Organize Your Desktop and Get Rid of Numerous Shortcuts

good
key review info
application features
  • Multiple application launching windows
  • (6 more, see all...)

Because every day we discover new applications we consider useful and we install them on our PCs, the desktop will sometime appear more than crowded. With all the given effort, we cannot simplify and organize the desktop in a way that we can include all the shortcuts and still be able to work with the desktop space. I myself work with the desktop space for my tryouts. Many of you may say that this is wrong, but I have my own methods to clean my PC after using the desktop. It is easier to work with the desktop, first because of the space that is providing (visual space), which you can "wipe" instantly, and because of the "shortcut to its location" in Windows Explorer, that gives you quick access.

But when you work with more than your usually limited number of applications, you will find that to have quick access to them you will need to figure out some way to organize the shortcuts, sort them and even create categories, so that you can access them more easily. For example, if you often work with multimedia applications and you still need to surf the Internet and send emails, but on your desktop is full with shortcuts of players and audio editors, to simply start let's say a file manager on your desktop can be quite "a challenge". But, like for any problem, there is a solution. Just search the Internet for launchers, shortcut managers or hotkey managers. In every category you will find at least one application that suites your needs. There are many ways to launch applications, from the simple shortcut to more complicated ways like keywords or hotkeys.

ToolBox application was designed to help you launch your programs, files or folders, simply by clicking the corresponding shortcut. It is a simple tool that is very easy to configure, thanks to the multiple ways to create shortcuts and organize them in toolboxes. The main purpose is to create, sort and organize groups of shortcuts so that you will be able to access them more easily. It provides a way to clean up your desktop. You can create so-called "toolboxes" where you can add as many shortcuts as you like. Every toolbox that you create can be customized both visually and structurally.

The software comes in a zipped package. After you unzip it, you can copy or move the created folder to any location that you want. It can run from a portable drive as well. It does not create any additional files and it does not add new registry keys to your system. After installation, it creates a settings folder within the root directory where it stores the settings files. From the Toolbox Control Panel interface, you can select to save the settings and all the modifications to XML file, so that, whether you want to try a new test toolbox or just reinstall the software, you can keep your settings. Reinstalling the software means just to erase the folder. A great option completing the portability feature is "Use relative Paths", that gives you the possibility to create shortcuts for applications located on your portable drives.

So let's say you have a bunch of multimedia applications that you want to create shortcuts of and you want them to be in only on place from your desktop. From the Toolboxes tab, just simply create a new toolbox. The Toolbox Properties window is where you can customize it. You can enter a name, change the way it looks by adjusting the font size, color, set transparency level, or change the background picture. Window & Tile Size options give you the possibility to set the rows or columns number, or change the tile size. By default, the software comes with the options to Create System Folders Toolbox, that will create a new toolbox with the main system folders shortcuts (My Computer, My Documents, My Pictures, My Videos, My Music - My Network Places was forgotten, if you ask me). Another default option is Create Toolbox for Drives, which creates a new toolbox with drive shortcuts and shows the amount of free space for every drive. Create CyLog MegaPack Toolbox is an option that will create a toolbox with some predefined shortcuts. You must have all the applications from CyLog installed to work.

After you create a toolbox, you can add new shortcuts to it. You can create new ones by pressing the right button of the mouse and selecting New from the displayed menu, or just simply dragging and dropping the shortcut that you want to add. A simple test was to create a shortcut within a toolbox from my desktop. I dragged and dropped shortcuts and it worked, but when I tried to create a shortcut for "My Network Places" or "Recycle Bin" from my desktop, it didn't work, probably because I used the same method as for any other shortcut or even for "My Computer" (this one worked). You have the possibility to create a shortcut to Application or File, to Drive, to Control Panel Application, to My Computer, My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, My Videos, Drive Size Monitor or Windows Up-Time Monitor. A particular case is when you want to create shortcuts from Control Panel. Select to create a shortcut to Control Panel Application. A window containing the Control Panel items will be opened and you will be able to choose the one that you want . Every shortcut can be customized. You can change the size, the icon, appearances and properties, or change the way it starts. I could not find a way to create a shortcut for launching a certain URL or to create a command for sending a mail.

So far so good. The application was basically designed to help you organize your desktop shortcuts. But let's say you have five shortcuts you create a toolbox for, and other ten ones you create another toolbox for. Now you have one multimedia toolbox containing the shortcuts for your multimedia applications, and one Internet toolbox containing the shortcuts for your Internet applications. What I want to do is to call every toolbox separately to my desktop. Every toolbox has the options to stay on top, but if you want to call only the multimedia toolbox you can't. Same thing happens to the main application. It has no hotkey or special shortcut. The only way to do it is to click the system tray icon. I don't see the point in organizing my desktop shortcuts and clear my space if I can't choose the ones to call. Or, let's say that I organize my shortcuts in three toolboxes and each of them is set to stay on top. There is no way to dismiss only one and keep the others, to close just one.

The Good

The portability feature can be considered a plus and the fact that it can remember relative paths. The idea of separate toolboxes for your shortcuts does bring a ray of multiple desktops yet really far.

The Bad

Its lacking of a hotkey, the inability to call or to close a certain toolbox and the fact that it cannot setup a shortcut to launch a website do create a feeling of unfinished work.

The Truth

With a few improvements, it can be a launcher that would do the task that was created for. If you don't have so many shortcuts as you want to organize and clean up your desktop space, you can try it and see it for yourself.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 2
features 2
ease of use 3
pricing / value 3


final rating 3
Editor's review
good
 
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