Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with windows and desktop

Can you save remote desktop connections to log in to different user accounts?

Mokusatsu — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:36:27 -0800

Is it possible (in Windows Vista Ultimate) to save remote desktop connections to the same computer but for different users? i.e. have icons in my quick launch menu which log me in with a click to user1 or user2? I have a computer which is used for several specific purposes, accessed only by remote desktop (i.e. it sits in a back room and is rarely used in person).

I want to be able to quickly access each of the individual accounts by saving an RDP file and then shortcutting to that from my quick launch bar.

So I enter the credentials for user1 and "save as" the RDP file as username1.rdp and drag it onto the quick launch bar.

Clicking on this RDP logs me in to user1's account.

Then I open remote desktop again, enter the credentials for user2 and save username2.rdp.

When I click on username2.rdp, I get instantly logged in to user2's account.

So far so good.

But if I close that and click on username1.rdp, I get logged into user2. If I manually change the credentials by opening remote desktop and enter the credentials to user 1, username1.rdp will on the next attempt log me into user1's account, as does username2.rdp.

So saving a connection doesn't save the credentials, it possibly saves the computer I'm logging into, but not the user.

Am I doing it wrong or does an RDP file just not contain credentials? Is there some way I can set it up so I can one-click log in via several icons to any one of several accounts?

How do I hook Windows desktop folder clicks?

long — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:38:45 -0800

I'd like to write a program for Windows XP that detects when a folder on the desktop is clicked and switches the desktop location to that folder, instead of the default Explorer behavior of opening the folder in a window. Roughly, the program will behave like this:
1. User left-clicks folder A on the desktop.
2. Program captures the click, changes the appropriate registry keys, and refreshes the desktop view so that folder A's contents are now displayed on the desktop. (Folder A does not open in an explorer window).

I'm competent at programming, but don't have much experience with the Windows API or hooking. From some googling, I gather that a decent approach is to hook WH_MOUSE_LL, but it seems that detecting whether the clicked object is a folder is non-trivial and potentially kludgey.

Can you advise a general approach that (1) accomplishes the described behavior and (2) isn't too hacky?

Thanks so much,
Long

iCal for windows?

Phire — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:48:09 -0800

Offline Calendar application for Windows that is not Sunbird? I find myself without the internet far more often than without my computer, so I would prefer keeping something as vital to my peace of mind as my calendar offline. I've experimented with Mozilla Sunbird, but it's got a bunch of little quirks and flaws that bug me, and I'd like to see what else is out there.

I would essentially like to replicate the features of Sunbird, but perhaps in the form of a more smooth and polished interface. If Google Calendar were available as a standalone desktop application (and perhaps it is, and I'm just not aware of it), I'd be all over that. So far, I use Sunbird to list classes, wildly fluctuating meetings, as well as micromanage and plan out my study schedule - it's as much a to-do list as an events calendar.

So is there a Windows calendar application out there that does what iCal does better than Sunbird?

How to keep Google Desktop gadgets without the search?

inbetweener — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:54:42 -0800

Is there a way to keep Google Desktop without it hijacking Vista's search? I installed Google Desktop on my Vista Home Ultimate PC. I want to keep it installed because I like the gadgets.

However, I really don't like the way it hijacks the windows search (which I much prefer to the Google Desktop Search).

Could anyone suggest a way to keep the gadgets but ditch the Google desktop search - Google helpfully doesn't provide an option...

Laptop and projector need to play together nicely.

wile e — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:02:33 -0800

Managing a projector with a laptop at a different resolution. The short: classroom training sessions with a Dell laptop hooked up to a projector is giving me some issues, looking for advice on how to rectify the situation. Windows Vista Ultimate
Dell Vostro 1400 w/ embedded Intel video card (temporary, my Nvidia motherboard blew up, long story)
2gig Ram
2.0ghz Core 2 duo
VGA output

Half of my time is spent in a classroom training on how to use a particular software. The classroom changes weekly, so cannot give specs on the projector, but all are generic classroom projectors that take a VGA input on them.

When I hook up my laptop to the projector, it takes me out of my 1440x900 default resolution, and kicks me back to 800x600. If I try to change it back to 1440x900 it refuses as the projector cannot handle the resolution, even if I have it set up to not share my desktop. I can get it to work with 1280x768, but since this is not my default resolution, it annoys me to screw up all my settings on my laptop during the session.

