Shortcut Restore

Save and restore your desktop icon positions with ease.

Created by ZxPwd

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Overview

Shortcut Restore is a modern Windows desktop application that allows you to save and restore the positions of your desktop icons. Ever had your desktop icons get scrambled after a display driver update, resolution change, or Windows update? This tool solves that problem by letting you save your perfectly arranged desktop layout and restore it with a single click.

Features

Desktop Icon Management

• Scan Current Layout - Instantly capture the position of all desktop icons
• Multiple Presets - Save unlimited layout presets (Work, Gaming, Clean, etc.)
• One-Click Restore - Restore any saved layout instantly
• Rename Presets - Edit preset names anytime with inline editing
• Delete Presets - Remove presets you no longer need

Quick Settings Utilities

• Clear DNS Cache - Flush your DNS resolver cache (ipconfig /flushdns)
• Empty Recycle Bin - Clear all items from the Recycle Bin silently
• Clear Recent Files - Remove your Windows recent files history for privacy

Modern UI

• Custom Dark Theme - Sleek, modern dark interface built from scratch
• Smooth Animations - Polished hover effects and transitions
• Custom Window Chrome - Borderless window with custom title bar
• No External UI Libraries - 100% custom XAML styling

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How It Works

Technical Implementation

Shortcut Restore uses the Windows Shell API to interact with desktop icons:

1. Icon Detection: The application locates the desktop ListView control through the Windows window hierarchy (Progman → SHELLDLL_DefView → SysListView32)

2. Position Retrieval: Uses LVM_GETITEMPOSITION and LVM_GETITEMTEXTW messages via SendMessage to read icon names and coordinates

3. Cross-Process Memory: Since the desktop runs in Explorer's process, the app uses VirtualAllocEx to allocate memory in the target process for data exchange

4. Position Restoration: Uses LVM_SETITEMPOSITION to move icons back to their saved coordinates

5. Persistent Storage: Presets are saved as JSON in %AppData%\ShortcutRestore\presets.json

Data Storage

Presets are stored in JSON format:

{
  "presets": [
    {
      "id": "guid-here",
      "name": "Work Layout",
      "createdAt": "2024-01-09T10:30:00",
      "lastUsed": "2024-01-09T15:45:00",
      "icons": [
        { "name": "Chrome", "x": 100, "y": 50 },
        { "name": "Visual Studio", "x": 100, "y": 150 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

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Installation

Option 1: Download Release

1. Go to Releases
2. Download ShortcutRestore.zip
3. Run the executable - no installation required!

Option 2: Build from Source

See Building from Source below.

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Usage

Saving a Layout

1. Arrange your desktop icons exactly how you want them
2. Open Shortcut Restore
3. Click "Scan Current Layout"
4. Enter a name for your preset (e.g., "Work Setup")
5. Click "Save Preset"

Restoring a Layout

1. Open Shortcut Restore
2. Find your saved preset in the list
3. Click "Restore"
4. Your icons will move to their saved positions!

Tips

• Disable Auto-Arrange: For best results, right-click your desktop → View → uncheck "Auto arrange icons" and "Align icons to grid"
• Multiple Monitors: The app saves positions based on coordinates, so it works best when your monitor setup hasn't changed
• Quick Settings: Use the utility buttons at the bottom for common system tasks

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Building from Source

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0 SDK or later
• Windows 10/11

Clone and Build

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ZxPwdz/shortcut-restore.git
cd shortcut-restore

# Build for development
dotnet build ShortcutRestore.csproj

# Run the application
dotnet run --project ShortcutRestore.csproj

Publishing as Single Executable

To create a standalone single-file executable that includes the .NET runtime (no .NET installation required on target machine):

dotnet publish ShortcutRestore.csproj -c Release -o publish

This creates a single ShortcutRestore.exe file in the publish folder (~65MB) that:

• Contains the entire .NET 8 runtime
• Requires no installation
• Runs on any Windows 10/11 machine
• Is fully self-contained

Publish Configuration

The project is configured with these publish settings in ShortcutRestore.csproj:

<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- Single file publish settings -->
  <PublishSingleFile>true</PublishSingleFile>
  <SelfContained>true</SelfContained>
  <RuntimeIdentifier>win-x64</RuntimeIdentifier>
  <IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract>true</IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract>
  <EnableCompressionInSingleFile>true</EnableCompressionInSingleFile>
</PropertyGroup>

Setting	Description
PublishSingleFile	Bundles all assemblies into a single executable
SelfContained	Includes the .NET runtime (no .NET required on target)
RuntimeIdentifier	Targets 64-bit Windows
IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract	Includes WPF native libraries in the bundle
EnableCompressionInSingleFile	Compresses the executable to reduce file size

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Project Structure

ShortcutRestore/
├── App.xaml                    # Application entry and resources
├── MainWindow.xaml             # Main UI window
├── ShortcutRestore.csproj      # Project configuration
│
├── ViewModels/
│   ├── MainViewModel.cs        # Main application logic
│   └── PresetViewModel.cs      # Preset item logic
│
├── Models/
│   ├── IconPosition.cs         # Icon position data
│   ├── Preset.cs               # Preset data model
│   └── AppData.cs              # Application data container
│
├── Services/
│   ├── DesktopIconService.cs   # Desktop icon manipulation
│   ├── PresetService.cs        # JSON save/load
│   └── SystemUtilitiesService.cs # Quick settings functions
│
├── Interop/
│   └── ShellInterop.cs         # Windows API definitions
│
├── Converters/
│   └── ValueConverters.cs      # XAML value converters
│
└── Themes/
    ├── Colors.xaml             # Color palette
    ├── Fonts.xaml              # Typography
    ├── Buttons.xaml            # Button styles
    ├── TextBoxes.xaml          # Input styles
    ├── ScrollBars.xaml         # Scrollbar styles
    └── Cards.xaml              # Card panel styles

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Technologies Used

• .NET 8.0 - Modern, cross-platform framework
• WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) - Rich desktop UI framework
• CommunityToolkit.Mvvm - Lightweight MVVM framework
• Windows Shell API - Desktop icon manipulation
• Custom XAML Themes - No third-party UI libraries

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Requirements

• OS: Windows 10 or Windows 11
• Architecture: x64 (64-bit)
• Runtime: None required (self-contained executable)

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Known Limitations

• Icons must have unique names for accurate restoration
• Works best when "Auto arrange icons" is disabled
• Monitor resolution/DPI changes may affect saved positions
• Some system icons (like Recycle Bin) may have restricted positioning

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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License

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

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Acknowledgments

• Icon design resources
• Microsoft WPF documentation
• The .NET community

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Created with passion by ZxPwd

If you find this tool useful, please consider giving it a star!