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PecoFence manual

Every section comes with a short animation. Follow along once and you've got it. Click any step to jump there in the animation, or click “Slow” if it moves too fast.

Don't want to go through the settings one by one?Tell an AI agent such as Claude Code or Codex what you want, and it sets up PecoFence for you. See how →

1.1 · Getting started

First launch

Start PecoFence and your desktop icons are sorted for you.

  1. 1

    Start PecoFence from the Start menu or a desktop shortcut.

  2. 2

    The first time, it creates three fences on the right side of the screen and puts your desktop icons into them by type. The other icons go to the “Desktop” fence, which shows no title or edges: its icons stand down columns from the top-left corner of the screen, as on the Windows desktop.

  3. 3

    New files that show up on the desktop later go into the matching fence automatically.

  4. 4

    To get your old desktop back, right-click the tray icon (the PecoFence icon at the right end of the taskbar; if you don't see it, select ^ first) and select Exit PecoFence. Your files stay in your Desktop folder the whole time. PecoFence only shows them in fences.

1.2 · Getting started

Create a fence

Want to keep a group of icons together? Give them a fence of their own.

  1. 1

    Press and hold on an empty part of the desktop and drag out a box. Don't let the box touch an existing fence.

  2. 2

    Release the mouse button and click New fence at the box's bottom-right corner.

  3. 3

    Drag icons into the new fence.

  4. 4

    Right-click the title bar, select Rename, type a name and press Enter.

1.3 · Getting started

Move and resize

Drag a fence wherever you like and resize it anytime. It lines up with other fences when you bring it close.

  1. 1

    Drag the title bar and the fence follows. Near another fence or the edge of the screen it snaps into line, and when its edge is a few pixels off another fence in the same row or column, it lines up however far apart they are. A guide shows which edges line up. Don't drop it on another fence's title bar, or the two fences merge into tabs.

  2. 2

    Point to the edge of a fence. When the pointer turns into a double arrow, drag to resize. The edge snaps into line too, and it stops for a moment at the height that shows every icon.

  3. 3

    Drag a corner to change the width and height together. The icons rearrange themselves.

1.4 · Getting started

Roll up and expand

Roll up a fence you don't need right now, so only its title bar is left. Rest the pointer on it and it expands.

  1. 1

    Double-click the title bar. The fence rolls up to just its title bar, which shows how many items are inside.

  2. 2

    Rest the pointer on a rolled-up title bar and the fence expands. Move away and it rolls up again.

  3. 3

    To keep it open, click the arrow at the right end of the title bar, or double-click the title bar again.

2.1 · Leave it to AI

Let AI set it up

Tell an AI agent what you want, and it makes the changes with pecofence-cli, the command-line tool that comes with PecoFence.

  1. 1

    Start PecoFence, then open your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex and Cursor all work) and send it your request.

  2. 2

    Following this request, the agent first runs pecofence-cli skill and pecofence-cli describe to learn how the tool works. Then it checks your current configuration and backs it up before changing anything.

  3. 3

    Next it runs commands to change the configuration. Your fences update on the desktop with each change.

Try this prompt

First read pecofence-cli skill and pecofence-cli describe. Check and back up my configuration, then switch to dark mode and make all fences more transparent.

3.1 · Organize icons

Move icons between fences

Drag an icon into another fence and it shows up there. Between regular fences, the file itself stays where it is.

  1. 1

    Drag an icon into another fence and release it. The target fence lights up and says “Move to Work”. If the hint names a folder instead, the file really moves into that folder when you release it.

  2. 2

    To move several icons at once, hold Ctrl and click each one, or drag a box around them in an empty part of the fence. Then drag them together.

  3. 3

    Drop an icon on an empty part of the desktop and it goes back to the “Desktop” fence.

3.2 · Organize icons

Views, icon size and sorting

Each fence has its own icon size, sort order and view.

