Least cluttered Windows Desktop:
Pffff, if you don’t attach to the grid you got way more space for files.
Gotta arrange by penis
If anybody needs me, I’ll be here for the next half hour or so.
…there’s no “sort by penis”…
Nice. It’s girth will grow for each new file saved.
Can you sort this by penis? Internet Explorer needs to be at the tip or I won’t be able to find it.
Thank you so much for this, setting this as my wallpaper right now.
You’re welcome!
There is a folder in my (Linux) desktop called “Old Desktop”
There’s a folder inside “Old Desktop” called… “Old Desktop”.
Are you me? Haha recently I went looking through them and was appalled. Not enough to actually do anything about it though.
I have the same but with the whole home directory.
/home/user/old_home/old_home/old_home
Man, zooming in and looking at these icons was like a blast from the (not too far) past.
Where’s Bonzi Buddy?
Aww, I love TWID! Thanks for the reminder, haven’t watched it in awhile
Same here.
Oh, that’s easy to clean up. Just open explorer, go to desktop, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+X, make a new folder called 2025-Jan, and then inside of that folder, Ctrl+V. Problem solved, forever.
Where was that file? Oh, My Documents/Old Desktops/2023 November/2023 April/2022 December. Of course.
pokemon blue, nice
Me: “I’ve got an elaborate folder structure for all my documents.”
Windows: “You want to put this in the root directory of OneDrive.”
Me: "No, I want to put it in \SpecialFiles\ProjectName\IterationNo\DetailedSchematic"
Windows: “Root directory of OneDrive it is.”
I fucking hate onedrive sooo much for this, it kills me a little everytime and it happens all the time. Im just a husk at this point. God damn fuck you onedrive.
Uninstall it. It’s an optional component.
Not on work locked down pcs its not.
Exactly.
Because My Documents is where Windows keeps all your save games from the last decade and beyond, because why would I use it to store MY DOCUMENTS?
That’s why I debloat windows anytime I do a new install. Drop that box 🥊
It’s a work computer, so my options are limited
I absolutely do it the other way. Nothing is on my desktop except for the trash bin. There is a shortcut to the file explorer and browser pinned to the task bar. And that’s it.
There is nothing at all on my desktop except for a text document created by my girlfriend saying that she loves me that she snuck on there when I wasn’t looking.
Bro you didn’t have to come here just to brag…
Mine used the sticky note app makes me smile every time I open my laptop.
i don’t even have icons enabled on my desktop. Now I don’t have to feel stressed about cleaning it up
Ah, a person of culture! Though I admit everything that I regularly use is pinned to the taskbar.
Taskbar is all you need. Also, the windows/meta button, then just typing (or if you’re in KDE, literally just typing) the thing I want to do and hitting enter. Fuck desktop icons.
Yeah, this is the way. Disable icons and recycle bin too.
You’re ready for GNOME.
What’s gnome?
Assuming you’re not joking: Gnome Desktop Environment.
Thanks. I wasn’t joking. But it doesn’t look like something for me. It looks like Apples iOS, and I hate everything apple related.
Windows + E for file explorer as well, when you can’t be bothered with the mouse. I wish you were able to pin specific folders to the taskbar, as opposed to just general explorer. I want to save one click.
I use my keyboard as little as possible, so shortcut keys aren’t for me. I use a laptop, and am usually lying on the couch, too far to reach the keyboard. I have a few shortcuts mapped to my mouse. You’d be surprised how much I can surf the web with just the mouse. And sometimes even with my left hand.
I’d be happy if those apps were asking to save to Documents like in the screenshot. But alas, reality is much more cruel. They always want to save to some vague OneDrive location, and won’t even show you the local file browser without extra steps.
If yOU dOn’T uSe oNEdrIvE iT is IMpOssiBle to AuTO sAve! The technology just doesn’t exist to save on a timer without involving the cloud!
F12
Documents, Desktop and Picture folders are just moved from the user folder into the user folder\OneDrive folder.
