Getting started
What happens the first time you run DeskDrawer, and the four things worth doing in your first five minutes.
DeskDrawer has no setup wizard, no account and no first-run questionnaire. You start it and your desktop is already organized into one board. Everything after that is optional.
What happens on first run#
- DeskDrawer reads what is currently on your desktop.
- It creates one board — the Default board — containing every item it found.
- It hides the Native icon layer so you do not see every icon twice.
- It places its icon in the system tray. There is no main window; the tray icon is the application.
Nothing has been moved. The desktop folder on disk is exactly as it was — see Board membership.
Your first five minutes#
1. Make a second board#
Right-click the tray icon and choose New board, or right-click a board's name and choose the same. An empty board appears.
2. Move some icons into it#
Drag icons from the first board onto the new one. You can drag several at once: hold Ctrl while clicking, or drag a selection rectangle across empty space — the band crosses board boundaries, so you can sweep up icons from several boards in one gesture.
3. Size and place the boards#
Drag a board by its name block, in the bottom-right Board widget. Resize with the Corner grip beside it. Both snap: boards align to the Icon grid and sit flush against screen edges and each other, so a tidy layout takes seconds rather than pixel-nudging.
4. Turn the outlines off#
Right-click a board's name → toggle Outline. This is the mode most people settle on: the board becomes invisible, you see grouped icons on your wallpaper, and the widget appears only when your pointer is over the board.
Two things that surprise people#
Your desktop still works like your desktop. Right-click an icon and you get the real Windows menu, with every extension you have installed. F2 renames. Delete recycles. Drag a file out to an Explorer window and it copies or moves for real. See Menus and Keyboard & mouse.
Win+D does not hide your boards. Boards are the desktop now, so showing the desktop shows them. Use the taskbar or Alt+Tab to get minimized windows back.
Where to go next#
- Boards — the board object in full
- Menus — the three menus and which is which
- Keyboard & mouse — the complete gesture and shortcut reference