  1. 1

    With the pointer over a fence, hold Ctrl and turn the mouse wheel. The icons get bigger or smaller, and the fence's height adjusts; fences below it move out of the way. This works only in the “Icons” view, and not on a fence with “Lock position and size” on.

  2. 2

    Right-click the title bar and pick an order under Sort by, such as Type. The icons slide to their new places.

  3. 3

    Under View, you can switch to List or Details. Details shows the date modified, type and size.

3.3 · Organize icons

Automatic sorting rules

Add a rule and new files go straight to the fence you choose.

  1. 1

    Open “Settings” → “Sorting rules” (right-click the tray icon and select Settings…), then expand New rule. Enter “Invoice” as the “Rule name”, set “Condition type” to Name contains, and enter “Invoice” as the “Condition value” too.

  2. 2

    Set “Target fence” to “Expenses” (only existing fences are listed) and select Add rule. The new rule goes to the top of the list. Rules are checked from the top down and the first one that matches wins, so invoices go to “Expenses”, and the “Files and documents” rule below never gets them.

  3. 3

    From now on, any new file on the desktop with “Invoice” in its name goes straight to “Expenses”.

  4. 4

    Icons already on the desktop don't move on their own. Select Apply now and every icon on the desktop is sorted by the rules, also ones you dragged out of a fence; icons you put into a fence yourself stay put. Not what you wanted? Select Undo in the notice that appears, and everything goes back.

4.1 · Tips and tricks

Tabs

Combine several fences into one and switch between them like browser tabs.

  1. 1

    Drag a fence by its title bar onto another fence's title bar. That title bar lights up.

  2. 2

    Release the mouse button and the two fences become one. The fence you dragged becomes a new tab and opens right away.

  3. 3

    Click a tab to switch to it. Once you've clicked in the fence, you can also press Ctrl+Tab.

  4. 4

    To split them up again, drag a tab down. Once it leaves the title bar, it's a separate fence again. Drop it on an empty part of the desktop.

4.2 · Tips and tricks

Hide fences with a double-click

Want to see your wallpaper or take a clean screenshot? Just double-click an empty part of the desktop.

  1. 1

    Double-click an empty part of the desktop and all your fences disappear.

  2. 2

    Fences with Stay visible when fences are hidden turned on stay on the desktop, like “Favorites” here. This switch is in Fence options… on the fence's menu.

  3. 3

    Double-click again and the fences come back.

  4. 4

    You can also right-click the tray icon (the PecoFence icon at the right end of the taskbar) and select Hide all fences.

4.3 · Tips and tricks

Peek

When windows cover the desktop, press a shortcut to bring your fences to the front. No need to minimize anything.

  1. 1

    Press Ctrl+Alt+Space. All fences float above your windows and everything else dims.

  2. 2

    When you're done, press the shortcut again or click outside the fences, and they go back behind the windows. If you haven't clicked a fence yet, Esc works too.

  3. 3

    While peeking, double-click an icon to open the file. Peek ends once the file opens, and also when you switch to another window.

4.5 · Tips and tricks

Show a folder on the desktop

Put a folder you use a lot on the desktop as a folder fence. It shows whatever is in the folder.

  1. 1

    Right-click a folder icon in a fence and select Show this folder on the desktop.

  2. 2

    A new fence appears next to it with the folder's contents. The small folder icon before the title marks it as a folder fence.

  3. 3

    Double-click a subfolder to open it inside the fence. To go back up a level, click the up arrow at the far left of the title bar, press Backspace or press the mouse's back button. The mouse's forward button takes you back into the subfolder you just left.

  4. 4

    Drag a file in and it really moves into the folder. That's the difference from regular fences, where dragging never moves the file.

5.1 · Appearance

Theme, transparency and color

Change the style of all fences at once, or give one fence its own color and transparency.

  1. 1

    In “Settings” → “General” → “Theme style”, choose Fluent or Liquid Glass. All fences change right away.

  2. 2

    Right-click a fence's title bar and select Fence options… to adjust just that fence.