Other than that it work exactly the same.
OneDrive also always has a local folder. Usually in your user folder.
You can blame a lot on OneDrive, but this isn’t one of them.
I don’t want any of my files uploaded to OneDrive; therefore I don’t want to save them in the OneDrive folder. I have other folders where I’d like to save my files instead.
So the behaviour I described is a persistent annoyance for me; despite you telling me it isn’t a problem.
I don’t mind OneDrive sync, I like it honestly.
What I absolutely do not want, is my Desktop on One Drive. For starters, its often a scratch place. I don’t want it instantly pushing 6GB of photos I just pulled off my camera’s memory card to the cloud before I can sorr them.
You see, I have OneDrive disabled and set to not sync.
It still wants me to save to a OneDrive directory, simply because I’m signed into my Microsoft account.
Microsoft and application developers treat the Documents folder like a total dumping ground for whatever random nonsense they can dream up. No wonder people look elsewhere. Need to store user files? Documents. A database? Documents. Giant cache files? Documents. Config? Documents. Executables? Fuck it put those in Documents too.
Why would I ever store my real documents in a folder so littered with shit that I can never find anything? It’s not like the search actually works.
Also as a Linux user myself and to head off any smugness, developers do the same thing with the home directory so users end up inventing weird ways to stay organized.
I don’t ever search for files/folders in explorer’s browser anymore. I just use Everything and TreeSize at this point. Windows’ search function is pointless.
I have my files meticulously organized in hierarchical folders that sync across all my devices through One Drive and to my NAS through One Drive.
I hate that Microsoft wants to dump everything in Documents.
Also, for SOME FUCKING REASON, my work system, wants to put everything into the root of One Drive. Like fuck please put it in Documents at least. I don’t want ANYTHING in the root folder if I can avoid it, aside from maybe the occasional super special thing.
Today I used Alt+Space to open krunner, typed the name of a C script I’m working on, and it pulled up search results for the file, as well as relevant websites I visited related to that title, and in that moment I realized how much I missed out growing up with Explorer.
Good god. Putting stuff in the desktop is a big yuck. Your desktop probably looks like your room.
The desktop is like the inbox of files, inbox-zero it and it’s a tidy place to keep things in focus until they’re sorted and filed away or deleted.
If a cluttered desktop is a sign of a cluttered mind, what does an empty one signify?
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The visitor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself, “it is overfull, no more will go in!”.
“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “your desktop is full of documents and shortcuts. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
Zen
I alternate between a cluttered and empty desktop.
Can confirm.
take it back
No
Saving to desktop is insane behaviour and the OP just told on herself.
Rebuttal, with a physical desk you put things you need right now on top in the open. You wouldn’t grab something off the printer and put it into a drawer first, then reopen the drawer to get it out of your need it now.
The desktop is “right now” workspace. Why bother to put it into a folder whose only purpose is not to take things out of to put elsewhere? I could at least understand people who download direct to documents… but that still leaves a mess to clean up with installers and such.
Downloading to the desktop is not only sane, but more efficient.
Leaving everything on your desktop is a different conversation though.
Desktop is for empty space so when you close everything it’s clean
I definitely would go ahead and put the printed document directly into a hanging file in my desk drawer if I could read/use the document without ever moving it like I can on a computer…
Somehow I’m doubting that you keep all your computer files in your download folder. You still have to move it. My way just makes it obvious it needs to be filled instead of leaving it on the junk drawer.
And the physical desk analogy still holds. Yeah you put it in a folder in the drawer, but it’s the wrong one. Unless you are specifying a custom filepath for each file, in which case, carry on.
Unless you are specifying a custom filepath for each file, in which case, carry on.
This one is correct. I always setup my browser to ask where to put each download, and then send it to the file it needs to live in. Usually have the “default” be the home folder so I can easily browse to the subsequent folder quickly. The browser doesn’t just get to decide where to put stuff or it would all be a mess eventually anyway.
