The Desktop Cleanup Wizard is a component included with

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

. It aims to reduce the clutter in a user's

desktop environment In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphica ...

by moving unused

shortcut Shortcut may refer to: Navigation * Rat running or shortcut, a minor-road alternative to a signposted route * File shortcut, a handle which allows the user to find a file or resource located in a different directory or folder on a computer * Key ...

s to a separate directory called "Unused Desktop Shortcuts". When run it shows a list of shortcuts, and the user can select which shortcuts to move to the "Unused Desktop Shortcuts" directory. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard works as a scheduled task that runs once a day. If the wizard has not been run for 60 days, the Wizard is displayed to the user. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard is also accessible from the desktop's

context menu A context menu (also called contextual, shortcut, and pop up or pop-up menu) is a menu in a graphical user interface (GUI) that appears upon user interaction, such as a right-click mouse operation. A context menu offers a limited set of choice ...

, in the "Arrange Icons By" sub-menu. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard scheduled task can be enabled or disabled in the "Desktop Items" configuration screen, which is available through the Desktop tab on the Display Properties dialog box. Windows XP's successor,

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

, does not include the Desktop Cleanup Wizard. As of Windows 7, its function has been integrated into the System Maintenance Wizard in the Troubleshooting Control Panel.

References

Windows XP Windows components {{windows-stub

See also

References