  3. 3

    Under Tint, click a color to tint the glass. Turn on Tint the title bar only to color just the title bar.

  4. 4

    Make the Title text size a bit larger. Set Opacity to Fully transparent, and only the icons and title show, with the tint hidden too. The glass appears when you point to the fence.

5.2 · Appearance

Show title bars on hover

If title bars take up too much room, hide them until you point to a fence.

  1. 1

    In “Settings” → “General”, scroll down to “Title bar and tabs” and turn on Show title bar only on hover. The title bars disappear and only the icons are left.

  2. 2

    Point to a fence and its title bar comes back, while the icons stay in place. Move away and it hides again.

  3. 3

    To set this for one fence, select it on the “Fences” page and change Show title bar to Always or On hover.

6.1 · Layout and backups

Layout snapshots and backups

Save a snapshot first, and you can undo a messed-up layout in one click.

  1. 1

    Right-click the tray icon, select Settings… and open Layout and backups.

  2. 2

    Give the snapshot a name (optional) and select Save snapshot.

  3. 3

    Now move your fences around as much as you like.

  4. 4

    Select Restore next to the snapshot. The fences' positions, sizes and icons go back to how they were when you saved it. A “Before snapshot restore” entry also appears in the list, in case you change your mind.

7.1 · Tools

Notes, clock and script fences

Tools live in fences too: a note holds notes and to-dos, a clock shows the time and date, and a script fence shows the text a script prints on the desktop, such as the weather.

  1. 1

    Open “Settings” → “Tools” (right-click the tray icon and choose “Settings…”) and click “New note” on the right of “Notes and to-dos”. A note appears on the desktop: just type, and press Enter for a new line.

  2. 2

    Click anywhere else to save. A line that starts with [ ] becomes a to-do: click its box to tick it, and click again to untick it. To change the note later, click its text.

  3. 3

    Click “Add” on the right of “Clock”, and a clock with the time, date and weekday appears on the desktop. The desktop holds one clock, so the button then turns grey and reads “On the desktop”. To see the seconds, right-click the clock and choose “Show seconds”.

  4. 4

    Click “Add” on the right of “Weather”, and a script fence appears on the desktop. It runs a small script on a schedule and shows the text the script prints. This example shows the weather in Tokyo.

7.2 · Tools

Clickable rows in a script fence

A line a script prints can become a link or a button: one click opens a web page or a file, runs a program, copies text, or runs the script again right away.

  1. 1

    These two fences are “GitHub repository activity” and “PC status” in “Settings” → “Tools”: click “Add” on their right. Move the pointer onto a row you can click: the row gets a light background and the pointer becomes a hand. A row that opens a web page or a file also shows a small arrow on the right. Rest there a moment, and a tooltip appears.

  2. 2

    Click, and the browser opens this pull request. This fence lists the newest issues and pull requests of a GitHub repository.

  3. 3

    Click “Refresh” at the bottom, and the script runs again right away. The bottom line of the fence first says it is running, then shows the new update time.

  4. 4

    “PC status” keeps running and updates the CPU, memory and free space on each drive every 2 seconds. Click the “IP address” row, and the address is copied: “Copied” shows next to the pointer, ready to paste.

  5. 5

    Click “Open Task Manager”, and Task Manager opens.

7.3 · Tools

Write your own script fence

A script fence runs your script and shows each line the script prints. A little PowerShell or Python is enough to write one. If you don't write code, an AI assistant can write it for you.

Where to start

  1. Open “Settings” → “Tools”, click “Choose script…” in the “Your own script” row and pick a script file. A script fence appears on the desktop and runs the script once right away. “New tool” → “Your own script…” in the tray menu does the same.
  2. You can also start from an example. Add one such as “Weather”, then right-click its fence and choose “Edit script”. The script opens in Notepad. Change it and save it, then choose “Run now”.

