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two-monitors ergonomics

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mouser:
i notice you have a lot of icons on your desktop.  i'm in the camp that keeps my desktop completely free of icons.  i use LaunchbarCommander with large fonts and a sliding/hiding dock to keep track of any application i might want to launch, and FARR for others.  so i never have to minimize windows to view the desktop to launch anything..

nudone:
i know you've been a desktop icon free zone for years and i understand your reasoning for it. i'm starting to rethink how i do things.

desktop icons have always been useful to me because i tended to have floating windows with plenty of visible desktop space surrounding them - so dragging things to and from the desktop made sense. it was quick and always there.

but now i'm using windows fully maximised (or i should say: lots of windows fully maximised) i do admit i find it annoying getting to the desktop for stuff.

i'm not completely sold on the way you do things as i want a quick and dirty place i can throw everything i'm working with - which the desktop is good for. i'm currently trying a method of using directory opus with filters so that it shows me the desktop but with content excluded. i can quickly select a different filter to change what's on view.

it doesn't seem a perfect method so i'm still considering using really, really, really organised folders. i guess the desktop is for people that hate navigating through folders - i know i do.

oh, i've just remembered something (which i think will be mentioned way back on the forum somewhere). i use the desktop with all the junk thrown on it because it's like a visual way of working with stuff. rather than organising files by folders and sub folders, you organise things by their position on the desktop.

i do use Farr and Everything and i'm tempted to try launchbar commander again - but my quick launch bar sort of covers that (erm, i think). i'm also using QTTabBar to provide drop down lists on the folders on the desktop - some of these contain nothing but shortcuts to categorised programs.

ideally, i want the desktop full of icons (all the desktops) plus a quick way of getting to everything that's on the desktop without having to look at it - but visually arranged so i don't have to use my brain when i'm trying to find a particular file.

mouser:
but visually arranged so i don't have to use my brain when i'm trying to find a particular file.
--- End quote ---

wanting a spatial arrangement of icons to launch is a valid reason for using the desktop (or one of those tools like "Fences").

if you are already using a quick toolbar then you aren't going to get much benefit from LBC; in fact these screenshots of LBC are all you need to see to know if it can replace desktop for you: https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=18759.0

for me, spatial arrangement is not helpful, i like having things in a shallow hierarchy, organized by category -- that's why i like LBC.

LBC works for me because i have a handful of applications i use all the time -- so these are big icons always on the face of the dock, one click away.  then i have lots of other applications and files that are one level deep.

nudone:
I've just had a quick play with LBC (again). I think i still want something like a magic desktop instead really. i'll keep looking...

nudone:
after spending a few days working with the 4 screens side-by-side i soon got tired of the layout - it's just way too wide. i was even thinking i've done the wrong thing by getting the new monitor.

but - problem solved. place the screens into an inverted T shape and everything feels instantly right. (the new problem may be that i get neck ache from having to look up so much - in which case i shall try lowering the screens as far as they will go.)

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