleanup puts the shortcuts you leave checked into a folder on your desktop called Unused Desktop Shortcuts (which Windows creates automatically, if necessary).

You may have noticed some shortcomings of this scheme. For starters, the wizard works only on shortcuts, not on files, folders, or other desktop flotsam and jetsam. You can't change the cleanup interval: It's 60 days or nothing. Rather than deleting anything, the wizard simply moves items to a desktop folder--the Windows equivalent of sweeping them under the rug. And if you have only one unused shortcut, creating a folder for it leaves the same number of items on your desktop. This type of tidying wouldn't pass inspection in anybody's army.

A better way: Windows includes all the tools you need to create an automatic reminder for cleaning your desktop, as well as an easy way to see which shortcuts, files, and folders you haven't used lately. You can set it to work at any time interval you choose. This approach works best in Windows Me, 2000, and XP, but it also works in Windows 9x; unfortunately, in 9x you won't receive any clear indication of when you last accessed the items.

In Windows 9x, double-click My Computer, Scheduled Tasks, and Add Scheduled Task to activate the Scheduled Task Wizard. In other Windows versions, choose Start, Settings, Control Panel or Start, Control Panel. If you're using XP's Categories view, click Performance and Maintenance, and click or double-click (as needed) Scheduled Tasks and Add Scheduled Task to start the Scheduled Task Wizard.

Click Next; in the following panel, click Browse. When the 'Select Program to Schedule' dialog box opens, type the path to explorer.exe in the 'File name' box--on most machines, it's c:\windows\explorer.exe or c:\winnt\explorer.exe. Press Enter to return to the wizard. The task name will be 'Explorer' by default, but you can change this to something more descriptive if you wish. Select the interval of your choice--for example, monthly (you can change it later)--and then click Next.

Unless you chose When my computer starts or When I log on, the next panel will ask you to be more specific about when the software should remind you to clean up your desktop. Make your choices and click Next. In Windows 2000 and XP, you must next enter your password twice (or your account name and password, if you want the task to be run by a specific user such as the administrator). When you're done, click Next. In all versions of Windows, check the box labeled Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish. Then click Finish.

You should now see a tabbed dialog box named 'Explorer' (or whatever you named the task). Click in the Run box at the end of the existing command line after 'explorer.exe'. Type a space followed by the path to your Desktop folder. In Windows 9x and Me, the path is usually c:\windows\desktop (if your computer has no other users) or c:\windows\profiles\profile name\desktop (where profile name is the name of your user account). In Windows 2000 and XP, the Desktop folder path is usually C:\Documents and Settings\profile name\Desktop. Adjust these examples as needed to match your own system (see FIGURE 2).

Use other controls and tabs in this dialog box to adjust the schedule if you change your mind or find that you made a mistake. When you're finished, click OK. In Windows 2000 and XP, you have to reenter your password twice, and then click OK once more.

Right-click the task you just created in the Scheduled Tasks window, and choose Run. An Explorer window should open, displaying the contents of your desktop. To increase its usefulness, you need to fine-tune this window. Start by choosing View, Folder Options or Tools, Folder Options, depending on your version of Windows. Click the View tab. Under Advanced Settings, make sure Remember each folder's view settings is checked; then click OK.

Now you're ready to customize the window: Choose View, Details (if necessary) to see information about your desktop contents. In Windows 2000, Me, and XP, select View, Choose Columns or View, Choose Details. In the dialog box, check the box labeled Accessed or Date Accessed. Uncheck any checked items you don't think you'll need, and click OK.

In Explorer, click the Accessed or Date Accessed column heading twice to sort the desktop shortcuts by the date you last used them. The next time the task scheduler launches this window, it will appear exactly as it does now. (If it doesn't, repeat the necessary steps.) Now you can quickly see which items you haven't used for a long time and when you last used them. If you're unlikely to use them soon, select them in this window and either press Delete or move them to another folder to make your desktop that much cleaner.

Unfortunately for Windows 9x users, there is no way to see the last-accessed date for desktop items. But you can click the Modified heading to sort items by when they were last changed. And having the window periodically pop up prompts you to browse through the list and decide what to keep and what to discard.

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