Which scripts work

PowerShell (.ps1), Python (.py, .pyw), batch files (.cmd, .bat), JavaScript (.js) and programs (.exe) all work. Python and JavaScript need Python and Node.js installed first.

A script runs in its own folder and opens no window. When a PowerShell script contains emoji or letters beyond plain English, save it as “UTF-8 with BOM”, or they show up garbled. In Notepad, choose “Save as” and pick it under “Encoding”.

How long and how often

A script runs for at most 10 seconds each time. After 10 seconds PecoFence stops it, and the fence says so.

Right-click the fence and choose how often it runs under “Run interval”: 1, 5, 15 or 30 minutes, or 1 or 3 hours. The default is 30 minutes. “Run now” runs it once right away.

A fence shows at most 40 lines, each at most 300 characters long. The bottom line of the fence shows the script's name and when it last ran.

A complete example

Save the lines below as a .ps1 file, then choose it under “Your own script”. Each line the script prints becomes a line in the fence.

# My links. Save as "UTF-8 with BOM".
"Today is $(Get-Date -Format 'dddd, MMMM d') | icon=📅"
"---"
"PecoFence manual | href=https://pecofence.jiang.jp/manual/ icon=📖"
"Open Downloads | open='$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads' icon=📁"
"Copy my email address | copy=me@example.com icon=✉️"
"Drive C: $([int]((Get-PSDrive C).Free / 1GB)) GB free | color=green"

The text before the bar | is what the fence shows. After it come the parameters, written as name=value. Put a value with spaces in quotes. A line without a bar shows as plain text.

Make a row clickable or change its look

WriteWhat it does
href=web addressA click opens the web address in the browser
open=pathA click opens the file or folder. A path without a drive letter starts at the script's folder
run=program param1=argumentA click runs the program without a window. Write its arguments as param1=, param2=…
copy=textA click copies the text
action=valueA click runs the script again with this value, see the next section
refresh=trueThe script runs again after the click. Works together with any of the above
color=colorThe text color: red, green, orange, yellow, blue, purple, gray, or #rrggbb
icon=textShown at the start of the row, such as an emoji
tooltip=textThe tip shown while the pointer rests on the row
A line with only ---Draws a separator line
[ ] or [x] at the startDrawn as a to-do box, [x] is ticked

When a row has several clickable parameters, only the first counts, in this order: href, open, run, copy, action. The format comes from SwiftBar, a menu bar tool for macOS.

Run the script again with a click

When you click a row with action=, PecoFence runs the script again right away and hands it the value in PECOFENCE_ACTION. The script checks the value first, does what it asks, then prints as usual. On a scheduled run and on “Run now”, the value is empty.

# Water log: each click adds a glass
$file = Join-Path $env:PECOFENCE_DATA 'count.txt'
$n = if (Test-Path $file) { [int](Get-Content $file) } else { 0 }
if ($env:PECOFENCE_ACTION -eq 'add') { $n++; Set-Content $file $n }
"Glasses of water today: $n"
"One more glass | action=add icon=💧"

To-dos work the same way: click the box of a to-do with action=, and it is ticked at once. What the script prints next decides what stays.

Scripts that keep running

Write <pecofence.type>streamable</pecofence.type> in a comment at the top of the script, and it keeps running, without the 10-second limit. Every line it prints shows at once. After a line with ~~~, the next line starts a new screen that replaces what was shown. The fence keeps the newest 40 lines. The “PC status” example is written this way.

# <pecofence.type>streamable</pecofence.type>
# Shows the time every second
while ($true) {
  "~~~"
  "It is $(Get-Date -Format 'HH:mm:ss')"
  Start-Sleep -Seconds 1
}

Such a script is always running. When you click a row with action=, the value goes to the script's standard input as one line of text: the place where a script normally reads what you type. The script ends when you delete its fence, turn off the “Tools” switch or quit PecoFence. When the script ends by itself, the fence keeps what it showed last, and PecoFence starts the script again after the run interval.

