Save Quick Launch Toolbar layout

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Ian D Samson

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After one of the most recent downloads for W2K SP4, Microsoft in all
their wisdom and understanding of users' needs, requirements and
preferences, decided to re-arrange the Quick Launch Toolbar
alphabetically, irrespective of how long it had taken "this user" to
arrange the icons into groups by preference, order of use, sequences,
commonly-used icons vs not-so-commonly-used icons, etc. It has taken
me 2 weeks to get my Quick Launch Toolbar back to the way I want it.
Now I am looking for a way to save it so that it stays the way I want
it to be, not the way MS or anyone else decides for me it should be.

How can I save my QLT layout?

Thanks.
 
Re: Save Quick Launch Toolbar layout

Strange. I'm current with all available updates and this hasn't happened
to me. And MS is ostensibly only issuing strictly security updates for
Win2k ... not diddling with any aesthetics (even if they need it).

Are you sure this is caused by a Windows Update?

Ian D Samson wrote:
> After one of the most recent downloads for W2K SP4, Microsoft in all
> their wisdom and understanding of users' needs, requirements and
> preferences, decided to re-arrange the Quick Launch Toolbar
> alphabetically, irrespective of how long it had taken "this user" to
> arrange the icons into groups by preference, order of use, sequences,
> commonly-used icons vs not-so-commonly-used icons, etc. It has taken
> me 2 weeks to get my Quick Launch Toolbar back to the way I want it.
> Now I am looking for a way to save it so that it stays the way I want
> it to be, not the way MS or anyone else decides for me it should be.
>
> How can I save my QLT layout?
>
> Thanks.
 
Re: Save Quick Launch Toolbar layout

On Nov 29, 4:45 pm, Sid Elbow <h...@there.com> wrote:
> Strange. I'm current with all available updates and this hasn't happened
> to me. And MS is ostensibly only issuing strictly security updates for
> Win2k ... not diddling with any aesthetics (even if they need it).
>
> Are you sure this is caused by a Windows Update?
>

Hi Sid, It was fine before the update, after the update it was re-
arranged. Please explain that. I did not add nor remove any software.
However, as you so correctly put it: "MS is ostensibly ...." Enough
said!

Ian
 
Re: Save Quick Launch Toolbar layout

Ian D Samson wrote:
> On Nov 29, 4:45 pm, Sid Elbow <h...@there.com> wrote:
>> Strange. I'm current with all available updates and this hasn't happened
>> to me. And MS is ostensibly only issuing strictly security updates for
>> Win2k ... not diddling with any aesthetics (even if they need it).
>>
>> Are you sure this is caused by a Windows Update?
>>
>
> Hi Sid, It was fine before the update, after the update it was re-
> arranged. Please explain that. I did not add nor remove any software.

I assume the "Please explain that" is kind of rhetorical since obviously
I can't, given that I didn't get the problem (on any of 5 machines) and
no one else has reported it here (that I've seen). :-)

The only observation I can make is that Windows seems to be quite
paranoid sometimes in the order of certain items. I've noticed in IE
that if I drag an Internet shortcut onto the toolbar it will try to
place it in alphabetical order (not where I dragged it to) and may, at
the same time re-arrange any existing toolbar shortcuts for me while I'm
at it (thanks a bunch). Locking/unlocking the toolbar doesn't help and
it sometimes takes several goes of dragging stuff around before
IE/Windows finally gets the message and leaves things where you put them.

Your Quick Launch problem kind of reminds me of that. Sorry - not being
much help.
 
Re: Save Quick Launch Toolbar layout

Ian D Samson wrote:

> After one of the most recent downloads for W2K SP4, Microsoft in all
> their wisdom and understanding of users' needs, requirements and
> preferences, decided to re-arrange the Quick Launch Toolbar
> alphabetically, irrespective of how long it had taken "this user" to
> arrange the icons into groups by preference, order of use, sequences,
> commonly-used icons vs not-so-commonly-used icons, etc. It has taken
> me 2 weeks to get my Quick Launch Toolbar back to the way I want it.
> Now I am looking for a way to save it so that it stays the way I want
> it to be, not the way MS or anyone else decides for me it should be.
> How can I save my QLT layout?

