Creating user desktop

[Robin Bignall]

I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

Put the shortcuts you both want to use in "C:\Users\Public\Desktop\"
Put the shortcuts only you can use in "C:\Users\[you]\Desktop\"
Put the shortcuts only the wife wants to use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"

 

[Robin Bignall]

Explain what you mean by "links". Short cuts? If they're short cuts,
just delete them.

If I log on as her I'm not an administrator and cannot delete anything.

 

[Robin Bignall]

I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

1. Put the shortcuts you both want to use in "C:\Users\Public\Desktop\"
2. Put the shortcuts only you can use in "C:\Users\[you]\Desktop\"
3. Put the shortcuts only the wife wants to use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"

In 3. there's only one shortcut, but when I log on as her I see most of
2. on the desktop. I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone
into 1. for all users, and I'll have to do some shuffling around.

 

[Bob I]

If I log on as her I'm not an administrator and cannot delete anything.

No, you log in with an admin capable profile and edit the other profiles.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

1. Put the shortcuts you both want to use in "C:\Users\Public\Desktop\"
2. Put the shortcuts only you can use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"
3. Put the shortcuts only the wife wants to use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"

In 3. there's only one shortcut, but when I log on as her I see most of
2. on the desktop. I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone
into 1. for all users, and I'll have to do some shuffling around.

If you are actually looking on the Desktop, i.e., as displayed on the
Desktop, you will be confused.

Log on as an administrator (your own account, for example) and look in
the *folders* that Crash mentioned. Open each in a separate window to
facilitate comparison.

You should see that the problem ones you see *on* the [wife] Desktop
appear *in* the folder Public\Desktop. Move those to [you]\Desktop and
you should be happier. I.e., they should now be *on* your Desktop and
not on hers.

As a safety measure, try one or two unimportant shortcuts first to see
if it works as advertised.

 

[Robin Bignall]

Robin Bignall wrote:
I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

1. Put the shortcuts you both want to use in "C:\Users\Public\Desktop\"
2. Put the shortcuts only you can use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"
3. Put the shortcuts only the wife wants to use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"

In 3. there's only one shortcut, but when I log on as her I see most of
2. on the desktop. I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone
into 1. for all users, and I'll have to do some shuffling around.

If you are actually looking on the Desktop, i.e., as displayed on the
Desktop, you will be confused.

Log on as an administrator (your own account, for example) and look in
the *folders* that Crash mentioned. Open each in a separate window to
facilitate comparison.

You should see that the problem ones you see *on* the [wife] Desktop
appear *in* the folder Public\Desktop. Move those to [you]\Desktop and
you should be happier. I.e., they should now be *on* your Desktop and
not on hers.

As a safety measure, try one or two unimportant shortcuts first to see
if it works as advertised.

Simply does not work. In Users, firstly there is no \desktop in
\Public. I suppose I could create one, but that's not the point. Second,
in \Wife, there is only one shortcut in the \Desktop folder -- the one I
made for her. All of my software is in shortcuts in my \Desktop, but
when I log on as her, they all appear on her desktop screen rather than
being private to me.

 

[Char Jackson]

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 11:09:29 -0400, "Dave \"Crash\" Dummy"

Robin Bignall wrote:
I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

1. Put the shortcuts you both want to use in "C:\Users\Public\Desktop\"
2. Put the shortcuts only you can use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"
3. Put the shortcuts only the wife wants to use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"

In 3. there's only one shortcut, but when I log on as her I see most of
2. on the desktop. I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone
into 1. for all users, and I'll have to do some shuffling around.

If you are actually looking on the Desktop, i.e., as displayed on the
Desktop, you will be confused.

Log on as an administrator (your own account, for example) and look in
the *folders* that Crash mentioned. Open each in a separate window to
facilitate comparison.

You should see that the problem ones you see *on* the [wife] Desktop
appear *in* the folder Public\Desktop. Move those to [you]\Desktop and
you should be happier. I.e., they should now be *on* your Desktop and
not on hers.

As a safety measure, try one or two unimportant shortcuts first to see
if it works as advertised.

Simply does not work. In Users, firstly there is no \desktop in
\Public.

Don't fret, none of my systems appeared to have it, either. Since the
Public Desktop is a hidden folder, I figured I'd be able to see it by
enabling the option to Show Hidden Folders, but no dice. Finally, I
clicked the Start Orb and typed "%public%\desktop" <Enter>, and up it
popped! Now that I can see it, I can also navigate to it in Windows
Explorer. As Dave said above, it's at C:\Users\Public\Desktop. I guess
you may have to jump through the same hoops in order to actually see
it.