Environment variables a script can read

Environment variables are a few values PecoFence hands to a script when it runs it. In PowerShell you write $env:NAME, in Python os.environ["NAME"].

PECOFENCEAlways 1. A script can use it to tell whether PecoFence is running it
PECOFENCE_ACTIONThe action= value of the row you clicked. Empty on a scheduled run and on “Run now”
PECOFENCE_DATAA folder of this fence's own, for what the script needs to remember. PecoFence creates it for you
PECOFENCE_THEMEPecoFence's current color mode: light or dark
PECOFENCE_FENCEThe fence's ID

PECOFENCE_DATA is in the scripts-data folder inside the configuration folder, named after the fence's ID. “Settings” → “Layout and backups” shows where the configuration folder is. The example scripts are in the scripts folder of the same configuration folder.

When something goes wrong

When a script fails, the fence shows the first line of the error, and its bottom line gives the exit code. The fence also says so when the script file is missing, when this kind of file can't run, or when the program that runs it (such as Python) isn't installed. Once you've fixed the script, right-click the fence and choose “Run now” to try again.

Ask an AI to write it

First run pecofence-cli skill and learn how PecoFence script fences work. Then write me a PowerShell script that lists the 5 newest files in my Downloads folder, where a click on a row opens that file. Save the script as UTF-8 with BOM in the scripts folder of the PecoFence configuration folder, then use pecofence-cli to create a script fence for it on my desktop that runs every 5 minutes.

7.4 · Tools

Jump in file dialogs

When you open or save a file in an app, you don't have to click through folders in the dialog: switch to File Explorer and back, and the dialog goes to that folder.

  1. 1

    First turn on Jump in file dialogs in “Settings” → “Peek and search”. When an app shows an Open, Save As or Select Folder dialog, the dialog starts in the folder the app chose, here “Documents”.

  2. 2

    Click the File Explorer window, then click back on the dialog. The dialog goes to the folder File Explorer is showing, once each time you come back. In a Save As dialog, the file name you already typed stays.

  3. 3

    Click a folder fence on the desktop, that is, a fence that shows the contents of a folder. The dialog goes to that folder at once.

Appendix A

Shortcuts at a glance

The keyboard and mouse actions you'll use most. Before you use the keyboard, click an icon or an empty spot in a fence.

Anywhere

Ctrl+Alt+SpacePeek: bring all fences above your windows. Press again or click outside the fences to go back
Tap Ctrl twice quicklyOpens Peek with the search box, twice again closes it. Set “Keyboard shortcut” to “Press Ctrl twice” in “Settings” → “Peek and search” first. The combination above then no longer works
Click or right-click the tray iconOpen the tray menu

You can change the Peek shortcut in “Settings” → “Peek and search”.

Type while peekingOpens the search box to find icons by name
↓ / ↑, or Ctrl+N / Ctrl+PMove down or up the list
Enter, or click a rowOpen it; Peek ends
Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9Open that row of the list
Ctrl+EnterOpen the containing folder
Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab, or a click on a type under the boxOnly one type: folders, documents, images, videos, music, archives or programs; “Put this search on the desktop” takes the type along
Right-click a row, → (cursor at the end), or Ctrl+OAction menu: Open, Open containing folder, Copy path, and the Windows context menu
EscEnd Peek

Press the Peek shortcut while an Open or Save dialog is in front, and Enter hands the selected folder or file to that dialog.

With “Peek search also finds files on the whole computer” on, the last row of the list, “Put this search on the desktop”, turns the search into a smart fence.

