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JL, 18 March 2007 Desktop Organization Spring is calling and it's time for me to take a break from this.  I may be back to JLog but more sporadically.  And I still plan on updating the family charts in Jgen and adding items to Links. I'll leave you for now with something that has nothing to do with genealogy, except if you consider more easily navigating around your files and folders an important issue for sanity's sake. I have no doubt there are numerous options available for this purpose.  I'll just tell you what I found to fit the bill. Once it was all working I had no need to look any further.   I used to have shortcuts all over my desktop and then I would get tired of looking at them and delete them all. Then I'd bring a few back, and a few more, until I couldn't stand it again and delete them all again.  Then I discovered a most curious trick in Windows.  If you have My Documents on your desktop you're ready to go.  If not, go to your start menu, right click and send it there.  OK, now, drag the icon all the way over to the left side of your screen as far as you can and let go of it.  If you don't like it, you can right click on an empty space in the toolbar and close it.  If you seem to have no empty space to click in try the tiny space right below where it says My Documents.  If you're going to keep it you have the choice of either large or small icons.  I've done the same thing with My Computer on the top edge of the screen. Actually it will work with any folder but there's only 3 edges so choose carefully.   Now I have one-click access to the top-level content in either of these two folders and that's alot.  My desktop is cleared for ATNotes and program installers passing through.  All that open space feels good.  Maybe I'll even put on a more inspired background picture someday.  On the right edge of the screen I use RUNit.  Anytime I have to shut down all my programs to install something new, and it's not there for a few minutes, I feel lost.  It's a good friend.  The website and installer seem to have disappeared off the internet, so I am making the setup file available here.  Download   This is where I put my programs.  RUNit is very easy to set up.  When you first install and open this program it's just a small box and there's no list, of course, so just click where it says Setup RUNit.  It will open this menu. Click "Add File" and then browse to your Program Files, assuming you want a program, double click on that folder and find the folder for the program you want, open that and click on the .exe icon.  It's usually obvious.  It's the one that looks like the program icon which you will recognize from the shortcuts you used to use.  If you pick the wrong icon you'll know about it soon enough as it won't open the program as you would expect. Repeat that for each program, or folder or individual file you want added to your list. Use the up and down arrows (above) to move each item to where you want it in the list and click Close. The list always stays off my screen until I right-click my cursor on that edge and then it will open displaying the list for me.  It can be set up in different ways and you can make those choices by clicking Options in the box above.  I only keep a maximum of what will fit on that list without having to scroll down as that would defeat the purpose which is speed. There is a new program on the internet called RunIT.  Not the program described above.  This new one is a cross between a file indexer and a desktop organization tool.  You add items to the list yourself along with identifying keywords, and then later you can search by keyword.  Search will bring up a box showing you files connected to that keyword from which you choose the appropriate item.  It makes me tired just thinking about it.  I wasn't looking but more recently I came across another one that fits right in, called FileBox EXtender.  Since the arrival of Vista the developers are not interested in having to redesign the software to comply so they've put it out as a free offering, for anyone still wanting it.  It's very similar to RUNit (the original) in that you choose to create a list of often-used files and folders for simpler access.  It's very easy to add new items or delete ones no longer in constant use. Again, the idea is speed.  It's a good place for sub and sub-sub folders that take a couple extra clicks to get to the old-fashioned way.   The "configure" screen looks like this: When you click on "new item" another box comes up where you browse to the file or folder you want added to your list. When you're finished there, you click "Hide" and there will be only an icon in the system tray.  Left-clicking on that will bring up your list from anywhere. Another one I like is called 4t Tray Minimizer.  What this does is put any program, file or folder you minimize into icon form in the system tray, rather than piling up the extended versions along the taskbar Windows' style.   If you have it starting up with Windows by default, all you have to do after that is use the button to the left of the Windows' minimize button, on any program.  (It will show in most.) The free version is just fine.  For $20 you can have more options.