 

[...winston]

"Robin Bignall" wrote in message news:[email protected] does not work. In Users, firstly there is no \desktop in
\Public. I suppose I could create one, but that's not the point. Second,
in \Wife, there is only one shortcut in the \Desktop folder -- the one I
made for her. All of my software is in shortcuts in my \Desktop, but
when I log on as her, they all appear on her desktop screen rather than
being private to me.
That's because the locations for the shortcuts noted earlier don't reside in those location for programs installed for all users of
the pc.
Those shortcuts reside in
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and its subfolders

If you delete them from this location without first copying them to the respective user's Start Menu\Programs folder then you will
delete them for **all** users of the pc.
i.e. you need to properly copy the respective shortcuts/folders to each users Start Menu/Programs folder/subfolders to achieve
your desired objective.
e.g.
for you
C:\Users\<Windows Logon Profile name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
for hers
C:\Users\<**her** Windows Logon Profile name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
for both of you (**important**)
Leave them in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and its subfolders

Once done then the 'you/hers' specific shortcuts in the ProgramData\....\Programs folders and subfolders can be backed up for
safekeeping and then deleted...but caution is warranted if deleting...installed programs wrote these locations to the registry thus
uninstalling a program may look for those shortcuts and not find them.

In the future, you may also find that not all programs abide by installing 'Run' shortcuts to the desired User Profile's Start Menu
folder and will continue to install into the ProgramData\...\Programs folders and subfolders.

You can achieve your objective but you'll have to do it properly, with caution, and an understanding of the impact.

Good luck.

 

[Char Jackson]

"Robin Bignall" wrote in message news:[email protected]...
Simply does not work. In Users, firstly there is no \desktop in
\Public. I suppose I could create one, but that's not the point. Second,
in \Wife, there is only one shortcut in the \Desktop folder -- the one I
made for her. All of my software is in shortcuts in my \Desktop, but
when I log on as her, they all appear on her desktop screen rather than
being private to me.

That's because the locations for the shortcuts noted earlier don't reside in those location for programs installed for all users of
the pc.
Those shortcuts reside in
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and its subfolders

<snip>

Robin seems to be asking about Desktop shortcuts, but you've pointed
him to Start Menu shortcuts. What's up?

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 11:09:29 -0400, "Dave \"Crash\" Dummy"

Robin Bignall wrote:
I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

1. Put the shortcuts you both want to use in "C:\Users\Public\Desktop\"
2. Put the shortcuts only you can use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"
3. Put the shortcuts only the wife wants to use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"

In 3. there's only one shortcut, but when I log on as her I see most of
2. on the desktop. I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone
into 1. for all users, and I'll have to do some shuffling around.

If you are actually looking on the Desktop, i.e., as displayed on the
Desktop, you will be confused.

Log on as an administrator (your own account, for example) and look in
the *folders* that Crash mentioned. Open each in a separate window to
facilitate comparison.

You should see that the problem ones you see *on* the [wife] Desktop
appear *in* the folder Public\Desktop. Move those to [you]\Desktop and
you should be happier. I.e., they should now be *on* your Desktop and
not on hers.

As a safety measure, try one or two unimportant shortcuts first to see
if it works as advertised.

Simply does not work. In Users, firstly there is no \desktop in
\Public. I suppose I could create one, but that's not the point. Second,
in \Wife, there is only one shortcut in the \Desktop folder -- the one I
made for her. All of my software is in shortcuts in my \Desktop, but
when I log on as her, they all appear on her desktop screen rather than
being private to me.

Windows is weird. My public desktop is this:

C:\Users\Public\Public Desktop

when I view it in Explorer, but if I copy the path from the address bar,
I get this:

C:\Users\Public\Desktop

I have no idea what appears in your Explorer, of course, but on my PC, I
have configured both hidden files and system files to be visible.

It seems odd that what works here doesn't work on your computer, so I'll
have to bow out - but I will keep reading this thread to see what I
learn...