Desktop

Double-click an empty spotHide all fences. Double-click again to show them
Drag a box on an empty spotSelect the fences the box touches. If it touches none, two small buttons, “New fence” and “Show a folder here…”, appear at its bottom-right corner and go away after a few seconds
Hold Ctrl or Shift and drag a boxAdd more fences to the selection
Drag the title bar of a selected fenceMove all selected fences together
Click an empty spotClear the selection

Fences

Drag the title barMove the fence
Drag an edge or cornerResize
Double-click the title bar, or click the arrow on the rightRoll up or expand
Right-click the title bar or an empty spotOpen the fence menu
Ctrl+mouse wheelChange the icon size (“Icons” view only, not on locked fences)
Ctrl+VPaste copied files into the fence
Ctrl+Shift+NCreate a new folder
F5Refresh icons; a smart fence searches again
Ctrl+FFilter a folder fence or a smart fence

Tabs

Drag a title bar onto another fence's title barMerge into tabs
Ctrl+TabGo to the next tab
Ctrl+Shift+TabGo to the previous tab
Turn the mouse wheel over the title barGo to the previous or next tab
Drag a tab left or rightReorder tabs
Drag a tab out of the title barMake it a separate fence
Double-click a tabRoll up or expand

Details view

Click a column headerSort by that column. Click again to reverse
Drag the divider between column headersChange the column width. Double-click to fit the contents
Right-click a column headerChoose which columns to show

While moving or resizing a fence

Hold AltTurn off snapping for now
EscCancel and put the fence back. Works when dragging a tab too

Selecting icons

ClickSelect
Ctrl+clickAdd to the selection. Click again to remove it
Shift+clickSelect a range
Drag a box in an empty part of the fenceSelect the icons in the box. Hold Shift to add, or Ctrl to toggle
Ctrl+ASelect all
Arrow keys, Home, End, Page Up, Page DownMove the selection. Hold Shift to extend it
Ctrl+arrow keysMove the focus without changing the selection. Press Ctrl+Space to select or deselect
Tab / Shift+TabMove the keyboard to the next or previous fence
Tab or an arrow key during PeekThe keyboard goes into the first fence, on its first icon
Type the start of a nameJump to that icon
EscClear the selection

Working with icons

Double-click, or press EnterOpen
F2, or click the name of a selected iconRename. Press Enter to confirm or Esc to cancel
DeleteDelete to the Recycle Bin
Shift+DeleteDelete permanently
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+XCopy / cut. You can paste in File Explorer too
Alt+EnterOpen Properties
Shift+F10 or the Menu keyOpen the context menu
Hold Shift and right-clickShow extra Windows commands in the menu
Drag onto another fence or tabPut it in that fence
Drag within the fenceChange the order (when Sort by is “Manual”)
Drag files or folders onto an app or its shortcutOpen them with that app. They stay where they are
Drag onto a shortcut to a folderPuts it into that folder

Dragging files

When you drag files from File Explorer into a fence, or drag icons onto a folder icon, a shortcut to a folder, a folder fence or another app:

Hold CtrlCopy
Hold ShiftMove
Hold Alt, or Ctrl+ShiftCreate a shortcut
Drag in from File Explorer with the right mouse buttonChoose move, copy or create shortcut when you release
EscCancel

Icons dragged from another fence into a folder fence are always moved.

Folder fences

Double-click a subfolderOpen it inside the fence
Backspace, Alt+↑, the mouse's back button, or click the up arrow at the far left of the title barGo up a level
The mouse's forward buttonGo back into the folder you just left
Alt+← / Alt+→Go up a level / Go back into the folder you just left
Click the folder icon before the title at the top folderOpen the folder in File Explorer

With “Open folders and folder shortcuts inside this fence” turned on, a regular fence opens a double-clicked folder inside itself too; the same keys bring back its own icons.

Open and Save dialogs

With “Jump in file dialogs” turned on in “Settings” → “Peek and search”:

Switch to File Explorer and back to the dialogThe dialog goes to File Explorer's folder
Click a folder fenceThe dialog goes to that folder
Ctrl+GGo to the folder of the File Explorer window or folder fence used last

Notes

Click the textEdit the note
EnterNew line while editing
Esc, Ctrl+Enter, or click elsewhereSave
Click a to-do's boxTick or untick it

Appendix B

Frequently asked questions

Questions people often ask about PecoFence.

Does sorting move my files?

