More Desktop Tips

Here are some more Desktop Tips to help you navigate through, and work with, your folders and files.

Add a Shortcut to the Desktop

If you have a program that you use quite often, you may want to create a shortcut to it on the Desktop. Here's how to do it:

Most programs have an icon that can be sent to the Desktop to be used as a shortcut. To find it, click on the START button and hover your cursor over the "All Programs" button to bring up your list of programs. If the program name does not have an arrow next to it to indicate an additional menu, you should be able to right-click on it to bring up the icon menu.

In the icon menu you will hover your cursor over the "Send to" selection which has an arrow next to it. The additional menu will then appear and show you where you can place the icon. The Desktop will be one of the default choices, just left-click on Desktop to create the shortcut.

Move a File or Folder to the Desktop

Another great Desktop Tip is moving a file or folder to the Desktop, and there are a couple of different ways to do it. For the first way, locate the file or folder that you want to move in Windows Explorer. Now, we are going to "cut and paste" the file by right-clicking on it and choosing "Cut" from the resulting menu. Then go to your Desktop and right-click in an open area to bring up the menu. From the menu, click on "Paste" to place the file or folder on the desktop. That's it.

The other way to move a file or folder to the Desktop is to "drag" it over. But first, let's make sure that the Windows Explorer window is not "Maximized", meaning it does not fill the entire screen. To do this, look in the upper right-hand corner of the open window, you should see three boxes with symbols inside. The one on the left that looks like a "minus" sign will minimize the window down to the taskbar, in effect removing it from view even though it is still open (running).The middle box is the Maximize/Restore" selector. If you see a single square box inside this box it means that this window can be "Maximized" by clicking on this square. Once the window is maximized you will notice that this box symbol changes to two boxes, one in front of the other. This is the "Restore" option. If you click on this symbol the window will return to the size that it was before it was maximized. The last box on the right with the white "X" in the red box is the "Close" option. Clicking this box will close the window.

Now, to move the file or folder, we want the Windows Explorer window to be smaller than the size of the desktop, so that the desktop is still partially visible. Once you have found the file or folder that you want to move using Windows Explorer, left-click on it and hold down the left button. Now "drag" the file or folder over to the desktop area and release the left mouse button. You will see that the file or folder is now on the desktop.

Remove an Icon From the Desktop

Another good Desktop Tip you should know is how to remove an icon from the desktop. To remove the icon simply right-click on the icon and then left-click on the word "Delete". If the icon was a shortcut, only the shortcut is removed, the original item is not deleted.

Hide Icons on the Desktop

This is kind of a cool Desktop Tip because I don't think many people know how to do it. If you want to temporarily hide all of your desktop icons without actually removing them, right-click an empty part of the desktop, click View, and then click Show Desktop Icons to clear the check mark from that option. Now no icons are displayed on the desktop. To get them back, click on Show Desktop Icons again to select it.

Moving an Open Window

The next Desktop Tip is Moving an Open Window. To move an open window, left-click on the "Title Bar" which is the blue bar at the very top of the window. Then while holding down the left mouse button, drag the window with the mouse over to where you would like it to be.

Changing the Size of a Window

This is a great Desktop Tip if you want to view two windows side-by-side on your desktop. In the upper right-hand corner of any open window, you should see three boxes with symbols inside. The one on the left that looks like a "minus" sign will minimize the window down to the taskbar, in effect removing it from view even though it is still open (running). The middle box is the "Maximize/Restore" selector. If you see a single square box inside this box it means that this window can be "Maximized" by clicking on this square. Once the window is maximized you will notice that this box symbol changes to two boxes, one in front of the other. This is the "Restore" option. If you click on this symbol the window will return to the size that it was before it was maximized. While a window is in "Restore" mode, you can move your cursor over any border of the window and the cursor will change to a double arrow symbol. While this symbol is displayed, you can left-click and hold down the mouse button while you "drag" the border line to the desired size.

Switching Between Open Windows

The final Desktop Tip is How to Switch Between Open Windows. If you often have many windows open at the same time, the best way to keep track of what is running is to use the taskbar. Each window that is open has a corresponding button on the taskbar. To switch back and forth between windows, just click the taskbar button. That will bring that window to the forefront for viewing and editing.

More Desktop Tips

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