Rethinking the computer ‘desktop’ as a concept

Re:Rethinking the computer ‘desktop’ as a concept by BoppreH on Monday May 31, 2021 @06:05PM (#27348527)

Fun fact: in Windows, the location of the Desktop is dynamic and can be changed via SHSetKnownFolderPath. This allows you to display the contents of any folder in the desktop.

Years ago I made a gadget that sat on the top right corner of the desktop[1]. It contained a stack of buttons, one for each folder that I was working on. You could add more folders by dragging them on the gadget.

It's liberating not having to keep a file explorer window to access the current project, and you can easily access it with the Windows+D hotkey that minimizes/restores all windows. Use it to open files, or drag stuff to/from other open applications.

[1]: The magic incantation was:

    # Requires pywin32
    from win32com.shell import shell, shellcon
    shell.SHSetFolderPath(shellcon.CSIDL_DESKTOP, 'C:/new/path/', 0)
    shell.SHChangeNotify(shellcon.SHCNE_ASSOCCHANGED, shellcon.SHCNF_IDLIST, [], [])

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Re:Rethinking the computer ‘desktop’ as a concept by moraziel on Monday May 31, 2021 @06:51PM (#27348974)

Reminds me of Deskmate (on the Tandy 1000) which allowed you to choose a current directory. It would display files in the current directory under the icon for the relevant program.

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Re:Rethinking the computer ‘desktop’ as a concept by mattowen_uk on Tuesday June 01, 2021 @03:57AM (#27351738)

What happens (on the desktop) when you have too many files to show? Many of my 'working' folders have 1,000s of files.

Personally, I have the complete opposite strategy:

Using Windows file/folder security, deny yourself access to your own 'Desktop' folder. Not only does doing this prevent you from lazily dropping/saving files onto it, it also has has the added effect of hiding ALL the desktop icons, so you end up with 100% clean desktop.

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Re:Rethinking the computer ‘desktop’ as a concept by BoppreH on Tuesday June 01, 2021 @04:13AM (#27351806)

My main uses are writing software and reports, none of which creates 1,000's of files under the main folder. So I guess my gadget would not be appropriate for this use case.

> Not only does doing this prevent you from lazily dropping/saving files onto it

That's the thing, it's only considered "lazy" because it's faster but the files end up in a disorganized location. By pointing the desktop somewhere more useful, you get all the speed benefits without the disorganization downsides.

You do have to weight it against your love of your wallpaper, though.

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Re:Rethinking the computer ‘desktop’ as a concept by frosted-flakes on Tuesday June 01, 2021 @12:43PM (#27357394)

You can just turn off desktop icons via the context menu. The files are still there, but you need to access them from a Explorer window.

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