No. Sorting rules only decide which fence shows an icon. The files stay in your Desktop folder. Real files change only when you do something yourself: delete, rename or paste, drag icons into a folder, a shortcut to a folder or a folder fence, drag files out of a folder fence, or drag files from File Explorer into a fence (they move to the desktop).

Can’t find a setting?

Type its name, or a word from its description, in Find a setting at the top left of the settings window, for example “hide” or “shortcut”. A few letters in order also work (“hdsb” finds “Automatically hide scrollbars”), and so do common names such as “startup”, “hotkey” or “dark mode”. The list below shows every matching setting on any page and where it is; click one to go there, and its card lights up for a moment. Ctrl+F also takes you to the box.

All my fences suddenly disappeared?

You probably double-clicked an empty part of the desktop by accident, which hides them. Double-click again to bring them back, or right-click the tray icon (the PecoFence icon at the right end of the taskbar) and select Show all fences. If you don't need this feature, go to “Settings” → “General” and turn off Double-click the desktop to hide or show fences.

Only some fences are gone?

They may be set to show on another virtual desktop only. Switch virtual desktops with Win+Ctrl+← or → and you'll find them on the desktop they belong to. To show one on every desktop, right-click its title, open Show on virtual desktop and select All virtual desktops.

Can each virtual desktop have its own fences?

Yes. Right-click a fence's title and pick a desktop under Show on virtual desktop: the fence then shows on that desktop only, with a small Task View icon before its title that tells which desktop when you point at it. When you switch virtual desktops, the fences that don't belong to the new one fade out. To have every new fence belong to the desktop you make it on, turn on Separate fences for each virtual desktop in “Settings” → “General”. The Desktop fence shows on every desktop, since new files land there.

What if all my desktop icons are gone?

While PecoFence is running, it hides the regular Windows desktop icons and shows them in fences instead. If they don't come back after you exit, right-click the desktop and select View → Show desktop icons. With Keep Windows desktop icons hidden when PecoFence closes on, do the same after uninstalling the Microsoft Store edition or deleting the portable edition. While PecoFence is running, you can also right-click the tray icon and select Fix missing desktop icons.

What happens to my desktop when I exit or uninstall?

When you exit, the fences go away and your desktop icons come back, just as before you used PecoFence. If Keep Windows desktop icons hidden when PecoFence closes is on in “Settings” → “General”, the icons stay hidden after you exit. Uninstalling the installer edition shows them again; the Microsoft Store and portable editions don't, so turn the switch off and exit before you uninstall or delete them. Uninstalling removes only the app itself; the files on your desktop aren't touched. The installer edition keeps your settings after uninstalling, while the Microsoft Store edition removes them too, so export your configuration first if you need it. The portable edition has no uninstaller: turn off Start with Windows in “Settings” → “General”, exit, and then delete the folder.

Do fences disappear when I press Win+D?

No, by default fences stay on the desktop. To hide them as well, go to “Settings” → “General” and set When using Show desktop (Win+D) to Hide fences.

What about multiple displays?

When you plug in or unplug an external display on a laptop, you keep the same fences; only their positions change. PecoFence remembers a separate arrangement for each combination of displays, resolution and scaling, so everything is back in place when you return to it. The first time you use a new combination, the fences on each display start where they were at the same resolution and scaling before. When the screen gets smaller (for example at 150 % scaling) and a fence no longer fits, it moves to free space and gets shorter if needed; the extra icons scroll, and fences never end up on top of each other. To swap the fences between two displays, go to “Settings” → “Layout and backups” and select Swap.

Why did a new file go to the “Desktop” fence?

When a new file appears on the desktop, PecoFence uses your sorting rules to find it a fence. If no rule matches, it goes to the “Desktop” fence. Add a rule in “Settings” → “Sorting rules” and similar files go to another fence from then on. You can also drag the icon into the fence you want; the rules won't move it again.

Can I place desktop icons wherever I like?

