Save Windows Desktop layouts with ReIcon

ReIcon, Restore Desktop Icon Layouts, is a free program for Microsoft Windows devices that you may use to save and restore desktop icon layouts.

You may add files, folders and shortcuts to your Windows desktop for fast access. Some programs add icons automatically during installation, others prompt you instead.

Windows has a long-standing problem when it comes to icons on the desktop: if you change the resolution, icons are moved automatically, and if you restore the original resolution, icons may not be restored in the process.

While most Windows users run Windows on a single resolution probably, others don’t. Games and applications may change resolutions automatically, or they may only run in specific resolutions. You may notice issues as well when you connect your Windows PC to different displays regularly.

Note: Windows SmartScreen may block execution when you run the program on Windows. Other antivirus programs, for instance Avast, may block execution as well. A scan on VirusTotal, however, returned zero hits.

ReIcon

ReIcon is a portable program for Windows that comes as a 32-bit and 64-bit version. You run it right after the download and without installation. The program interface lists all saved desktop layouts when you run it.
A click on the save layout button saves the current layout; to restore a layout, select it first and then the restore icon to do so.

ReIcon saves important information. It saves the resolution of the display, type, number and position of all desktop icons, and the time you saved the layout.

The saving and restoring of desktop layouts works without issues. You can rename saved layouts for easier identification, or keep the default names instead for the layouts.

ReIcon does not list icon names of saved layouts in its interface directly. Select a saved layout and then Options > Open Icon Layout File to open a configuration file in the default text editor. This file lists all icons and other information.

The portable program supports a handful of additional options. You can make changes to the configuration in the config file, import and export layouts using the file menu, or enable options to display file extensions and hidden files. You can run the program from the command line as well; ideal for use in scripts.

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Closing Words

ReIcon is a useful lightweight program for Windows that you run only when you need to save or load desktop layouts. There is no need to run it constantly on the system. You may need to add the program to the whitelist of your antivirus program as it may be removed automatically otherwise. Avast did that on a test system even though Avast’s engine returned a clean status for the file on Virustotal.

ReIcon is handy if you work on different displays regularly, or if you run programs that require the changing of desktop resolutions. It may also be handy if you use your computer for different tasks and want different desktop layouts for those tasks. (via gHacks)

Now You: Do you use desktop management programs?