Egypt4u

Like most people (I believe) I use my desktop to dump things for quick reference and/or filing away properly later on. My desktop was SO cluttered this afternoon that I had a spring clean and either filed away or deleted items no longer required. So my desktop now looks like this with just those shortcuts that I use frequently.


How do you manage your desktop? Are you fastidious and clean up regularly or do you let it get to a state of being covered with icons such that you MUST have a spring clean?

I am ashamed to say that my Desktop is usually a mess, folders everywhere plus loads of individual files scattered about When it gets really bad I have to tidy it up.

Not for me. Zero, zip and almost nada ever gets put onto my desktop. I have only the bare minimum that comes with the laptop on there. Everything gets immediately filed away......course.....come to think on it my workplace desk in real life was like that too. Couldn't ever stand the clutter. Might have 1 pile for a while but it wouldn't last long.

I've just got 4 - Recycle bin, Mcafee, HP Support and HP Smart Friend. I hate a cluttered desktop, but have found that I keep it clear on a large screen, but filled my netbook full.

I think it's because with a bigger screen I put more on my taskbar - I don't use a taskbar on a netbook. I've got about half a dozen on this bigger taskbar, that's all.

Glad you mentioned the taskbar MD. I have many shortcuts like E4U and others. I also have dozens under different headings under Bookmarks. All told I probably have well over 100 shortcuts available but only a handful actually on the desktop that I use quite frequently.
I change the wallpaper fairly frequently and try to use something with some clear area so that icons are easy to see.
Anyone on Win10? Have you noticed the random selection of photos that come up each time you boot. Some of those would make a good wallpaper image....

You will probably find that all those random images are stored in a folder somewhere, if so you could just use one yourself as a wallpaper

On my laptop which Windows 10 it's easy to stop the changing pictures and keep the one you like as wallpaper.

There you go Grandad, its simple

I have Windows 10 and I don't mind seeing all the changing photos when I open the laptop although I do seem to have acquired one static picture that stays on my desktop. I've never bothered to change it and it is a water/mountain scene and the few icons I do have sit well. Mostly I use the Task Bar but sometimes I do click on an icon.

I disposed of my desktop PC a couple of months ago, but my desktop WAS messy on it! I've got so used to using my iPad now, that I couldn't go back to anything else on a daily basis. I do have a laptop with Windows 7 but it's used so little that every time I need to use it, I have to use it while it's charging. The desktop on that is reasonably clear.

My desktop is cluttered a bit but to the sides............all my folders to left & Roy's to the right

I have noticed how quite a few of you only use tablets or Laptops, I could not manage what I do with just those options. As we speak I am looking at a 28" monitor set to Landscape mode and a 24" monitor set to Portrait, that means I can set the screen resolution very high so the icons are quite small to look at but still clear. Just imagine the amount I have on my screen if I consider it to be cluttered

I prefer a desktop but got used to travelling with a laptop, thus having everything at my fingertips where ever I happened to be.

I like a key board as I touch type. I learned on a blank keyed typewriter, three keys at a time starting from the centre, so if I'm asked where a key is, I automatically move the appropriate finger as I work it out as I don't consciously know where they are. Thus predictive text is slow for me. Weird really.

I can't touch type, I use two fingers, but I am pretty fast at it and subconsciously know where every key is located. Strange as it may seem I once took the RSI typing exam and passed with a distinction.

I have a 23" screen and my typing is like Horus, I know where all the keys are and just use a few fingers. I know people can do all they need on tablets but I cannot believe that things like cut/copy/paste and drag and drop can be as easy and quick as on a PC, especially moving stuff between files and folders.

I would find it impossible to do stuff like this engineering design work I am doing for a friends company on anything other than a desktop machine.

I know I'm thick, but why Horus?

Mad Dilys wrote:I know I'm thick, but why Horus?

That’s a hard one MD as there is no single quick answer, but let me start by saying that the image I posted was an exceedingly accurate 3D representation of what will become a real object. Other than being able to touch it the object is virtually real, it can be viewed from any perspective and in any detail down to fractions of a millimetre, it is not just a picture as you would create in say ‘Paint’ or similar art software. To create it you need very powerful software that is only used by professional people due to its high cost, in addition it takes a lot of skill to use the software properly, especially when designing in three dimensions, (3D) I myself have a ‘City & Guilds’ qualification to use this software in a professional design capacity.

Next we have the size of the screen, take a look at the working area and note all of the icons, all are required and every one has either several ‘fly out’ options or drop down sub menus. Even with your screen set to a high resolution it is difficult to get everything on and still leave clear working space, remember to have to be able to work all around the object and the more complex it is the more difficult it becomes. Then we have in some cases numerous other drawings that may need referencing, so all these need to be opened on the screen with some or several viewed side by side.

In addition a full size keyboard and a mouse are essential as many ‘commands’ need to be typed directly onto the screen as you work, far easier with a remote keyboard and a mouse for your right hand, (I am right handed) quite often for speed I am typing in a command with my left hand and clicking the mouse with my right.

Then you need to apply a solid shape over your design drawing and render it to give it reality. You may also wish to add a certain texture, colour or material to the object to make it look more realistic as in the blue plastic look of the item I posted above, so behind that picture is a huge amount of work you do not see. All of this can also take up a lot of processing power, memory and graphics capability that most Laptops lack, plus a lot smaller screen area so you cannot see small details easily and this is even worse with a tablet. Hope this answers your question

Note the amount of icons around the screen


This is the sort of detail that has to be drawn to create the image, note the confusion of lines near the centre
All these lines have to be drawn in 3 dimentional space, so not only do they go from left to right, but they also go forwards and backwards on the screen.


Here you can see the above drawing lines with a series of textures added to a solid rendered shell


This image can now be rotated and turned to be viewed at any angle or perspective I may choose. For all intents and purposes it is a real item, note how you can look at items not usually visible such as the wicks and holders on this oil lamp.


I think you will agree that trying to do something like this (although not impossible) would be very difficult on a small screen.

Fantastic! Excellent explanation, answered all my questions. Thank you Horus.

Double Dutch to me but it did remind a bit on when you were explaining all different layers

in photography to me...............still don't like layers