Desktop Profile Manager

A powerful Windows desktop management application that allows you to create, save, and switch between different desktop configurations with custom layouts, icon arrangements, themes, and desktop folders.

Features

• Multiple Desktop Profiles - Create unlimited desktop configurations for different workflows
• Icon Layout Preservation - Save and restore exact desktop icon positions
• Custom Desktop Folders - Use any folder as your desktop for each profile
• Windows Theme Integration - Automatically apply different themes per profile
• Temporary Desktop Mode - Quickly switch to any folder without saving changes
• System Tray Integration - Background operation with quick access from tray
• Context Menu Integration - Right-click folders for instant profile creation

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Gigio-Bagigio/desktop-manager.git
cd desktop-manager

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run the application
python app.py

Requirements: Windows 10/11

Quick Start

Creating Your First Profile

1. Launch the application
2. Enter a name for your profile (e.g., "Work", "Gaming", "Design")
3. Click "Create Profile"
4. Select the folder you want to use as desktop for this profile
5. Your current desktop layout and theme are automatically saved!

Switching Between Profiles

• From GUI: Select a profile and click "Upload Profile"
• From System Tray: Right-click tray icon → Profiles → [Profile Name] → Load

Using Temporary Desktop

Perfect for quick tasks without permanent changes:

• Click "Open Temporary Desktop" and select any folder
• Right-click any folder → "Open as Temporary Desktop"

Use Cases

• Work Setup - Separate profiles for different projects with relevant files on desktop
• Gaming - Clean desktop with game shortcuts and tools
• Development - Project-specific desktops with relevant documentation and tools
• Presentation Mode - Clean, professional desktop for screen sharing

Advanced Features

Command Line Usage

# Open folder as temporary desktop
python app.py --temp "C:\Path\To\Folder"

# Create new profile from folder
python app.py --new "C:\Path\To\Folder"

How It Works

Each profile consists of three components:

1. Icon Layout - Exact positions of desktop icons (saved in Windows registry format)
2. Desktop Folder - The folder that acts as your desktop
3. Windows Theme - Visual theme applied with the profile

When you switch profiles, the application:

• Updates Windows registry to change desktop folder location
• Restores saved icon positions
• Applies the associated theme
• Restarts Windows Explorer to apply changes

File Structure

Data is stored in C:\Users\[Username]\DesktopProfiles\:

DesktopProfiles/
├── active_profile.txt              # Currently active profile
├── [profile_name].reg             # Desktop icon positions  
├── [profile_name].theme           # Windows theme file
├── [profile_name]_desktop.txt     # Desktop folder path
└── .temp_active                   # Temporary profile marker

Troubleshooting

Profile Not Loading

• Wait for Windows Explorer to fully restart
• Ensure the desktop folder path still exists
• Try running as administrator

Theme Not Applying

• Windows may require manual theme confirmation
• Check if theme file exists in profile folder
• Some Windows versions have theme restrictions

Context Menu Missing

• Re-run registration as administrator: --register
• Check Windows registry permissions
• Restart Windows Explorer: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe && start explorer.exe

Emergency Reset

If something goes wrong, restore default desktop:

1. Launch the application
2. Click "Restore Default Desktop"
3. Or manually delete the DesktopProfiles folder

Privacy & Security

• 100% Local - No network communication, all data stays on your computer
• Registry Safe - Only modifies user-specific registry keys (no system changes)
• Fully Reversible - All changes can be undone
• Non-Destructive - Original files and settings are preserved

Contributing

Contributions welcome!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

If this project helped you, please consider giving it a star!

For issues or feature requests, please open an issue.