Create A Handy Toolbar For XP Desktop Icons

Is your desktop so cluttered with icons that you can’t see your wallpaper? Do you have to scan for thirty seconds to find the shortcut or file you’re looking for? If you have Windows XP, the solution is only a few clicks and drags away. (This may work with other versions of Windows, too. You can always try.)

First, create a file folder on your desktop by right clicking, then selecting New > Folder. Name it whatever you like, but something descriptive, like “Desktop” or “Applications,” or “Left Side.” (That will make more sense in a minute.)

Select the Icons you’d like to hide, according to how you’d like to have them displayed on the toolbar. You can create up to three bars, but I only recommend two for reasons I’ll explain. Anyway, drag the icons to the folder you’ve created, and drop them there.

Next, drag the folder to either the left side or top of your screen, and let it go. The folder will stay where it was, but - voila! - you’ll have a new toolbar on the edge where you dropped the folder. All your icons should be neatly arranged on the bar. If you can’t see everything, grab the inside edge of the bar by moving your cursor over it until you get the little two-ended arrow. Then left-click and drag the bar wider.

Right-click the bar itself, and select “Auto-Hide,” then click your desktop. Your new bar should disappear into the edge of the screen, but it will reappear when you mouse over the edge. You can also click “Always on Top” if you want, then the bar will (usually) pop out even if you have a window open. For reasons known only to the Gods of XP, this doesn’t always work.

Now, go to the file that’s still on the desktop and right click it. Select “Properties,” and down at the bottom under “Attributes,” check “Hidden,” then click “OK.” Your folder will disappear from the desktop. (It’s still there, but - guess what - it’s hidden.) If it doesn’t disappear instantly, it will soon. Sometimes they drag their little feet a bit. Alternatively, you can just leave the folder visible on the desktop, where it will take up a lot less space than all those icons. You won’t be able to find your hidden folder again without making all your hidden files visible. ( I’m not taking the responsibility of telling you how to do that, if you don’t already know, because you can get in trouble messing with hidden files.) You can drag additional icons to your bar by right clicking them, dragging them where you want, and selecting “Move Here” after you release them. You can move icons around on the bar by dragging, as well.

I recommend leaving the right side of your screen free, although you can place a bar there if you like. l find that when I go for the “X” to close maximized windows, half the time I pop the bar out instead - not a tragedy, but annoying as heck after the first few times because you have to let it retract before you can close the window. For some reason I do it less with the bar on the top, and there’s nothing on the left side to interfere. If, for some reason, you want to get rid of a bar temporarily, don’t close it unless you know how to find the hidden file and recreate it. Instead, just right click it, then uncheck it from the “Toolbars” sub-menu. Get it back by right-clicking any toolbar, and checking it again.

To move a bar, mouse over the dotted line at the top - or left side - until you get the double arrow. Then drag the bar where you want it and turn it loose. If you want, you can even turn it loose on the desktop, where it will float in its own window. Just remember to drag it back to the edge by the title bar instead of closing the window, which will close the bar as well.