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Desktop Disarray

Be Still, My System Tray

The annoyance: I can access some of my favorite utilities only through the system tray; but when one of these icons has lain idle for a while, XP "helpfully" hides it.

The fix: You don't have to put up with XP's unwelcome assistance. Clicking the arrow that shows hidden icons can be frustrating because, shortly after you click it, it collapses again. It's tempting simply to make Windows always show all of the icons. To do that, right-click the Start button or taskbar, choose Properties, uncheck Hide inactive icons in the 'Notification area' section, and click OK. Unfortunately, that approach could lead to a huge system tray that squeezes out program icons on the rest of the taskbar. I prefer to use the Customize button instead of unchecking 'Hide active icons'; then I set the hiding behavior for individual icons to suit my needs, as shown in Figure 4.

Have Explorer (Mostly) Your Way

The annoyance: I was getting a headache from configuring Windows Explorer to provide the file and folder information I wanted instead of its default view, every time I opened a new folder.

The fix: Fortunately, you can make Explorer remember your preferences instead of its own. First, tweak Explorer to your liking, specifying which details (or attribute columns) it displays, what type of view (thumbnails, list, details, or the like) it opens in, and whether and how files are grouped. To make your custom view Explorer's default view, choose Tools, Folder Options, select the View tab, and click Apply to All Folders. Voilà--all done. I also like to see the folder tree structure (instead of the default task panel) in the left-hand pane and the currently selected folder contents in the right-hand pane, because this arrangement offers the easiest way to drag files from one folder to another. For some annoying reason, though, Explorer refuses to remember this feature, always reverting instead to displaying the task pane. Longhorn will fix this by moving task links to a new horizontal toolbar.

Get Instant Desktop Access

The annoyance: I keep important stuff that I use frequently--including program icons, downloaded files, and the Recycle Bin--on the Windows desktop. But as soon as I launch a program, the desktop icons on the Quick Launch menu disappear because other elements crowd them out of the visible part of the menu, or because the Quick Launch menu itself isn't visible.

The fix: No worries: You can add an icon to your taskbar that will show the desktop in one easy click. First, enable the Quick Launch toolbar, right-click an empty spot on the taskbar, and select Toolbars, Quick Launch. The Quick Launch toolbar should display the Show Desktop button by default. If the Show Desktop button in Quick Launch doesn't appear, it may have been pushed off onto the menu's pop-up overflow (indicated by the double-arrow icon) to the right. To keep it handy, drag and drop it onto the visible part of the menu. You can also get instant access to desktop icons without minimizing windows, by adding the Desktop toolbar to the taskbar. Right-click a vacant area of the taskbar and choose Toolbars, Desktop.

Point My Documents to Yours

The annoyance: Like its predecessors, XP encourages me to keep my files in the My Documents folder. That may be convenient for Microsoft's developers, but it's not for me. I prefer to keep my files elsewhere so that they're easier to browse to, back up, or access from other versions of Windows.

The fix: XP is fairly obliging about letting you change the location of My Documents. Right-click the My Documents folder, choose Properties, select the Target tab, and click Move to transfer your current My Documents folder and its contents to another location (see Figure 5). To make My Documents point to an existing folder, click Find Target instead of Move.

Put Your Documents at Your Fingertips

The annoyance: Windows puts a link to My Documents on the Start menu so I can open an Explorer window to my files quickly. But if what I want to do is open a particular file ASAP, I have to click, click, and click again to launch it. What a pain.

The fix: If you like the way the Start menu's submenus unfold automatically, make My Documents work the same way. Right-click the Start button, click Properties, select the Start Menu tab, click Customize, and select the Advanced tab. Next, scroll down the 'Start menu items' list to the 'My Documents' section, select Display as a menu, and click OK. Applying the same operation to some of the other Start menu items listed, such as Control Panel and My Computer, can expedite access to those parts of Windows, as well.