 

[...winston]

"Char Jackson" wrote in message Robin seems to be asking about Desktop shortcuts, but you've pointed
him to Start Menu shortcuts. What's up?
Desktop was lower case -> desktop
and wrote
"so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else"
and
later stated
" I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone into 1. for all users"

Unless one relocates the desired shortcuts in ProgramsData\...\Start Menu to a location solely accessible for each specific user,
those applications will continue to be accessible by any user of the pc and not 'private to me' as Robin desired

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Windows is weird. My public desktop is this:

C:\Users\Public\Public Desktop

when I view it in Explorer, but if I copy the path from the address
bar, I get this:

C:\Users\Public\Desktop

I have no idea what appears in your Explorer, of course, but on my
PC, I have configured both hidden files and system files to be
visible.

It seems odd that what works here doesn't work on your computer, so
I'll have to bow out - but I will keep reading this thread to see
what I learn...

I see it as "C:\Users\Public\Desktop" in Explorer. It is a hidden
folder, and I have "show hidden files, folders, and drives" enabled. I
am also using Classic Shell, which includes "Classic Explorer." I don't
know what effect that may have.

 

[Char Jackson]

"Char Jackson" wrote in message
Robin seems to be asking about Desktop shortcuts, but you've pointed
him to Start Menu shortcuts. What's up?

Desktop was lower case -> desktop
and wrote
"so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else"
and
later stated
" I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone into 1. for all users"

Unless one relocates the desired shortcuts in ProgramsData\...\Start Menu to a location solely accessible for each specific user,
those applications will continue to be accessible by any user of the pc and not 'private to me' as Robin desired

It still seems to me that you're mixing the start menu with the
desktop, but thanks for the reply, even if I didn't understand it.

 

[Char Jackson]

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 21:04:43 +0100, Robin Bignall wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 11:09:29 -0400, "Dave \"Crash\" Dummy"

Robin Bignall wrote:
I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

1. Put the shortcuts you both want to use in "C:\Users\Public\Desktop\"
2. Put the shortcuts only you can use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"
3. Put the shortcuts only the wife wants to use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"

In 3. there's only one shortcut, but when I log on as her I see most of
2. on the desktop. I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone
into 1. for all users, and I'll have to do some shuffling around.

If you are actually looking on the Desktop, i.e., as displayed on the
Desktop, you will be confused.

Log on as an administrator (your own account, for example) and look in
the *folders* that Crash mentioned. Open each in a separate window to
facilitate comparison.

You should see that the problem ones you see *on* the [wife] Desktop
appear *in* the folder Public\Desktop. Move those to [you]\Desktop and
you should be happier. I.e., they should now be *on* your Desktop and
not on hers.

As a safety measure, try one or two unimportant shortcuts first to see
if it works as advertised.

Simply does not work. In Users, firstly there is no \desktop in
\Public. I suppose I could create one, but that's not the point. Second,
in \Wife, there is only one shortcut in the \Desktop folder -- the one I
made for her. All of my software is in shortcuts in my \Desktop, but
when I log on as her, they all appear on her desktop screen rather than
being private to me.

Windows is weird. My public desktop is this:

C:\Users\Public\Public Desktop

when I view it in Explorer, but if I copy the path from the address bar,
I get this:

C:\Users\Public\Desktop

All of the Public folders are that way. 'Public' is only tagged on for
display purposes and isn't part of the actual folder path. Windows has
been doing similar display tricks since at least XP, within the Docs &
Settings folder tree.

I have no idea what appears in your Explorer, of course, but on my PC, I
have configured both hidden files and system files to be visible.

It seems odd that what works here doesn't work on your computer, so I'll
have to bow out - but I will keep reading this thread to see what I
learn...

Even when hidden folders are configured to be hidden, they can be
accessed by hitting the Start Orb and typing the path there. In this
case, %public%\desktop or c:\users\public\desktop does the trick.

 

[Robin Bignall]

<snip>

Robin seems to be asking about Desktop shortcuts, but you've pointed
him to Start Menu shortcuts. What's up?

Yes I was, and now that I've revealed hidden files I can see
users\public\desktop, which contains shortcuts for most of my programs
and explains why they appear on my wife's desktop. I think I will leave
these desktops well alone. It's not worth the bother to try to alter
them.
Thanks to all.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 16:04:34 -0700, "Gene E. Bloch"

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 21:04:43 +0100, Robin Bignall wrote:

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 11:09:29 -0400, "Dave \"Crash\" Dummy"

Robin Bignall wrote:
I've created a non-administrator logon for my wife, and its desktop
shows most of the apps that are installed on this PC. I want to remove
the links to most of these from her desktop and just leave the apps she
needs. If I look at her desktop in Users there're only a couple of
links so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else. Is it
possible to do what I want?