Rock on, you are an inspiration to us all.
I just do everything out of my file manager. I use Krusader, which has twin panes and tabs.
You reminded me of this funny tweet
I agree, but I think the tone of the joke suggests that OP is at least somewhat self-aware
I am the opposite and I absolutely hate it when I have to work on someone’s laptop with cluttered desktop and folders. Mine only has a taskbar at bottom and clock widget at bottom right corner. All temporary files goes to downloads or to organised directories. What’s the point of having a nice wallpaper if you can’t enjoy it.
I’m the same way. I will tolerate no icons on my desktop. It’s widgets or nothin’.
Now, my physical desktop, on the other hand…
You do at least have some shortcuts on your desktop, right?
Otherwise, why have a desktop?
You can open a picture if you want to look at it
You do at least have some shortcuts on your desktop, right?
Not OC, but no, that’s what the taskbar is for, I use my iconless desktop as a space to drag windows around and multitask
Everything from start menu shortcuts. Much cleaner and nicer that way.
Edit: I am using KDE plasma so not the full screen start menu like in windows but the small box on bottom left with about 15 icons that I regularly use.
That’s what the super key is for, you hit the super key and start typing the name of whatever it is you want and hit enter just like a phone
So, what, remember the names of all the things I could want? Also, “just like a phone”?
Yeah like on a cell phone you type the name of the app and it shows up
What’s the point of having a nice wallpaper if you can’t enjoy it.
That’s what the aecond monitor is for
Microsoft: put it in OneDrive. We will use your content to train our AI models. No really this is fine.
I use downloads instead, it mainly functions as a temporary folder where anything unimportant can live and once it gets a scroll bar it all gets deleted. For the very rare things that are important I could then move them after.
Everything downloads to the desktop, that way it’s in my face so I have to deal with it.
The clutter on the desktop annoys me into cleaning it up, but I’ll ignore a downloads folder once I’ve grabbed whatever I just downloaded.
you are the first person i’ve know to also do this! it really does help
I do this too. I do not like anything on my Desktop, but I download files to there, which forces me to deal with them. Interestingly enough, my Downloads directory is a barren wasteland.
But… You can just download things to their deserved spot in the first place?? Why the extra step
Desktop is my temp space. There are files with a very limited shelf live (logs I downloaded to search something, screenshots, …) so I have to clean them up on a regular base before my desktop becomes too crowded and I get annoyed.
A lot of stuff don’t have a spot. And no, I’m not putting that meme template I will need for 5 minutes into the tmp folder, I’m not insane.
That requires effort up-front every time I click download.
I’d rather just click ‘download’ and let it go to an easy to find default location. The desktop means I won’t just forget about it for months. It may sit there for a day or two, but it definitely won’t get ignored the way a folder I rarely look at does; because the clutter right in my face annoys me into cleaning it up.
Working around/against my own procrastination.
This is a word document. Where should you save a word document?
In the documents folder. The documents folder.
That’s right! You save it to the desktop!
no… No please…
What about this picture file? Where would you save a picture file?
In the pictures folder. Cmon…
That’s right! You save it to the desktop!
oh god why…
I just downloaded this file… Where should I save it?
The… The downloads folder?
That’s right! You save it to the desktop!
: '-(
For those that don’t know… This is a reference to this video. https://youtu.be/cUbIkNUFs-4?si=4kxIC8qsvdW0FVAZ
I would expect nothing less from a filthy outlook user
People who save files on the desktop deserve to use Windows.
People who use desktop as your unsorted downloads folder, who hurt you?
I use the desktop as a very temporary folder. Because I’ll be annoyed by having stuff on there and will delete them as soon as I don’t need them any more.
My downloads folder has random installers from 2021.
As god intended (sorted by downloaded date)
Why would I hide downloads in the downloads folder?
Kidding. I use downloads for downloads.
Desktop is for WIP project files.
