Why doesn't File Explorer show all the items on my desktop?

Try3 said:

Your pictures did not make it.

But what every user should see on their desktop when all windows have been minimised is the summation of their own Desktop folder [e.g. C:\Users\%UserName%\Desktop] and what's in the folder C:\Users\Public\Desktop
Those two folders are not intended to match.

It does seem to me that you have not posted the correct number of pictures.
To see the point you are making, we'd need to see:-
1 A File explorer screenshot of the Public Desktop folder i.e. the folder C:\Users\Public\Desktop
2 A File explorer screenshot of one user's Desktop folder [e.g. C:\Users\%UserName%\Desktop]
3 A screenshot of what the user sees when all windows have been minimised.
And showing us what the situation is for any more users would require both their equivalent of #2 and their equivalent of #3.


Denis

Hi Denis,

I hope the two screenshots above show what you wanted. I did the same thing for both users screenshots: the desktop with the desktop folder shown and the public desktop folder. As you may note, the 2nd user does not have a public desktop folder.

Kind regards,

tecknot

Callender said:

I see what you're getting at. So move missing shortcuts to shell:Common Desktop

However there might be access issues if these are shortcuts to per user installed programs.

Hi Callender,

Ok, I copied all the shortcuts from the desktop folder to the common desktop folder successfully. Looks good. So, there are three different desktop folders?

Kind regards,

tecknot

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Try3 said:

No user has a Public Desktop. The computer has a single Public Desktop and its contents are shown on the Desktop of every single user.

Please read my post #21.
I see no faults at all. Everything is working the way it should.


Denis

Hi Denis,

Yes, I get what you are saying.

Kind regards,

tecknot

Try3 said:

There was no need to copy anything anywhere.
So you have copied all of a user's own shortcuts to the Public desktop folder so that they will all be shown on every user's desktop.
At no stage in this thread have you said that you wanted to do that. I think you got confused.Denis

You are right, it wasn't really my intention. But trying to understand why the two folders did not have the same shortcuts or at least one of them having all of the shortcuts; particularly, it was only the primary user who installed all those programs. And it was the program's installation process which put the shortcut in either folder (without user intervention).

Try3 said:

No.
Each user has a desktop folder and the computer has a Public desktop folder.
Are you thinking of what was labelled above as the "Common Desktop"? Go back there and look in File explorer's Address bar - it's the Public Desktop folder.


Denis

I understand that now.

Kind regards,

tecknot

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This might not seems like a big deal, but it just occurred to me that having the two different locations for installed programs and shortcuts (which show on the desktop) allows for other users to have different desktops (shortcuts).

Kind regards,

tecknot