1. Put the shortcuts you both want to use in "C:\Users\Public\Desktop\"
2. Put the shortcuts only you can use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"
3. Put the shortcuts only the wife wants to use in "C:\Users\[wife]\Desktop\"

In 3. there's only one shortcut, but when I log on as her I see most of
2. on the desktop. I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone
into 1. for all users, and I'll have to do some shuffling around.

If you are actually looking on the Desktop, i.e., as displayed on the
Desktop, you will be confused.

Log on as an administrator (your own account, for example) and look in
the *folders* that Crash mentioned. Open each in a separate window to
facilitate comparison.

You should see that the problem ones you see *on* the [wife] Desktop
appear *in* the folder Public\Desktop. Move those to [you]\Desktop and
you should be happier. I.e., they should now be *on* your Desktop and
not on hers.

As a safety measure, try one or two unimportant shortcuts first to see
if it works as advertised.

Simply does not work. In Users, firstly there is no \desktop in
\Public. I suppose I could create one, but that's not the point. Second,
in \Wife, there is only one shortcut in the \Desktop folder -- the one I
made for her. All of my software is in shortcuts in my \Desktop, but
when I log on as her, they all appear on her desktop screen rather than
being private to me.

Windows is weird. My public desktop is this:

C:\Users\Public\Public Desktop

when I view it in Explorer, but if I copy the path from the address bar,
I get this:

C:\Users\Public\Desktop

All of the Public folders are that way. 'Public' is only tagged on for
display purposes and isn't part of the actual folder path. Windows has
been doing similar display tricks since at least XP, within the Docs &
Settings folder tree.

OK - I have experienced that, but obviously I needed you to remind me

Even when hidden folders are configured to be hidden, they can be
accessed by hitting the Start Orb and typing the path there. In this
case, %public%\desktop or c:\users\public\desktop does the trick.

That is a technique I ought to remember for those times when I need to
help someone (which is very rare). Since I always expose my hidden and
system files, I never needed it for myself.

Well, not quite. Sometimes, it's the easiest way to get to some places,
like the Send To folder, and I vaguely knew that...

 

[...winston]

One could easily add shortcuts to the 'Desktop' for each respective user.
Doing so does not make any other program private since the shortcuts are stored in ProgramsData's subfolder 'StartMenu' and
accessible to any user of the computer.

i.e. just because one has a shortcut for a program on the desktop does not prevent said user from opening any other program. The
only method to achieve 'private' is to relocate the programs present in \ProgramsData\...\StartMenu.


--
....winston
msft mvp mail


"Char Jackson" wrote in message

"Char Jackson" wrote in message
Robin seems to be asking about Desktop shortcuts, but you've pointed
him to Start Menu shortcuts. What's up?

Desktop was lower case -> desktop
and wrote
"so the rest must be carried over from somewhere else"
and
later stated
" I suspect that most of what I've installed has gone into 1. for all users"

Unless one relocates the desired shortcuts in ProgramsData\...\Start Menu to a location solely accessible for each specific user,
those applications will continue to be accessible by any user of the pc and not 'private to me' as Robin desired

It still seems to me that you're mixing the start menu with the
desktop, but thanks for the reply, even if I didn't understand it.

 

[Char Jackson]

One could easily add shortcuts to the 'Desktop' for each respective user.
Doing so does not make any other program private since the shortcuts are stored in ProgramsData's subfolder 'StartMenu' and
accessible to any user of the computer.

i.e. just because one has a shortcut for a program on the desktop does not prevent said user from opening any other program. The
only method to achieve 'private' is to relocate the programs present in \ProgramsData\...\StartMenu.

I guess we're going around in circles. The OP originally asked about
desktop shortcuts and later confirmed that he was only asking about
desktop shortcuts, so any references to start menu shortcuts are only
distractions.

 

[Robin Bignall]

I guess we're going around in circles. The OP originally asked about
desktop shortcuts and later confirmed that he was only asking about
desktop shortcuts, so any references to start menu shortcuts are only
distractions.

True. I understand the difference. Since the contents of the
\public\desktop are all just shortcuts, theoretically I could just
delete them all and they wouldn't appear on wife's desktop. But someone
mentioned installers and uninstallers, and maybe messing up where Win7
thinks it's put things, and it's just not worth tinkering.