Some Registry keys and programs can modify the looks of desktop icons further, like Iconoid or Windows System Settings to make desktop icons transparent.

D-Color is an old software for Windows that provides a similar functionality like Deskview, a program that we reviewed here on Ghacks in 2008. The developer has discontinued development of D-Color but at least part of the software’s functionality is still working on the latest versions of the Windows operating system.

You can use D-Color to change the position of the desktop icon text. Usually text is always displayed underneath each icon. With D-Color that position can be changed to the right side of the icon instead, so that all icon descriptions are displayed on the right. Take a look at the screenshot below to find out how this looks like.

D-Color needs to be installed before it can be used. The application minimizes automatically to the Windows System Tray on startup. A right-click on the system tray icon displays a context menu with options to modify the appearance of desktop icons.

The selection of Small Icons or Tile Icons moves the text position to right side of the icons. You can then close the application again; The changes will remain visible on the desktop.

You can furthermore use Windows’s own menu to change the icon size back to medium or large if that is preferred.

D-Color is no longer available at the developer website. I have uploaded the latest version to the Ghacks servers. You can download it from the following link: D-Color (374)

You first need to configure the folders and entries that you want to have quick access to in the program options. The program displays pre-selected entries that include all hard drives and optical drives of the system, plus often used folders like the My Documents folder, the Recycle Bin or the Control Panel.

The plus button on the right of that section in the options opens up a file and folder browser so that every file or folder that is accessible on the system can be added to the toolbar.

The options hold settings to change the opening speed and delay, the color of the toolbar and its positioning. Instead of snapping it to the top, it is possible to snap it to the bottom or side of the desktop as well. Especially the display on the sides will take some getting used to time as it is difficulty to read the file and folder names in this layout.

A click on a folder in the bar opens that folder in Windows Explorer. Files are executed automatically instead.

There is no real need for the Quick Access Bar under Windows 7 anymore, as users can add the files and folders that they access regularly to the Windows 7 taskbar. Windows XP or Vista users on the other hand might like the idea of another option to quickly open folders or load programs with the help of this bar.

I have a few minor issues with the bar, like the previously mentioned difficulty to read the folder or file names in sidebar mode. Another issue is the lack of customization of the font and its effect. Options to configure the font color and layout are missing.

Windows users who would like to give Quick Access Bar a try can download it from the developer website. the program is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.

Many users have to rely on third party software for better window controls on the desktop. Programs like Gridy, Win Layout or Grid Move are just a few of the applications designed for that purpose.

TicTac and TicClick are two portable programs that enhance the window management in the Windows operating system. Both apps have been developed by the same developer and offer the same functionality.

The main difference lies in the way the windows are aligned. TicTac has been optimized for keyboard usage. Users can use the Windows key plus the keys 1-9 on the numpad to align the active window on the desktop.

The positions on the numpad correlate to the position on the desktop, pressing Windows-1 places the window in the lower left corner, Windows-5 centers it on the desktop and Windows-9 places it in the upper right corner.

TicClick replaces the numpad with the computer mouse. Holding down the Windows key and left-clicking on a window title opens a small menu that resembles the numpad keys. A click on one of the numbers offered places the window in the designated corner.

align window

As of version 2.0.0.0 TicClick has a U Button to Undo last move, and a Mouse button to move the window’s top left corner to the current mouse position. The Mouse Button is handy for those situations where the window caption is off the desktop, making it a hassle to move that window.

Hint: if you accidentally move a window with TicClick that is difficult to move by dragging the mouse(such as a RocketDock skin or some other panel with no caption bar) try using the U Button right away.

If you have Taskbar set on top, then it should not be covered. TicClick calls an API to get the desktop work area on each click to calculate correct placement.

The programs are both lightweight and unobtrusive. An option to edit the window positions would have been nice, to further customize the alignments on the Windows desktop.

Both TicClick and TicTac can be downloaded from the developer website over at Favesoft.

But that is it. There is no option to align windows on a grid, or next to each other so that all space between the windows is used up. Neither is there an option to store window positions and sizes on the desktop.

Gridy is a small portable software for Windows that adds additional aligning options to the Windows desktop.

The application places an icon in the system tray. Clicking that icon displays the list of available options.

align windows desktop

The main feature is available right after startup. Windows will automatically align on an invisible grid, which makes it easier to align them next to each other.

About a dozen additional options are provided, all of which are triggered with keyboard shortcuts.

Windows can be moved by pressing the Windows key plus an arrow key on the keyboard. Users who add Shift to that keyboard combination can resize the window at the same time.

The shortcut Windows-Shift-Home stores the size of the active window in the memory, and Windows-Home resizes the active window to that size again.

The keys Windows-Ctrl-Numpad[1-9] stores the size and position of a window in memory, and Windows-Numpad[1-9] restores the window size and position again.

Windows-F10 toggles transparency for the active window, Windows-F11 toggles the alt-tab icon and Windows-F12 makes the active window stay always on top.

Gridy uses little resources while running. It is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows operating systems. We have tested it on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit and could not find any incompatibilities, the program worked as intended.

