Your computer looks the same every day and you’ve decided it’s time to make a change and customize it according to your needs. Obviously without making radical changes, what you would like to do is customize the desktop and you wonder if there are programs that do everything in a few clicks, so you don’t have to waste too much time.
Well, if that’s indeed the case, you’ve certainly got a good idea: of course they exist and there are even some free ones. Do you want to know what programs to use to customize the desktop of your Windows computer or the desktop of your trusty Apple computer? What’s the big deal? I’m happy to give you a hand to perform this task.
Since I imagine that this topic is of absolute interest to you, I suggest you take some free time to carefully read this guide of mine in which you will find several useful tips and step-by-step instructions. Are you ready to get started? Yes? Great! Have a great read!
Fences (Windows)
If you have decided to customize the desktop of your computer and want to use a program to put some order on the virtual desk, my first advice is to use Fences, an excellent program available for computers with Windows operating system of which I want to tell you lines below.
Regarding the possibilities of customizing the desktop, I can assure you that you are faced with one of the best software in circulation, as it presents different customization possibilities allowing you to order all the icons that are present on the desktop of your computer, through the subdivision in which thematic panes.
Despite being a historic software designed to be used on older generation Windows computers, this program can still be suitable on Windows 10 since it is compatible with the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system.
Regarding the analysis of its most outstanding features, it is a software that presents various features for customizing the deskop: basically, the program takes care of automatically dividing the icons into different customizable panes.
However, it is a paid software that fortunately you can try and take advantage of for free for a limited time period of 30 days, so you can evaluate its functionality.
However, after this period has expired, it is necessary to purchase the paid version, or alternatively, it is possible to purchase an even more advanced version of this software; for the latter, there is no trial period.
To try Fences on your computer and start customizing your desktop, connect to the official Fences website and press the Try it Free button!
Clean (macOS)
As far as Mac computers are concerned, the program that I feel like recommending to you is called Clean and it is a software that, as the name suggests, helps you customize your desktop through an automatic work of cleaning up unnecessary icons.
This program is free and can be downloaded very easily via the Mac App Store. If you’re interested in using it, just click this link to view its preview screen and download it to your Apple computer.
Although this is a program with basic functionality, I believe that its use is effective in getting rid of unnecessary icons from the Desktop. In fact, the feature of this software allows you to group icons on your desktop in a predefined folder or within a folder of your choice, thus performing a manual or automatic cleanup.
As explained, the grouped icons disappear from the Desktop but, by default, end up placed in a folder that will be created by the software. You can find this folder by following the path /Documents/Desktop.
Excuse me? Are you curious to try this software? Then download it from the Mac App Store using the link I provided and then launch it. After you have customized the program’s operation from the Settings section, click on the Status section and press the Start & Hide button.
Shock Desktop (Windows)
Although a bit outdated, Shock Desktop software is still a good program to use even on Windows 10 computers to customize your computer’s desktop. In fact, it is a historic program that, even when used with older operating systems (Windows XP, Windows Vista and even Windows 200), provides you with different options related to customizing your virtual desktop.
Since it is a historic program, it presents a somewhat dated user interface but for this reason it is easy to use.
Among its most prominent features is the ability to organize icons on the Windows desktop by saving the order and restoring it later. This software also allows you to hide icon labels and customize your desktop by arranging icons in original shapes such as a star, circle or heart.
I chose to tell you about this program since it presents itself in a small size and is very easy to use. Once you have installed it, it will be present in the Windows notification area next to the clock and you can start it by right-clicking on its icon.
Thus you’ll see a dropdown screen where you’ll be able to carry out all the operations that will let you customize your computer’s desktop.
Therefore, if you are interested in using the program I recommend you to connect to its official website to download it.
Nimi Places (Windows)
Equipped with features similar to Fences software, the Nimi Places program turns out to be great when it comes to customizing and organizing the desktop on Windows computers.
I choose to tell you about this program since it requires no installation and you can therefore use it in no time.
Nimi Places is a free software available only for Windows computers that allows you to organize your desktop: as anticipated, its functionalities are very similar to those of Fences, since it allows you to create thematic panes within which to organize the icons present on the desktop of your Windows computer.
This program as well as being compatible with all major versions of Windows and therefore also with Windows 10 is free and lightweight: it is therefore a viable alternative to Fences, program of which I told you in detail in the previous lines.
If you feel that this program can arouse your interest, then I invite you to connect to its official website and press the Download button to download it.
ICU – Icon Configuration Utility (Windows)
If you want to customize your computer’s desktop but are afraid of making too many radical changes, I suggest you try using the Icon Configuration Utility software (its abbreviation is ICU) as it will allow you to customize and organize your computer’s virtual desktop without too much disruption.
I want to tell you about this software since it is free and does not require installation; its basic operation allows you to save and restore the position of icons on the desktop. It is therefore a tool designed for those who frequently download files and want to always keep the virtual desktop of their computer in order, without having to manually put the icons in place.
This software features an English-language user interface so you’ll have to get familiar with it to understand how to use it; however, it is also very useful because of the ability to add a shortcut to the desktop so that icons are restored to their previous position at the click of a button.
So if you want to use it to set and save a default location for the icons you have on your desktop so that you can restore it later, download and run the program to start using it.
After that, to save the current icon position press the Save button. If you want the program to create a desktop shortcut to the current icon location, check the Create shortcut on Save box.
Later you can restore the desktop icons by clicking on the shortcut created on the desktop; alternatively you can also launch the program and, after clicking on the save button, press the Restore button.
To download Icon Configuration Utility connect to its official website.
AutoHideDesktopIcons (Windows)
An alternative solution that will allow you to customize your computer’s desktop is to use a program that automatically hides icons on the virtual desktop, such as AutoHideDesktopIcons.
This is a solution that lets you customize your Desktop without having to change the order of the icons or organize them in folders.
This software is especially useful for those who have the “habit” of keeping all the icons on their computer’s desktop and just want to hide them to avoid having a desk that, in the eyes of others, looks too cluttered.
So this software takes care of desktop customization but its only function is to automatically hide desktop icons after a set period of time. The icons that have been hidden obviously do not disappear completely but reappear by simply clicking on the desktop.
As I mentioned before, the idle time after which the icons are hidden can be adjusted by yourself using this program. You can also hide the taskbar in no time and just as easily: you only need to check the item Hide system tray and set the idle time.
I also recommend using this software since its user interface is in Italian and its use is very intuitive. If you want to download it to your computer, connect to its official website now.