The real work is done on your desktop, and nothing better than a workspace that feels like your own. The Personalization setting does all the heavy lifting, but I am using Windows Registry hacks to perfect finer details while it is a PC. Here are my favorite Registry hacks for Windows desktop, which I can use as a guide below.
********************** **Warning Before applying these registry hacks, make sure you support the Registry. Changing the Registry incorrectly can lead to system corruption and data loss, especially in case of wrong changes. ****
Remove Wallpaper Image Compression for JPG/JPEG Files
When using JPG/JPEG images as wallpaper to save RAM and system resources, Windows automatically compresses the image (advertently 85% quality of original) into 80%. It’s largely an old PC tweak, mostly for the . Although this doesn’t matter on newer PCs, it does affect wallpaper quality – which is very apparent when high-resolution or already compressed images are taken.
You can disable this behavior and make Windows load the wallpaper at its original resolution.
To automatically apply these changes without editing the Registry, run the following command in Windows PowerShell:
New-ItemProperty
-Path
"HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop"
-Name
"JPEGImportQuality"
-Value
100
-PropertyType
DWORD
-Force
Alternatively, if you prefer to do it manually, open the Windows Registry and move to the following location:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
\Control Panel\Desktop
Right-click in the right panel and select New → DWORD (32-bit) Value.
This new value JPEGImportQuality is called this and double-clicked on to open the new one. Select Decimal under the section Base here and set its value to **100***”.
To make the changes to take effect, you’ll have to restart the PC or restart File Explorer and apply the wallpaper again.
Make Submenu Items Reveal Faster in Context Menu
A variety of submenas are available in the desktop context menu for viewing, sorting and new items. My daily menu is New, and I use the same thing as most of the time it takes half a second to open (and sometimes even without being static) with this. That delay is likely to have been noticed by you; it’s because Windows adds a default 400ms break to submenus so that they can never be opened accidentally.
If you prefer your submenus to open instantly, use this registry hack to control the submenu opening delay period:
Run this PowerShell command:
Set-ItemProperty
-Path
"HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop"
-Name
"MenuShowDelay"
-Value
"20"
-Force
Alternatively, in the Windows Registy, move to the following location:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
\Control Panel\Desktop
For example, here double-click on the MenuShowDelay entry and change its value to 20. While you can choose 0 to make it instant, I personally feel the experience is a bit too “twitchy” and less smooth.
Remove “- Shortcut” Text from New Shortcuts on Desktop
Sadly, I don’t like that Windows automatically adds “- Shortcut” text at the end of every shortcut I create on the desktop. It is already referred to as being the symbol by an arrow on the icon; there is no need for labels to be unnecessarily long and messy. If that extra text annoys you too, here is how to turn it off.
Run this PowerShell command to apply automatically:
Set-ItemProperty
-Path
"HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer"
-Name
"link"
-Value
(
[
byte
[
]
]
@
(
0x00
,
0x00
,
0x00
,
0x00
)
)
-Force
Alternatively, go to this location in the Registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
The link entry is open and the value of this entry to **00 00, as well as its values are **0 001. Changes to the PC will require you to re-start it, and this only applies to shortcuts created onward.
Get Faster Information From Taskbar Items
Like submenu delays, Windows takes a short break before showing info-tips or thumbnail previews when you hover over taskbar items. I am working with apps that have multiple instances open, and this delay delays the thumbnail preview/interaction of an app while it affects everything.
Moreover, in addition to the ThrottleStop icon that monitors CPU temps without leaving the desktop, I use faster information very much for me.
Run this PowerShell command:
Set-ItemProperty
-Path
"HKCU:\Control Panel\Mouse"
-Name
"MouseHoverTime"
-Value
"20"
-Force
Alternatively, go to this location in the Registry Editor:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
\Control Panel\Mouse
The MouseHoverTime entry is open and the value of this entry to 20, which was set at 30. To make the changes work, you’ll have to restart the PC. Suddenly, you’ll see all the other information from icons (including third-party app icons).
Increase/Decrease Desktop Icon Spacing
On the desktop, icons are placed over a fixed invisible grid. Close or far icons are also selected by it to determine how close or distant icons can be on the desktop. The default size is the most effective, but if you have lots of desktop icons, you may want to reduce the grid size for more items. Contrast, you may want to scale up the grid size so that you can see more long icon names easily or make interaction easier.
I personally prefer a smaller view, so that I reduce desktop icon spacing and increase icon size (Ctrl+mouse wheel) enough to see easily. This can be achieved by this registry hack, which helps to achieve this.
I am giving the PowerShell commands for horizontal and vertical spacing below. This is my compact -800 setup, but I am using this configuration; however you can edit the values in the command as you need.
Set-ItemProperty
-Path
"HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics"
-Name
"IconSpacing"
-Value
"-800"
-Force
Set-ItemProperty
-Path
"HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics"
-Name
"IconVerticalSpacing"
-Value
"-800"
-Force
Alterrnatively, move to this location in the Registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
Here, IconSpacing represents horizontal space and ** IconVerticalS Pacing*** is vertical space. defaults -1125*****; you can increase/ decrease this negative number for adjusting desktop icon spacing. Similarly for my compact view, I use **-800 for both of these s (e.g.
This means you don’t have to use the same vertical/horizontal spacing as a . Similarly, for example, you can set IconSpacing to -1500 and keep ** IconVerticalS Pacing*** to *-1125** so that there is more room for icon names.
While these tweaks may sound small, they really make your desktop experience faster and cleaner overall. If you are having trouble taming the desktop, then you might want to do this desktop cleaning routine.
Thanks for reading How I Make My Windows Desktop Experience Better With These Registry Hacks