So my question is this: Is there a way to better manage all of this, since I spend most of my time dealing with this? Are there programs to aid in this? I have briefly looked into Displayfusion and Ultramon, but they seem to be more aimed at permanent multi monitor setups. Whereas my situation tends to only be during 9-5 every other week or so.

It just seems the management utility that is in my laptop now cannot be the best thing. I would like to have some real control over what happens, not just resolution if possible. Like I would like to share certain windows on my screen with the projector, but not all.

Well anyway, if anybody has some insight into this, I would appreciate the help.

I will be checking this throughout the day, so any info I left out, feel free to ask and I will supply the answer if I have it.

How can I reinstall Windows onto an old Toshiba Portege 7010CT with no external drives?

ajp — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 06:16:50 -0800

How can I reinstall Windows onto an old Toshiba Portege 7010CT with no external drives? I've inherited an old Toshiba Portege 7010CT with Windows 2000 on it. It's also chock-full of viruses. I don't have any external drives for it, and I hope I don't have to buy one. It has one USB port.

Is it even possible to reinstall Windows on the thing? I'm planning on XP, but I guess I can live with 2000 if necessary. But it's the lack of drives that's the problem. The BIOS doesn't have an option to boot from USB. I've no idea if it's possible to change that somehow...?

So, any advice much appreciated.

In case you're wondering, my plan is to use Remote Desktop from the Portege pretty much exclusively, so it can act as a reasonably lightweight and portable visual interface onto my heavier hardware. I'm hoping a wifi dongle in the USB port will achieve this.

Merry Xmas :-)

Google calendar on desktop?

Aanidaani — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:45:48 -0800

I would like to overlay my Google Calendar on my desktop wallpaper in Vista. I'd like it to be translucent so that I can still see my wallpaper, but visible enough that it is easy to read. Is there a (preferably free) program that will let me do this? I tried using Samurize but it didn't really work. Does anyone know of a solution for this problem? Are there any other programs like Samurize that will display a Google Calendar on the desktop?

Double the trouble - in Windows XP

curagea — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:45:47 -0800

Double the Windows problems - creating a shortcut to CMD at a specific folder, and what's up with Desktop horizontal selecting? My Google-fu failed me once again! I'm asking two questions, not entirely related to each other, but both dealing with Windows XP

1. I remember making a shortcut on my Desktop that opens a CMD window, that starts off at a specific folder. I've Googled around to find the steps for making that shortcut, with no luck. There's a similar way - tweaking the Registry to have an "Open CMD here" option when you right-click on an item - but I want an actual shortcut on my Desktop that does the same thing. This is because I don't want to open a bunch of folders just to right-click on something to open CMD - I want to get there now. Anyone know the steps (or what I'm talking about)?

2. Usually when you Shift-select items in Explorer, it selects vertically down the list. Even in thumbnail mode, it selects according to however you sort it in Details mode. So why, for the love of God, does Shift-clicking on the Desktop result in horizontal selecting, out of sort order? I see that my Desktop folders and shortcuts are sorted by name vertically, yet Shift-clicking goes horizontal. That just boggles my mind. Is there any way to change this?

Windows desktop pager

mgogol — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:41:30 -0800

What desktop pager would you recommend for windows xp? I just realized I use a multiple desktop pager in linux at work, but a windows one would come in handy as well.

I looked around and found this one at sourceforge, but it was sort of lame.

I also tried the windows power toys one, but again had a few complaints about it.

Does anybody have one they like? Preferably, it would sit in the taskbar and give some clue as to the contents of each of the desktops.

Is there a program that will allow me to carve up my desktop and maximize applications to certain regions.

Mesach — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:55:51 -0800

Is there a program that will allow me to carve up my desktop and maximize applications to certain regions. Having a large monitor these days it is possible to have several applications open and showing at one time... is there a program that will let me specify regions that programs can expand/maximize into, thus carving up my desktop space?

How can an XP Pro administrator log into a user's desktop without the user??

jspierre — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 06:56:32 -0800

Is there a way/program to log into a Windows XP Pro user's desktop without their password (sort of like a master password?). Let me explain... I have a Windows XP Pro network set up in my home. 3 Laptops, 2 Desktops, and 2 headless XP Pro boxes - one acting as a file server and the other a print server.

