I create more than 200 screen snapshots each week that I use to illustrate white papers that I share with a Senior Citizen Forum.  It is not that I have anything to hide, I just like having a way to cover a mass of temporary graphic files and saved Notepad files with a much neater appearance, and be able to return to my on- going work with the click of an icon.  Here is a typical screen snapshot of my Windows XP Professional Desktop screen:

Before we get to the steps in creating a Windows "Shade" - open the Recycle Bin on your Windows Desktop.  Here is a screen snapshot that will help:

On the Upper Toolbar - left-click your mouse on the 'Up One Page' icon - I have hi-lited the icon as a raised image.  This is an easy way for you to access your Windows Desktop Folder (remove the Microsoft smoke and mirrors)!

What you are viewing in the above screen snapshot validates the proof that Windows is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and not an Operating System per se!  So on with the main context of this Googlepage:

1)  I have hi-lited the top option in the left sidebar - open an empty File Folder on the Desktop Folder which is actually the Desktop without the pretty graphic image superimposed.  Move your mouse pointer down to the bottom line of icons and folders and in an area clear of icons - right- click your mouse to open the right-click menu.  Hi-lite the menu option New to open a second menu.  Slide your mouse pointer over and onto the new menu and click on the menu option Folder to place a manila file folder at the exact same spot where you first right-clicked your mouse.  You will note that the inside of the new manila file folder is hi-lited - and while the blue is in-place - type in Shade to give the folder an identity.  You can see that action in the following screen snapshot:

Simultaneously, the same new folder appears on your Windows Desktop.

2)  Place your mouse pointer on the new file folder and right-click it to display the right-click menu.  Click on the bottom menu option (hi-lited   in the following screen snapshot) Properties.

3)  When the Properties Panel opens - click to display the Customize Tab.

Click on the bottom option Change Icon (which in this application is used to create an icon for the new folder).

4)  One of three Dynamic Link Library files will open revealing a few or many icons that can be selected to identify file folders.  In this icon cache you can see that I have removed the three characters url so that we can type in the filename shell32 to make the line read: %SystemRoot%\ system32\shell32.dll and additionally, changing the space to moricons will open still yet another large batch (view the change in the screen snapshot under 5):

5)  And in the following cache you can see that there are a hundred or more to select from - but you can see that I have changed the path statement from shell32 to moricons which you can see in 6):

6)  The following icon cache originally came with Windows 9x - but has been available through all of the previous versions including Windows XP Professional.  There are several more DLL files that contain icons but the ones I have shown here contain the majority.   

7)  Actually, I like the colorful Butterfly icon that you can see in the cache shown under 5) above.  To select the Butterfly hi-lite it and then click the OK Button to transfer the icon to the Shade Properties panel:

8)  Click the Apply Button and then click the OK Button to set the icon in- place on your Windows Desktop.  You can change to another icon by following the same steps or you can create your own (ask me how)!

Now that we have a new File Folder on our Windows XP Desktop - let us turn our attention toward the creation of the "shade".  Continue......

9)  Click on the Butterfly Icon to open the new File Folder - the folder opens minimized.  Place your mouse pointer in the dark blue top frame - hold the left mouse button while you move the folder image to the top left hand corner of your Desktop screen:

10)  Move your mouse pointer down to the lower right-hand corner of the file folder - to the tip - and when the pointer turns into a double-headed arrow, hold the left mouse button while you pull the corner down to the right bottom corner of your Windows Desktop screen.  This will eliminate the minimized view for the folder - turning it into the "shade" that always opens to the full-page view:

11)  Your new Shade will quickly become a favorite folder where you can store instant links to the Internet in the form of Desktop Shortcuts - and here is one that you can adopt quickly.  Place your mouse pointer near the top left-hand corner of your Shade folder and right-click - a menu appears.  Hi-lite the menu option New to open a second menu.  Slide your mouse pointer over and onto the new menu and click on the menu option Shortcut:

12)  Simultaneously, the Create Shortcut panel appears on your Desktop and you can copy and paste the following URL into the dialog box as you can see in the following screen snapshot of the Create Shortcut wizard:

13)  After you have pasted the URL into the dialog box - click the Next > Button to open the following pane to apply a name to your Shortcut:

14)  What more-fitting shortcut to grace your new Window Shade than the entry portal to PC World Community:

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