Monday's Mac Gadget by John F. Braun Desktop a Mess? Clean It Up With Desktop Resetter February 28th, 2000 Desktop Resetter 2.1 ($10 Shareware) Nick D'Amato Although most folks keep their monitor at the same resolution, others may want to change the resolution to get more screen real estate with certain programs. Or you may play games, which sometimes need to be run in a specific resolution to look good, or even work at all. Unfortunately, Mac OS always seems to scramble all of your desktop icons when changing resolutions. This can be annoying if you just arranged your desktop exactly to your liking. If only there were a way to take a snapshot of your current icon and window arrangement... Desktop Resetter is an application that will solve the problem of your icons being scattered all over the screen. It all starts when your desktop is in the state that you would like. Launch the Desktop Resetter application (putting an alias on the desktop is a good idea) and click on the Settings button. You can choose to remember icon, window and application switcher settings. Also available are options to ask for confirmation before remembering your desktop, and another option to launch Desktop Resetter at startup. Once you choose your settings, press the Remember button. All of your settings have now been saved. The next time your desktop gets messed up, just run Desktop Resetter and click on the Reset button, and everything will be as it was. But wait, there's more! There is also an Advanced mode, where you can create and manage a set of desktop settings. This can help manage the appearance for multiple users or applications. Why a graphically oriented operating system like Mac OS has trouble keeping your desktop tidy is a mystery. But with Desktop Resetter, you won't have to worry about it any longer. Have any other Mac OS gadgets you'd like us to look at? Let John know via e-mail, or share it with the rest of us in the Mac Gadget Forum Useful Link Desktop Resetter Home Page Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you with those cool things that we all just have to have on our Macs. Shareware, Freeware, Postcardware, Emailware, and even commercial apps, Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you find and use the best of these programs. John is a software engineer who works in the corporate R&D group of a Fortune 500 company, focusing on all aspects of communications technology. He has several degrees that claim he knows what he's doing when it comes to computers. After watching co-workers reinstall Windows, search for device drivers, and experience other horrors during the day, he's glad that he comes home to a Mac (compatible) computer. Have any comments, suggestions, or favorite Gadgets? Drop John a line at You can also Post Your Comments below. Current Monday's Mac Gadget Want to Supercharge Your Dock? Check Out Todos! - August 21st Worried About Your Mac Getting Jacked? Get JackSMS - June 12th Want iChat with Tabs? Try Chax! - April 3rd Visit Monday's Mac Gadget Archives for more great Mac Gadgets!