Adding Desktop Icons to All Users

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Adding desktop Icons to All Windows Desktops

In Windows XP, there was a folder in which you could place desktop icons, and these icons would be available to every user on that computer. At first, it’s not obvious where the equivalent functionality lies in Windows 7. But, I found it, and I thought I would share my knowledge.

  • Window XP:
    Use Windows Explorer to goto C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop
  • Windows 7:
    Use Windows Explorer to goto C:\Users\Public\Desktop

Notice that the Desktop subfolder is hidden, so that it won’t appear in the Explorer listing. But, if you edit the top line (that’s circled in red in my screen shot) and manually type in the full path, you will see the contents. Just create your desktop icons here, and every user on that computer will see them on their desktops. If you have any problems, validate that you are logged in as a user with Administrative rights.