Let’s say you have several windows open and you need to access something you have from your desktop. You have a couple of options here. You can always use the Show Desktop button, which will minimize all of your windows (Windows Key + D, for you keyboard lovers). However, if your desktop has become cluttered with icons, as many of ours do over time (since it’s a convenient place to put things), sometimes it becomes difficult to weed through the iconic mess. One way to look at the desktop a different way is to make your desktop accessible from the task bar at the bottom of the screen. To do so, complete the following:
- Right click in the blank area of your task bar. Select Toolbars at the top.
- The menu option should then expand. Select Desktop.
- You should now see an object on your task bar that looks similar to the first image above.
In addition to the desktop items, you will also find that you now have links to your Libraries, your Homegroup, your user profile, and the Control Panel. This will basically give you a one stop shop for just about anything you might need, accessible right from your task bar.
Do you have a few minutes and wish to take this a step further? You could now organize the icons and files on your desktop into folders, which will immediately show up in the task bar when you click on the desktop object. For example, if you have programs that are similar, such as web browsers, you could create a folder on your desktop called ‘Browsers’ and move the shortcuts into that folder. Even if you choose not to organize your files, at least you will get a more textual representation of the items on your desktop, which may be easier to read and find what it is you’re looking for.
If you want a little bit more control over organizing your shortcuts, LostInTechnology has a nice article on a tool called Quick Pop Menu that will allow you to organize your shortcuts and make them accessible from within the system tray. Quick Pop Menu also gives you the ability to quickly access your menu through the use of a keyboard shortcut. One of my favorite features of this tool is that it doesn’t require you to install anything. Just download the program, extract it (unzip it) and execute the program. While the program will not reappear when you restart or log off, you can easily set it to run at Windows Startup by simply changing a setting within the program.
Depending on how much control you want over your shortcuts, either option works well.
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