I have a lot of icons on my desktop that I don't use too often, but like to have them handy for when I want them.
Does anyone know of a (pref. free) utility that will provide alternate desktops that can be switched with a hotkey?
You can create a folder in, say, your My Documents folder, put your shortcuts here and then right click it and send it to the desktop as a shortcut.
Now right click the newly created desktop shortcut and assign a shortcut key combination to the folder. You may also change the icon from the unremarkable and generic folder icon to something more noticeable.
Hit the shortcut key combination anytime you desire access to your off-desktop icons.
I use CTL-ALT and some letter to avoid using already assigned shortcut key combinations in popular software titles.
You may also drag your shortcut folder to the quick launch area (usually to the right of the start button) for easy access.