Sometimes, I need to add/remove something from a user's desktop or perform another administrative function of some sort or other. For the stuff that does not require the user to be logged in, that's fine, I can either log in as administrator, or use another administrative tool.

But sometimes, the user MUST be logged in (or it makes it 300x easier if they are logged in) to do whatever I need to do.

Is there any way to "use" the user's desktop using some sort of master password? Or maybe there's a program that lets you, as the administrator, emulate the user's desktop or one that will allow you to change any of their settings without needing them to log in?

(as an example, say I want to change the User's desktop wallpaper - I don't know of an easy way to do this without having them log in)

Your expertise, advice and help would be most appreciated!!!

How to make a Remote Desktop Connection?

apark — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:58:28 -0800

Remote Desktop Connection across domains/workgroups. How can this work? So, I have previously posted a Q about accessing my home Windows Workgroup from my work Domain Laptop... (see here)

deadmessenger's solution worked for me in this situation.

NOW...

I want to be able to Remote Desktop from my work XP Pro Laptop to my home Vista desktop (or other XP Pro machines at home.) Give the scenario outlined previously here, how do I connect to my home pc?

I've tried the IP address (192.168.0.2), and
I've tried \\home-server-name

Neither work... How do I do this? TIA!

Bonus Question: How can I do this across a Hamachi VPN? Does it make any difference?

Icon Jack Asks a Question About Icons

iconjack — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:54:36 -0800

How can I make the ellipses in the captions under the icons on the Windows desktop go away and have the unabbreviated file name shown instead? When you select an icon on the desktop, you get to see the whole file name, but unselected icons have their captions truncated. Is there a setting to always display the whole caption?

Is linux xp desktop compatible with Microsoft Office 2007?

Eiwalker — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:05:06 -0800

Will linux xp desktop (the new linux program that looks like windows xp and lets one intall some windows software) let me install Microsoft Office 2007? What about an organizer program called Bottin? I'm thinking about converting from xp to linux xp, but I don't want to have to give up too much in terms of software.

"My computer" is gone. I want it back.

Baud — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 02:34:45 -0800

"My Computer" icon is gone. (more inside) I just deleted the "My computer" shortcut and icon on the desktop of my WinXP machine. It's not on the trash bin (I choose to automatically delete instead and I'm now biting my fingers for choosing it)

"My computer" is still there it's just the desktop shortcut that's missing.

Of course I can try the "create a new shortcut" route but it looks like the only thing windows does not want me to create a new shortcut to is the "my computer" folder.

So, should I wave it bye bye forever or is there a way toput that Icon and shortcut back on my desktop ?

How do I get dynamic drive icons on my Windows desktop?

chorltonmeateater — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 11:05:14 -0800

How can I get Windows XP to show an icon on the Desktop for each mounted drive like Linux does? I am currently running a dual-boot Ubuntu/Windows XP system, and like the way that Ubuntu shows the mounted drives or loaded CDs on the desktop, with dynamic icons which appear change when drives or discs are added or removed. Is there any way to emulate this behaviour on Windows, either natively or using other (preferably free) software?

Essentially, the only thing on my Windows XP Desktop is the My Computer icon anyway, so this would save me one whole click (the savings!) every time I wanted to browse my computer's file system.

Ghost In the Machine(s)

Teevee's Bella — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:42:00 -0800

What could cause every desktop computer in the same house to begin randomly powering down on their own? Four desktop PCs, all in separate rooms (three on the second floor, one on the first) have begun randomly powering down on their own. One of the PCs was replaced this week and now the new one is doing this, as well. Back in December, there were some big storms and major power outages for about a week. Could this be affecting the house's circuitry? Nothing else seems particularly effected, just the PCs.

Any clue as to what could be causing this or how to fix it?!

Recommendations for cheap fun (desktop publishing style)

kaydo — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 21:00:53 -0800

Looking for basic software recommendations for a non-profit org to use for making invites. Windows based, and as it's a non-profit, preferably free or almost free. Asking for a friend (no, really). He is after basic software to help his organisation create more professional looking invitations to their regular social events. He is not hugely computer literate, but wasn't happy with my suggestion of looking for more specialised word templates from microsoft's site. I used to have some hallmark produced software years ago which was fine for this. Anyone have any recommendations?

