Can Windows Explorer hide Desktop Icons?

[SparkyTech]

Does anyone know how to hide the Desktop Icons showing up in Windows Explorer?

I'm not referring to hiding the Desktop Icons that are hidden with Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Personalization, but the icons that appear when you select Desktop in Windows Explorer's Navigation Pane ... please see attached screenshot.

Thanks much !!!

 

[SmurofNeves]

Are you part of a domain? Then the scripts that run on log on is just going to replace those icons.
I'm not so sure about this one but I'm on it...

And welcome to the forums.

 

[SparkyTech]

Standalone

SevenForums is great, and I have a How To series of links in my Favorites ...

I'm not part of an AD. The machine is a Win7 x64 Pro, clean install.

I've played around with the various HideDesktopIcons but no luck.

I navigated to my Desktop folder (the actual hidden folder), and created a shortcut that I added under the Favorites and/or Libraries in Windows Explorer. When I click on that second shortcut, inside of Windows Explorer, the Homegroup, Computer, Control Panel, etc. items show up in the main pane, (like in the original screen shot). This is making me think that these items are somehow associated with the Desktop folder itself, not really with Windows Explorer?

Besides the curiosity of it, I would like to understand how this works in case one day I would need to use AD to hide items on a user's desktop AND in Windows Explorer.

Any help or insight, I'd be very grateful !!!!

 

[DustSailor]

Try this and see if it works. Be careful, this may hide the folder entirely, not just in the location you request. See if it works for you Brink's Tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/56005-file-folder-hide-unhide.html

I notice you cannot click the properties of every folder in the list, however...

 

[SparkyTech]

No go on Properties

I tried a few iterations, even looking at the handles opened by Explorer.exe in Process Explorer to get a clue as to what these really are. Unfortunately these must be virtual folders or something ... note in the attached, there is no "Properties" setting for these to hide. In the command line, (attrib "C:\Users\USER\Desktop\*"), the Libraries, Homegroup, Computer, Network, etc. don't even show up. Again, these only show up in Windows Explorer.

Well, if anyone comes up with an idea ... I'd love hearing about it.

Thanks much !!!

 

[Q6Gary]

Hi Guys! Did you find a solution to this in the end? We are having the same problem.

Cheers

 

[sionide]

It's a third party solution, but "Fences" from Stardock (http://www.stardock.com/products/fences/) has the feature of double-clicking on the desktop to hide all icons/fences.

 

[amatyas001]

Hello Guys!
I know it's an old thread but I don't want to create a new one.
I found a solution for the issue (it's pretty easy way to hide all the unwanted icons from your navigation-pane's "Desktop" shortcut): simply remove that shortcut and replace with an other one which target (Right Click->Properties->Target) is "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop"! It refers to the logged-in user's desktop and only include the shortcuts, files and directories which physically there!
I hope I can help you!