# Desktop cloaking for presentations



## fredtgreco (Sep 6, 2007)

No, this is not a thread about Romulans. 

I am wondering if any of the techies here use some kind of application to blank out their desktop icons/wallpaper etc. when using a laptop for a presentation. Something like a "presentation mode." If so, what could you suggest?

Thanks.


----------



## SRoper (Sep 6, 2007)

Are you just using something like Powerpoint, or are you going to use some other applications in your presentation? If the former, then I just don't turn on the external video port until Powerpoint is already on the first slide.


----------



## fredtgreco (Sep 6, 2007)

Both. I want the ability to cloak the desktop and still run apps (from Start)


----------



## wsw201 (Sep 6, 2007)

Fred,

Don't tell me that you have succumed to using Powerpoint presentations in your sermons!!


----------



## Calvibaptist (Sep 6, 2007)

Are you talking about blanking the items so they can't be seen on your laptop or are you talking about on the screen? Usually, if you are using multiple displays and extending your desktop to the second display (the screen), the icons do not show. The wallpaper does, but I don't know how to get rid of that.

If you are using powerpoint, you can use presenter view, which puts the presentation on the screen and a viewer on your computer. Powerpoint also has a blank screen function that turns everything on the screen black. I think you access it by hitting "B". I would just wait to turn on the projector until you have the presentation running and black out the screen. That way, when you go to the first slide of "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" there's no confusion!


----------



## jfschultz (Sep 6, 2007)

I use the dual display feature on my macBook. The presentation goes on the external display (which otherwise only shows the background). The laptop's LCD screen has the presenter's view with notes.


----------



## fredtgreco (Sep 6, 2007)

wsw201 said:


> Fred,
> 
> Don't tell me that you have succumed to using Powerpoint presentations in your sermons!!



No. This would be for Sunday school or meetings.



Calvibaptist said:


> Are you talking about blanking the items so they can't be seen on your laptop or are you talking about on the screen? Usually, if you are using multiple displays and extending your desktop to the second display (the screen), the icons do not show. The wallpaper does, but I don't know how to get rid of that.
> 
> If you are using powerpoint, you can use presenter view, which puts the presentation on the screen and a viewer on your computer. Powerpoint also has a blank screen function that turns everything on the screen black. I think you access it by hitting "B". I would just wait to turn on the projector until you have the presentation running and black out the screen. That way, when you go to the first slide of "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" there's no confusion!




I need it to work for programs other than PowerPoint as well. For example, in our budget meetings, it is helpful to have the Excel spreadsheet up on a screen for all to look at. I want the desktop to be completely blank and then I can open programs from the "Start" menu.


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Sep 6, 2007)

Fred,

Probably the quickest way would be to create another account that had a blank desktop. Simply log out of the one account and log into the other (< 1 min) and you'll be on a clean desktop.

Place all the documents you want to use in a common folder not linked to an account or give the account admin permissions to read other account's files. Also, make sure your apps are installed to be used by all users on the computer.


----------



## Calvibaptist (Sep 6, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> Fred,
> 
> Probably the quickest way would be to create another account that had a blank desktop. Simply log out of the one account and log into the other (< 1 min) and you'll be on a clean desktop.
> 
> Place all the documents you want to use in a common folder not linked to an account or give the account admin permissions to read other account's files. Also, make sure your apps are installed to be used by all users on the computer.



Yeah, that's what I was going to say...


----------



## brymaes (Sep 7, 2007)

Right click on your desktop, go to 'View,' then uncheck 'Show Desktop Icons.'


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Sep 7, 2007)

theologae said:


> Right click on your desktop, go to 'View,' then uncheck 'Show Desktop Icons.'



 Wow! I've been using Windows forever and never knew about that feature!


----------



## dalecosby (Sep 7, 2007)

> Probably the quickest way would be to create another account that had a blank desktop. Simply log out of the one account and log into the other (< 1 min) and you'll be on a clean desktop.


Which is what I was going to say as well.
For what it is worth, it works on both Macs and PCs.


----------



## fredtgreco (Sep 7, 2007)

theologae said:


> Right click on your desktop, go to 'View,' then uncheck 'Show Desktop Icons.'



This is exactly what I needed. Thanks!!


----------



## RamistThomist (Sep 7, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> theologae said:
> 
> 
> > Right click on your desktop, go to 'View,' then uncheck 'Show Desktop Icons.'
> ...



I can;t get it to show "view." arg.


----------



## fredtgreco (Sep 7, 2007)

Spear Dane said:


> SemperFideles said:
> 
> 
> > theologae said:
> ...



I could not either, but you can see it from "Arrange Icons by"






By the way - Rich - the attachment manager does not work. It said this attachment was to big by 994kb, which is roughly 40x the size of the image.


----------



## RamistThomist (Sep 7, 2007)

wow...that's really cool. i learned so much about computers from this thread alone.


----------



## toddpedlar (Sep 7, 2007)

fredtgreco said:


> Spear Dane said:
> 
> 
> > SemperFideles said:
> ...



I've never once gotten an attachment to work - always for this reason... somewhere, somehow, it's miscalibrated...


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Sep 7, 2007)

Fred,

Looks like Vista is the OS that has a View option built in but I just checked Windows 2000 at work. Enable Active Desktop for your desktop. When I right-clicked on the Desktop and clicked on Active Desktop it had a Show Icons option.

Thanks for the heads up on the attachment thingy. I'll get on it.


----------



## fredtgreco (Sep 7, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> Fred,
> 
> Looks like Vista is the OS that has a View option built in but I just checked Windows 2000 at work. Enable Active Desktop for your desktop. When I right-clicked on the Desktop and clicked on Active Desktop it had a Show Icons option.
> 
> Thanks for the heads up on the attachment thingy. I'll get on it.



Rich, I'm running XP, and the screenshot is what I get when I right click. I just had to select "Arrange Icons by" and then click on "show desktop icons" and it worked perfectly.


----------



## brymaes (Sep 8, 2007)

Yeah, I should have mentioned that I'm running Vista...


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Sep 8, 2007)

fredtgreco said:


> SemperFideles said:
> 
> 
> > Fred,
> ...



Oh. Duh! Sorry, it's only 1320 on Saturday but I'm having a crazy day.


----------



## Semper Fidelis (Sep 9, 2007)

*I fixed it*

Thanks for the heads up Fred. The attachment problem should be fixed. Please test at your leisure.


----------