Windows saves desktop layout and quick launch toolbar layout AFAIR in
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams\Desktop
registry key. If something is wrong with this key icons become sorted
alphabetically. I think that rearranging your icons sort order was
caused by some damage in that registry key. It might be caused by some
update or other installed software. To make a backup of current layout
just export that registry key to a file. The only problem when restoring
this backup is that this should be done before system starts - otherwise
it won't work. This was quite easy using 9x system - one could use DOS
mode. When using NT-based system AFAIR one "trick" works - just after
importing a backup *.reg file into registry it's necessary to go to task
manager and kill explorer.exe process. After it ends it all desktop
(icons & toolbars) disappears. But when explorer is started again using
"New task..." button icons should appear sorted as it was saved in
backup *.reg file.

--
Regards
Arkadiusz 'Black Fox' Artyszuk
 
Re: Save Quick Launch Toolbar layout

Ian D Samson wrote:
> After one of the most recent downloads for W2K SP4, Microsoft in all
> their wisdom and understanding of users' needs, requirements and
> preferences, decided to re-arrange the Quick Launch Toolbar
> alphabetically, irrespective of how long it had taken "this user" to
> arrange the icons into groups by preference, order of use, sequences,
> commonly-used icons vs not-so-commonly-used icons, etc. It has taken
> me 2 weeks to get my Quick Launch Toolbar back to the way I want it.
> Now I am looking for a way to save it so that it stays the way I want
> it to be, not the way MS or anyone else decides for me it should be.
>
> How can I save my QLT layout?
>
> Thanks.

I'd be curious to lnow how you were able to rearrange it if you can
remember. My desktop is fine, but my W2K laptop, supposedly configured
exactly the same way, has the same problem and I finally just gave up on it.
Failed modes of problem-solving included posting for help in this NG.
 
Re: Save Quick Launch Toolbar layout

On Dec 2, 2:50 am, "Roger Fink" <f...@manana.org> wrote:
> Ian D Samson wrote:
> > After one of the most recent downloads for W2K SP4, Microsoft in all
> > their wisdom and understanding of users' needs, requirements and
> > preferences, decided to re-arrange theQuickLaunchToolbar
> > alphabetically, irrespective of how long it had taken "this user" to
> > arrange the icons into groups by preference, order of use, sequences,
> > commonly-used icons vs not-so-commonly-used icons, etc. It has taken
> > me 2 weeks to get myQuickLaunchToolbarback to the way I want it.
> > Now I am looking for a way to save it so that it stays the way I want
> > it to be, not the way MS or anyone else decides for me it should be.
>
> > How can I save my QLT layout?
>
> > Thanks.
>
> I'd be curious to lnow how you were able to rearrange it if you can
> remember. My desktop is fine, but my W2K laptop, supposedly configured
> exactly the same way, has the same problem and I finally just gave up on it.
> Failed modes of problem-solving included posting for help in this NG.

Well, profuse apologies to Microsoft - it was not an update that re-
arranged my QLT, but Google Desktop! Since removing Google Desktop, my
QLT has returned to normal. Google, please attend to this - users do
not want their QLTs re-arranged just because they have installed the
Google Desktop.
 
Re: Save Quick Launch Toolbar layout

so what was your solution then, just remove google desktop? was there a work
around?

"Ian D Samson" wrote:

> On Dec 2, 2:50 am, "Roger Fink" <f...@manana.org> wrote:
> > Ian D Samson wrote:
> > > After one of the most recent downloads for W2K SP4, Microsoft in all
> > > their wisdom and understanding of users' needs, requirements and
> > > preferences, decided to re-arrange theQuickLaunchToolbar
> > > alphabetically, irrespective of how long it had taken "this user" to
> > > arrange the icons into groups by preference, order of use, sequences,
> > > commonly-used icons vs not-so-commonly-used icons, etc. It has taken
> > > me 2 weeks to get myQuickLaunchToolbarback to the way I want it.
> > > Now I am looking for a way to save it so that it stays the way I want
> > > it to be, not the way MS or anyone else decides for me it should be.
> >
> > > How can I save my QLT layout?
> >
> > > Thanks.
> >
> > I'd be curious to lnow how you were able to rearrange it if you can
> > remember. My desktop is fine, but my W2K laptop, supposedly configured
> > exactly the same way, has the same problem and I finally just gave up on it.
> > Failed modes of problem-solving included posting for help in this NG.
>
> Well, profuse apologies to Microsoft - it was not an update that re-
> arranged my QLT, but Google Desktop! Since removing Google Desktop, my
> QLT has returned to normal. Google, please attend to this - users do
> not want their QLTs re-arranged just because they have installed the
> Google Desktop.
>
 
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