Clean Up That Desktop
If you are like most of us, your Desktop is filled with all sorts of things that you never use. Things just seem to appear and before you know it, you can't even see the beautiful wallpaper you just put on your computer!
What are these things? Most of the items that get placed on your desktop are shortcuts to start various programs. These shortcuts are usually also located in your Start Menu (Start -> Programs). So, you may actually delete these Desktop Shortcuts without losing anything.
Other items that may be on your desktop include installation files for programs you have downloaded from the internet. If you download a program to your desktop and then run it to install the program, you may safely delete the original file you downloaded after the installation completes.
To delete all of these pesky little shortcuts and installation files from your desktop, simply right-click on the icon you wish to delete and then left-click Delete. If you need anything that you deleted back, you can always go into your trash bin and restore the file (as long as you haven't emptied your trash).
If you would like to have a quick way to launch your program, but don't want the shortcut on your desktop, you can always move the shortcut down to your quick launch bar. To do this, right-click on the shortcut and left-click Cut. Now right-click in a blank area of your quick launch bar and left-click Move.
Before you know it, you can see your computer wallpaper again! Let's just see how long it takes for you to cover it back up 😊
Once you have removed everything you want to, you can now arrange your icons. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can drag and drop the icons where you want them, or you can allow Windows to auto-arrange the icons for you. To have Windows arrange your icons, right-click a black area of your Desktop and left-click Arrange Icons. Now left-click how you would like to have your icons arranged: By Name, By Type, By Size, or By Date. If you would like Windows to continually arrange icons as you add or remove them to your Desktop, select the Auto Arrange option.