DesktopShelves Alternatives

DesktopShelves is described as 'helps you fight the clutter on your desktop by organizing files on shelves. A shelf the size of 5 icons holds 20 files' and is a desktop customization tool in the os & utilities category. There are more than 10 alternatives to DesktopShelves for Windows, Mac and Steam. The best alternative is Portals: Desktop Organization, which is free. Other great apps like DesktopShelves are Fences, Sideslide, iTop Easy Desktop and ICU - Icon Configuration Utility.

DesktopShelves alternatives are mainly Desktop Customization Tools but may also be Application Launchers or Shell Extensions. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of DesktopShelves.

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DesktopShelves

Paid • Proprietary
Desktop Customization Tool
Mac

DesktopShelves helps you fight the clutter on your desktop by organizing files on shelves. A shelf the size of 5 icons...

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Portals: Desktop Organization
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Free • Proprietary
Desktop Customization Tool
Shell Extension
Windows
11 alternatives to Portals: Desktop Organization
Create containers (aka Portals) on your desktop which show the contents of a specified folder. Divide your desktop into folders then use Portals to display the contents of the folders in an organized fashion - you can even hide the folders away somewhere else.
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Portals: Desktop Organization Features
1. LightweightPortals: Desktop Organization consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Ad-freePortals: Desktop Organization doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
Group Icons
Drag and Drop
Configurable
Customizable
Folder Mirroring
Launcher
Organization
Dock
Fences
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No
Paid • Proprietary
Desktop Customization Tool
Windows
Steam
18 alternatives to Fences
Fences allows you to organize your PC by automatically placing your shortcuts and icons into resizable shaded areas on your desktop called fences that are designed to match Windows 10 and 11. Some of Fences features include:
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Fences Features
Group Icons
Sideslide
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Free • Proprietary
Application Launcher
Windows
19 alternatives to Sideslide
SideSlide is an advanced, portable, unobtrusive, dockable, skinnable, instantly accessible, highly configurable Desktop Extension on Steroids! Clean desktop clutter and make your computer friendlier and faster than ever before.
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Sideslide Features
1. PortableSideslide can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Launcher
Multitasking
iTop Easy Desktop
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Free • Proprietary
Desktop Customization Tool
Windows
16 alternatives to iTop Easy Desktop
iTop Easy Desktop is a free and easy-to-use desktop manager to organize your desktop apps, files, and folders according to your rules, freeing you from laboriously sorting desktop icons. It delivers various practical features including but not limited to grouping desktop items...
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iTop Easy Desktop Features
Customizable
ICU - Icon Configuration Utility
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Free • Open Source
Windows
11 alternatives to ICU - Icon Configuration Utility
Restore your desktop when the icons get “rearranged”.

Melba23 and I found we were working on very similar ideas to restore the Desktop icons to their normal place if they became “rearranged”. Vista seems to like this doing on occasion just for fun – but we all know some applicat.
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ICU - Icon Configuration Utility Features
1. PortableICU - Icon Configuration Utility can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
DesktopOK
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Free • Proprietary
Windows
9 alternatives to DesktopOK
Saves and restores the positions of desktop shortcuts.
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DesktopOK Features
1. PortableDesktopOK can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Pin the specified window on top of all
Make window transparent
Shell Extension Replacement
iCollections
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Paid • Proprietary
Mac
14 alternatives to iCollections
iCollections is an expertly designed application which helps you keep your desktop organized. The app's unique features are what make it the most popular method of desktop organization for Mac users.
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iCollections Features
Extensive customization
Group Icons
Drag and Drop
Customizable
Desktop Restore
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Free • Proprietary
Windows
9 alternatives to Desktop Restore
It records the layout and positions of icons and programs on the Windows Desktop, and permits restoration of the layout. It appears to operate correctly under Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Desktop Restore has no features, suggest some!
Partitions
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Freemium • Proprietary
Shell Extension
Windows
8 alternatives to Partitions
Partitions is the ultimate app to help you organize your desktop! Gone are the days of cluttered desktops with dozens (or even hundreds) of files. Using Partitions, you can create groupings of files and shortcuts right on your desktop.
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Partitions Features
Widgets
Customizable
IconRestorer
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Free • Proprietary
Windows
8 alternatives to IconRestorer
Backup and restore icons position on desktop (and wallpaper) separately for every screen resolution.

IconRestorer has no features, suggest some!
Discontinued
The program is no longer updated. Last version, 1.0.8.1, released in September 2010, can be still downloaded from the official website.