Guest hk Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 I am using Windows XP Pro and just getting familiar with some of the differences between Pro and Home. Having trouble figuring out why I have file and folder icons filling up my desktop. I absolutely hate them and cannot find a way to make it stop. Everytime I create a new file folder, or file in a Microsoft product or Nero, an icon for that folder or document appears on my desktop. I have my folder defaults set up differently but it keeps putting everything on desktop. Is driving me crazy! If I try to move or delete the icon, the file or folder itself is deleted. What am I missing? Thank you.
Guest HeyBub Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 Re: All Microsoft programs create a desktop icon - don't want it! hk wrote: > I am using Windows XP Pro and just getting familiar with some of the > differences between Pro and Home. Having trouble figuring out why I > have file and folder icons filling up my desktop. I absolutely hate > them and cannot find a way to make it stop. > > Everytime I create a new file folder, or file in a Microsoft product > or Nero, an icon for that folder or document appears on my desktop. > I have my folder defaults set up differently but it keeps putting > everything on desktop. Is driving me crazy! > > If I try to move or delete the icon, the file or folder itself is > deleted. You're creating files "on the desktop." Look for the little arrow in the lower-left corner of the icon. If it's not there, you don't have a shortcut, you have a file or folder.
Guest hk Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 Re: All Microsoft programs create a desktop icon - don't want it! Yes, I am creating files on the desktop but not on purpose! The icons are not shortcuts, they are actually files and folders with icons on the desktop. Problem is, is that I do not want them on my desktop. Even when I save my file within Word, for example, as E:\docs\test.doc a stupid icon for it appears on the desktop. What setting can I change that will stop this? "HeyBub" wrote: > hk wrote: > > I am using Windows XP Pro and just getting familiar with some of the > > differences between Pro and Home. Having trouble figuring out why I > > have file and folder icons filling up my desktop. I absolutely hate > > them and cannot find a way to make it stop. > > > > Everytime I create a new file folder, or file in a Microsoft product > > or Nero, an icon for that folder or document appears on my desktop. > > I have my folder defaults set up differently but it keeps putting > > everything on desktop. Is driving me crazy! > > > > If I try to move or delete the icon, the file or folder itself is > > deleted. > > You're creating files "on the desktop." > > Look for the little arrow in the lower-left corner of the icon. If it's not > there, you don't have a shortcut, you have a file or folder. > > >
Guest Stephen Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 Re: All Microsoft programs create a desktop icon - don't want it! What is your drive E: ? Is this an internal hard drive, or something removable? If the latter, you should NEVER open files from, or save files to, removable media. You should copy from removable media to an internal hard drive and open from there. Then you should save to an internal hard drive and copy from there back to the removable media. Applications (such as Word and Excel) create temporary files whilst working. When using a hard drive, this is in the same directory as you open from or save to. But for removable media the situation may be different - indeed, it has to be for some media (for instance, a one-time write CD). This may be why you are finding files deposited on your desktop. BTW, if you open a file direct from removable media and then disconnect that media (deliberately or by accident) before closing the file, it can crash and corrupt the file so as to make it unusable! Stephen "hk" <hk@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:61D5E675-29CF-4468-B361-36F3600881C1@microsoft.com... > Yes, I am creating files on the desktop but not on purpose! The icons are > not shortcuts, they are actually files and folders with icons on the > desktop. > Problem is, is that I do not want them on my desktop. Even when I save my > file within Word, for example, as E:\docs\test.doc a stupid icon for it > appears on the desktop. What setting can I change that will stop this? > > > > "HeyBub" wrote: > >> hk wrote: >> > I am using Windows XP Pro and just getting familiar with some of the >> > differences between Pro and Home. Having trouble figuring out why I >> > have file and folder icons filling up my desktop. I absolutely hate >> > them and cannot find a way to make it stop. >> > >> > Everytime I create a new file folder, or file in a Microsoft product >> > or Nero, an icon for that folder or document appears on my desktop. >> > I have my folder defaults set up differently but it keeps putting >> > everything on desktop. Is driving me crazy! >> > >> > If I try to move or delete the icon, the file or folder itself is >> > deleted. >> >> You're creating files "on the desktop." >> >> Look for the little arrow in the lower-left corner of the icon. If it's >> not >> there, you don't have a shortcut, you have a file or folder. >> >> >>
Guest hk Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 Re: All Microsoft programs create a desktop icon - don't want it! Thanks for the info. folks but I still have the problem. E is an internal hard drive. And the icons are indeed files/folders, not shortcuts. Just to verify that I was seeing things correctly I did the following: 1-Opened Word & verified (through Tools, Options, File Locations) that my default data and auto recovery location is the E drive. 2-created a quick document in Word and saved as "test". My default file location did not show up - I had to monkey around and set it. In the sidebar, although desktop is at the bottom of my list, it is the file to default! This is the first clue that something is wrong. In my former Home version of XP I did not have to go through those steps - the file would automatically be written to E. 3-exited program. 4-My file is in the E drive, but there is also an icon for the file on my desktop. There must be a switch that is set to override everything to the desktop but I cannot find that switch. Any other ideas? Thanks again
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 Re: All Microsoft programs create a desktop icon - don't want it! On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:35:02 -0700, hk <hk@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: > Yes, I am creating files on the desktop but not on purpose! The icons are > not shortcuts, they are actually files and folders with icons on the desktop. > Problem is, is that I do not want them on my desktop. Even when I save my > file within Word, for example, as E:\docs\test.doc a stupid icon for it > appears on the desktop. What setting can I change that will stop this? Go to the file on the desktop. right click on it and choose Properties. What does it show there? Is there a Shortcut tab? What does it say? > "HeyBub" wrote: > > > hk wrote: > > > I am using Windows XP Pro and just getting familiar with some of the > > > differences between Pro and Home. Having trouble figuring out why I > > > have file and folder icons filling up my desktop. I absolutely hate > > > them and cannot find a way to make it stop. > > > > > > Everytime I create a new file folder, or file in a Microsoft product > > > or Nero, an icon for that folder or document appears on my desktop. > > > I have my folder defaults set up differently but it keeps putting > > > everything on desktop. Is driving me crazy! > > > > > > If I try to move or delete the icon, the file or folder itself is > > > deleted. > > > > You're creating files "on the desktop." > > > > Look for the little arrow in the lower-left corner of the icon. If it's not > > there, you don't have a shortcut, you have a file or folder. > > > > > > -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest hk Posted September 28, 2007 Posted September 28, 2007 Re: All Microsoft programs create a desktop icon - don't want it! The properties all look like a standard file. There is no short cut tab. I do not see anything on the various tabs that show any switches for desktop. Totally weird.
Guest Poprivet Posted September 29, 2007 Posted September 29, 2007 Re: All Microsoft programs create a desktop icon - don't want it! -- -- How to Post to more than one group: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossposting
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