The My Computer Icon is a special icon that is placed on the computer desktop of some Windows operating systems. It is possible to remove the icon from the desktop which is the main cause for the my computer icon is gone problems.

There is thankfully though a very easy solution to put the my computer icon back on the desktop. The following guide explains how to do this in Windows 7. The principle is on the other hand the same for Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Open the Windows start menu by clicking on the orb in the lower left corner of the task bar. Locate the Computer link on the right side and right-click it. Select the Show On Desktop option. Et Voila. The my computer icon is back on the Windows desktop.

Windows XP users can also try the following to restore the my computer icons.

Restore Icons to the Desktop
In Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Professional, the new Start menu is enabled by default. When the new Start menu is enabled, the My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places icons are removed from the desktop. To restore these icons, follow these steps:

• Right-click the desktop and click Properties.
• Click the Desktop tab.
• Click Customize desktop.
• Click the General tab, and then click the icons that you want to place on the desktop.
• Click OK.

Windows Vista or Windows 7 users can enable the my computer icons this way as well:

Right-click the Windows desktop and select Personalize

Click on Change desktop icons in the upper left sidebar of the new window.

Select the desktop icons that you want to restore. Available are My Computer, Recycle Bin, Control Panel, Network and the user folder.

Click the apply button after the changes

The following tip can be helpful if it is not appearing, which can for instance be the case if the computer user has configured Windows to show no icons on the desktop.

Right-click a blank space on the Windows desktop, select View from the menu and make sure “show desktop icons” is enabled in the menu.

The my computer icon might also be hidden from view but still on the desktop. This can be best tested by selecting to auto arrange the icons (right-click the desktop, select view, then auto arrange icons).

These techniques can also be used to remove icons from the computer desktop. Do you have another tip on how to restore the my computer icons in Windows? Let us know in the comments.

The missing desktop icons can however be displayed again easily. Some users might think that they have lost all of their desktop icons, they should however be visible in Windows Explorer for instance in the Desktop directory that is by default listed under Favorites in the left quick navigation menu in Windows Explorer.

The missing desktop icons can be displayed again by right-clicking the computer desktop and selecting View > Show Desktop Icons. They should appear immediately after making the change in the menu. A checkmark should be visible after selecting the entry.

The same menu contains additional options like displaying or hiding gadgets, aligning icons or changing the size of the desktop icons. It would be nice to hear if someone else has noticed that problem in Windows 7.

Icons can also be piled up on the BumpTop desktop easily. It is for example possible to create a pile of all Word documents or photos on the desktop. They can also be fanned out quickly to see what files it contains. The pro version adds flipping through the pile with the scroll wheel to that. Icon sizes can be altered manually to give them more room on the desktop which makes it easier to identify them. The pro version will grow popular files automatically.

The search as you type feature will identify matching icons on the computer desktop instantly and it only takes the enter key to open them. Other options include sorting them or bundling them together no matter where they are located on the desktop. Icons can also be tossed around or pinned to walls.

Tossing icons around on the desktop applies to interfaces as well. Tossing a document on the printer will print it while tossing a photo on the Facebook icon will upload it to the web portal. Facebook, Twitter and Email are currently supported by BumpTop. Several other features can be accessed like adding photo RSS feeds to the desktop or utilizing the capabilities of touch-screen interfaces.

BumpTop is fun to play around with. It does take some practice to get used to the new interface though. It is a well thought out Windows desktop alternative.

Win Layout adds 33 new keyboard shortcuts to the Windows operating system that can be used to manipulate open windows easily. Most of the keyboard shortcuts make use of a combination of the Windows, Alt and CTRL keys plus the numpad.

Pressing the Windows key plus the numpad keys 1-9 will move the active window into the corner of the windows desktop. Adding the alt key to that combination will move the active window and resize it at the same time. Resizing will either change the size of the window in half or a fourth depending on the numpad key that is pressed.

Using CTRL instead of ALT with Windows and the numpad keys between 1 to 9 will snap the window to a corner of the computer desktop. The difference between resizing and snapping is the fact that the resizing shortcut will always result in the same window size while snapping windows will not.

The remaining keyboard shortcuts make it possible to increase or resize the window size and to move the active window one pixel into a specific direction.

Win Layout uses roughly 6 Megabytes of computer memory while running. Not really lightweight but acceptable for users who use the software program extensively.

AeroPeek for Windows XP and Windows Vista tries to mimic that behavior. It works by clicking on the program’s system tray icon which will hide all active windows and display the computer desktop instead. Another click on the icon will display the windows again. This is different from the behavior in Windows 7 as it is now possible to interact with desktop elements.

The main use for this feature however is the display of desktop gadgets and other information that are displayed on the desktop. It is different from pressing [Windows D] which will minimize all windows and bring them back upon pressing the keyboard shortcut again. Windows D may change the active window when used while Aero Peek will always return to the window that has been active before.

Still most users will probably prefer the Windows D shortcut as it does not require another software to be running permanently in the background. Aero Peek requires the Microsoft .net Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 and a computer running Windows XP or Windows Vista.