Desktop Tools

Virtual Desktop Manager is a Microsoft Powertoy for Windows XP. It allows you to maintain up to 4 different desktops, each with it`s own applications and desktop wallpapers. It integrates into the taskbar and allows you to quickly switch between your virtual desktops. You can also assign keyboard hotkeys to switch between or preview all 4 desktops at once. For example, you can open your e-mail program on one desktop, an Internet chess game on the second, several Internet sessions on the third, and multiple database sessions on the fourth.

Dexpot allows you to create multiple, virtual desktops to increase the work area of your screen by up to 20 times. Each virtual desktop is independent from the others and can have its individual wallpaper, resolution, and icons (or no icons at all). You can easily switch between desktops from the tray icon, or via hotkey, or even use an automatic desktop slideshow that rotates all virtual desktops. In addition, you can move and copy windows from one desktop to another among the desktops, set up rules to automatically move, copy or close windows and more. Dexpot is one of the most advanced desktop managers out there, that is easy enough for beginners, but offers some great flexibility for more demanding users as well.

Taskbar Shuffle is a small and simple program, that add a handy new functionality to your Windows taskbar - it enables you to rearrange the taskbar buttons by simply dragging them around. This feature can be quite useful if the order and arrangement of your taskbar buttons is of importance to you. Makes you wonder why the taskbar did not come with this feature in the first place.

ClocX is a truly beautiful analog clock enhancement for your desktop. You can choose from a wide variety of styles, all of them high quality and very attractive. You can also use it to run one-time or recurring alarms, that can play a sound file, launch a message box or run an application of your choice. In addition, the program offers features like antialiasing, transparency, click through, calendar display, customizable priority and more. If you never thought, you`d need a desktop clock, ClocX may change your mind!

Flash Wallpaper allows you to convert any Flash (.swf) file into a distributable desktop wallpaper. Just select the Flash file to use, set a few options, preview the result and the let the program create the installer setup, that you can distribute (for non-commercial use) or use on your own computer. The freeware version is intended for personal use, and has some of the commercial features disabled.

Atmosphere Lite enables you to bring the sounds of nature to your desktop. You can choose from various sourroundings such as tropical, thunderstorm, nighttime, summer, fireside and several others or customize your own soundscape from the sounds provided. In addition, the program includes a simpla alarm clock feature.

Desktop Sidebar is a toolbar that tightly integrates with Windows features and MS Outlook. It is built out of different components, each can be individually configured. Options include Outlook email overview, preview, notes, calendar entries (mail items can be previewed directly from the bar) as well as performance statistics, disk space usage, customizable mews headlines, access to Google and other search engines and more. Desktop Sidebar also integrates Windows Media Player controls, the QuickLaunch bar, commandline launcher and more. You can add new items and configure the layout and design in many aspects. The program is nicely done and makes a very attractive and useful add-on for your desktop. It can be displayed permanently or auto-hide itself when not in use.

Icon Restore allows you to save your desktop icon layout and restore it when needed. If you have ever changed your desktop resolution temporarily, you will have noticed that your desktop icons are all messed up, after you switch back. This little tool allows you to right click on the My Computer icon and select `Restore Desktop Icon Layout` and everything will be back in order. Very useful for people that have to change the screen resolution often.

IconTweaker allows you to customize Windows with different sets of icon themes. It comes with several themes to choose from and additional ones can be added later. You can choose to change all icons according to the theme, and also set different icons for selected files and/or folders. The program provides an easy to use interface, and can restore your original icons at any time.

RK Launcher is a visually pleasing replacement for the Windows taskbar, that closely resembles the MacIntosh taskbar with full color icons and mouseover animation effects (zooming). It automatically keeps track of minimized Windows and newly installed programs, and also functions as an application launcher that you can use to launch your favorite programs by simply dragging them onto the taskbar. Advanced users can fully customize the appearance via configuration files.

DS Clock is a digital desktop clock that displays variable date and time information. The program allows you to customize its look and feel, and can synchronize your clock from a list of Internet time servers. You can select any combination of date and time, pick custom colors and fonts and optionally set a custom sound to play at the top/half of the hour.

Transbar is a small and simple tool that allows you to make your Windows 2000/XP taskbar transparent. Simply select the level of transparency and apply it.

Windowpaper XP lets you customize the background of your folders with wallpapers in the same way, you can customize your desktop. It allows you to select a custom background image for any folder you want, specify the font color (to make it stick out) and instantly preview the results. Very easy to use, useful tool for those that like to customize their workspace.

DeskPins allows you to keep any window on top of others with a few clicks. While many programs offer this as a feature, others do not, and in such cases DeskPins comes handy. In addition, you can also define rules that use the window title (with wildcard support) and can automatically keep any window on top that matches your rules. The `on top` window is marked with a colored pin that can be quickly removed by simply clicking on it, returning the window to its normal state.

CursorFX enables you to apply special effects to your Windows 2000/XP mouse cursor. It includes several themes that are semi-transparent and feature more advanced shadows and alpha blending. CursorFX is configured directly from your Control Panel/Mouse Properties dialog. Additional themes can be downloaded. A Pro version with additional features is also available.

Synergy is an open-source software that enables you to share a single mouse and keyboard with multiple other machines that are connected via a TCP/IP network. You can simply move your mouse off the edge of your main screen to enter the screen of a secondary computer to the left or right of you. While your mouse remains on the other PCs desktop you can control it with your main mouse and keyboard, and to return control to your main computer, simply move the mouse back. Synergy allows you to configure multiple computers, it needs to be installed on each of the computers to be controlled. The initial configuration can be a little confusing, and the docs are mostly aimed at technical users. Basically you have to tell the program what to do when the mouse passes the designated edge of your screen, and also how to get back on your main screen. (Look at our screenshot for a configuration that uses a secondary computer to the left.)