Dual-head remote desktop

event — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:37:06 -0800

How can I get to applications on a second monitor over Remote Desktop? I am connecting from a one-monitor WinXP machine to a two-monitor WinXP machine over Remote Desktop. There are several applications running on the remote machine, but they are located on the monitor 2, and I can only see the contents of monitor 1 in my remote desktop window. How can I get to the applications? Thanks!

If I can't get my starfish back, can I have a pony?

deliriouscool — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 06:52:45 -0800

I seem to have covered up my desktop photo with a color - how can I uncover it or locate the desktop photo to reapply it? I was happily using the Aquarium desktop (yes, I know, not very original) that comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition and while resetting my screen size in Properties last night, I inadvertently selected a desktop color which has replaced/covered up the photo. Vexingly, there is no "no color" option once you have selected a desktop color.

I have Googled and searched my hard drive pretty exhaustively - I thought it would be in the Windows Plus folder, and the i386 folder seemed another likely candidate because there were some Aquarium theme icons in there. But, no.

I don't seem to have the full version of Windows Plus, just the goodies Dell shipped with my laptop - is there a way to retrieve that photo without calling Dell with the lamest customer support request ever ("Hi, Dell? Can I have my starfish back?")? I am obviously much more attached to this photo than I thought.

How to sort Windows desktop icon?

Leech — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 06:35:17 -0800

I have a lot of icons on my Windows XP desktop, I have them sorted by games in a corner, documents in other and tho.. I want to know if exists something to hide them and show when I want or organize them, without creating folders.

Disappearing Quick Launch toolbar

Agamenticus — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 07:05:51 -0800

Quick Launch toolbar keeps disappearing after several hours without rhyme or reason . Tried "lock toolbar" and that does not prevent this issue. It's a Dell running WinXP SP2. Everything else seems to be unaffected by this annoyance. Can put it back, and the disappearance will repeat after another several hours. Other toolbars unaffected ?

Freezing Windows Picture & Fax Viewer

lemonfridge — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:52:55 -0800

Everytime i preview a JPG stored on my Windows XP desktop my whole PC freezes up for around 10 seconds...usually longer. if I open a JPG in My Documents (using the preview application by default) it opens instantly.

If i copy the same JPG to my Desktop and do the same it takes 10sec+ to open. it freezes up while displaying "Generating preview". It becomes completely unresponsive.

if i copy the JPG into a new folder on my Desktop, it opens quick as a flash.

if i copy the same file back to My Documents (or any other folder) it opens normally once still.

All other files seem to open just fine. Whats going on?

Help me learn to program simple Windows desktop applications

LeeJay — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 12:10:14 -0800

I want to learn to create simple Windows desktop applications for my own personal use. What programming language should I start learning? I want to create some simple desktop applications for use on my own computer (Win XP Pro). Stuff like recipe collections or daily journals or a personal organizer. I don't need to create anything with a bunch of flashy graphics nor do I think I'll be doing much programming for the web (although maybe I would branch out to experimenting with that one day). This is simply a way for me to solve a few problems and learn something new.

There are a lot of options available for someone who wants to learn programming but so many of them seem mainly focused on designing for the web. I have little experience with programming (I've written a few simple interactive fiction games with Inform 6) but I don't mind a steep learning curve if I can eventually do what I need to do. Which is why I want to make sure I'm learning the right language from the start.

What I want to do first is create an application that will allow me to organize a large amount of information on world mythology. I have folders full of articles and stories and studies and images and I basically need to organize them by culture and time period and type and then display them by category. There are a lot of programs I can use for this (I'm using Keynote right now, which I like) but I have always wanted to venture into learning a programming language and I thought since I have a need now would be the right time to dive in.

Any suggestions?

Activating OSX Remote assistance via an IM chat

filmgeek — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 12:07:17 -0800

I need Apple's Remote desktop to be as easy as Remote Assistance in Windows Firewalls, routers, explaining to non tech people tech items.

Rarely do I want a feature that exists in windows. Here's one.

When I use MSN Messenger, I have the ability to have my friend "ask me for assistance"...and it (usually) works out the piping for the Remote Assistance product.

Is there a way to get the same sort of easy functionality in OSX? I have remote desktop, and it works great on a LAN, works great with a fixed IP...but I want it to "know' the ip of the person that's IMing me...and permit me to control their machine.

VNC isn't going to cut this (It's already built into OSX...in fact Remote desktop uses some of this.)

I'm looking for the "Invite someone else to control my computer" in a single click, without having to deal with network BS.