Visual Task Tips is a handy Windows shell enhancement that displays a thumbnail snapshot of any Windows that was minimized to the Windows taskbar. Just hover your mouse over a taskbar item and instead of the standard info tip, you will see a small snapshot of the Window. Visual Task Tips works with minimized folder, applications and web pages.

Transform XP to Vista installs 3 applications that make your XP computer look a little more like Vista. It adds the Microsoft Zune theme, a ton of Yahoo! Widgets and the free version of Vista Start Menu (by the same developer). While the Zune theme and Yahoo! widgets deliver most of the Vista-like appearance and gadget functionalities, the additional start menu enhancement adds a finishing touch to it.

Stick enables you to organize your desktop with screen tabs, that allow you to access folders with a single click. You can create a new tab for each folder you want to access; the tabs are placed along the top edge of your desktop and can be accessed from anywhere. The program also includes a very simple notepad-like tab that allows you to quickly write down a note., as well as a handy quick launcher (Windows Key + Space bar) that lets you just type in the first few letters of an application to launch it.

A Ruler for Windows is an on-screen pixel ruler, that allows you to perform measurements on your screen. It comes with to skins that resemble a wood ruler and a transparent plastic ruler. You can customize the length of the ruler, use it vertical or horizontal, and even magnify the screen up to 4x for more accurate measurements. A Ruler for Windows only supports pixel units.

Desk Drive is a handy software that adds convenient shortcuts to USB thumb drives, removable drives and DVDs to your desktop. When you first insert a USB drive or DVD, the Windows autoplay feature will provide you with quick access to the media content, however subsequent access to the drive usually requires you to go through Windows Explorer to find the mapped drive and open it. Desk Drive overcomes this inconvenience by adding a shortcut to the desktop that provides one-click access to the drive for as long as it is inserted. The program runs in the system tray and detect a new drive as soon as it is inserted. It automatically removes the shortcut when the drive is ejected.

LogonStudio allows you to customize the Windows XP logon and shutdown screens, by choosing from a variety of theme designs. The program include 3 designs and many others can be freely downloaded. Includes an option to restore your default screens. LogonStudio is free, but not supported by the developers.

TaskSwitchXP is a replacement for the standard Windows task switcher dialog (Alt+Tab), which has remained virtually unchanged since Windows 95. It provides the same functionality, and adds visual styles to the dialog and also enhances it by displaying small screenshots of the application in addition to the associated icon. The dialog can also be customized on a per-user basis with optional font settings , transparency and more. (Open Source)

JR Screen Ruler is an easy to use, small screen ruler that you can use to measure distances on your screen. It supports pixels, centimeters, picas and inches and can be adjusted in length to fit your screen.

Wallpaper Master allows you to change your desktop wallpaper automatically every X minutes. You can create your own categories, using images on your computer, and cycle through one or multiple categories in random order, listed order or based on your personal ratings. The programs offers advanced auto-size options to make sure your images are displayed in with optimized size. You can also change the wallpaper instantly by simply clicking the tray icon. Additional features include customizable position and background color, directory monitoring and more.

DoubleDesktop is a simple and very efficient system tray-based utility that effectively doubles the width of your Windows desktop. Just click on its tray icon or hit a keystroke combination to switch between "left" and "right" parts of the virtual desktop. This lets you easily rearrange all your application windows between the two desktop parts. To move a window from the one virtual screen to another, just drag the window beyond the right or left screen boundaries. Then, switch the desktop and pull the window the rest of the way through. You can choose different wallpaper and desktop icons title colors for both screens. Exiting the program returns your main desktop back to its normal state, with all programs intact.

ActivIcons allows you to customize the Windows desktop icon and cursor attributes. You can use animated icons on your desktop, customize the default icons for Network Neighborhood, My Computer, Favorites and other. In addition, you can change default mouse cursors, make shortcut labels transparent, change icon text color, replace Windows startup/shutdown screens, rebuild the icon cache, change the Start button image, save and restore desktop icon positions, and more.

Yahoo! Widgets Engine is a JavaScript runtime engine that lets you run small programs called Widgets that can perform a variety of tasks. These desktop plug-ins can perform a variety of tasks and are available from many different sources. The default installation includes a Yahoo email checker, weather forecast, desktop photo frame, day planner and more. More than a thousand additional widgets can be downloaded from the Widget Library.

Tidy Start Menu allows you to easily organize the programs in your Start/Programs menu, by sorting them into several categories, which will be created as folders in your Programs menu. Instead of having dozens of application folders and entries, you can reduce the initial level to 5-8 categorized folders and then directly navigate to the programs within that category. Of course this can be easily accomplished by using standard Windows features (creating folders and dragging items into them), and Tidy Start Menu only makes the task a little easier for novice users by using simple check boxes to assign programs to a category. The free version is limited to 8 pre-defined categories, which should accommodate the average user - if you want to create more categories, you will have to purchase an advanced version. (In this case however we would really recommend to invest a few minutes of your time and organize the Programs menu yourself)

WPChanger is an easy to use tool to automatically cycle through your collection of desktop wallpapers. Just add the images to be included n the cycle, and it will show them in a list with thumbnail previews. If you prefer not to switch your wallpaper automatically, you can let the program run in the tray, and quickly change wallpapers manually by simply double-clicking on one. Some additional features include conversion to grayscale, image stretching and random cycle, and an option to create a screensaver from the selected images..

MagicBin is a small utility/game, that allows you to play virtual basketball with files before deleting them. It resembles a larger recycle bin icon, and allows you to throw files into the bin, bouncing them off the edges of your desktop... Each file you successfully send into the bin, is deleted and also gets a grade. Complete with bouncing sounds, applause and all. Great utility for those that have too much time on their hands.