Yes. Icons that are in no other fence are in the “Desktop” fence. A new PecoFence setup turns on “Arrange like the desktop” and “Place freely” for it, as a new Windows desktop is set up: no title or edges, an icon stays in the grid cell of the desktop you drag it to, also after a restart, and new icons stand down columns from the top-left corner of the screen. The first time “Place freely” is on, each icon takes the place it has on the Windows desktop. In a setup from before, turn it on yourself: right-click one of the icons and click “Place freely”. With it off, the icons keep their order as on a Windows desktop with “Auto arrange icons” on. “Arrange like the desktop” turns the whole arrangement off: “Desktop” is a normal fence again that you can move and resize. Both switches are also in “Settings” → “Fences” once you choose “Desktop”. If you would rather not see a “Desktop” fence, keep it arranged like the desktop: it has no edges and shows nothing while it holds no icons.

Where is the configuration file? And with the portable edition?

“Settings” → “Layout and backups” shows where the configuration file is, under “Backups”, and Open configuration folder opens it. It's usually in %APPDATA%\PecoFence; for the Microsoft Store edition it's in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\DayuanJiang.PecoFence_0bme5nfnaj27p\LocalCache\Roaming\PecoFence. When you start the portable edition with the --portable option, it uses the config folder next to the app instead.

How do I back up, or move to a new PC?

Go to “Settings” → “Layout and backups” and select Export… to save your settings, sorting rules and fence layout to one file. Then select Import… on the new PC. The files on your desktop aren't included, so copy them over yourself. PecoFence also makes a backup every day; the last 7 are listed on the same page, and Restore brings one back. Restoring a backup replaces your settings and rules too.

How do I make PecoFence start with Windows?

It starts with Windows by default. The switch is in “Settings” → “General” → Start with Windows. The portable edition started with --portable doesn't set this up by itself, so turn the switch on yourself. The Microsoft Store edition uses the same switch. If you turned PecoFence off on the Apps → Startup page of Windows Settings or in Task Manager, it can only be turned on again there, and the switch then opens that page.

Nothing happens when I press the Peek shortcut?

Right-click the tray icon: the shortcut shown next to “Peek at all fences” is the one that works right now. If Windows or another app already uses the shortcut you chose, PecoFence switches to a free one and tells you. If no shortcut is shown, Peek is turned off or every shortcut is taken, and you can still select the menu item itself. With “Press Ctrl twice” chosen, the menu says “Press Ctrl twice”, and the taps do nothing while a full-screen game or video is in front. The switch and the shortcut are in “Settings” → Peek and search. The Keyboard shortcut list shows the one you chose. When it is taken, the text under “Keyboard shortcut” says which one works instead. To change it, choose another one from the list, or choose Custom… and press the new keys.

Why doesn't the search find other files on my computer?

By default, the search box looks at the icons in your fences. To find files on the whole computer, turn on Peek search also finds files on the whole computer (Everything) in “Settings” → “Peek and search”. This uses Everything, a free file search tool, and the switch shows its state underneath. If it isn't installed, select Install Everything: PecoFence installs version 1.5 with winget and starts it, and Windows asks once for administrator rights. If it's installed but not running, select Start Everything. Finding Chinese names on the whole computer by pinyin needs version 1.5. With an older version, select Upgrade to 1.5.

What does a script fence run?

A script fence runs the script file you chose yourself, for at most 10 seconds each time and without a window, and the programs the script starts end with it. A script that says it keeps running runs until its fence is deleted, the “Tools” switch is turned off or PecoFence exits. A click on a row of the fence also does what the script wrote: it opens a web page or a file, runs a program the script names, or runs the script again. PecoFence itself never goes online for script fences. A configuration someone shares may contain script fences, so when an imported configuration has script fences, the “Tools” switch is turned off first and you get a notice. Once you've read the scripts and trust them, turn the switch back on in “Settings” → “Tools”. For how to write scripts, see “Write your own script fence”.

How do I know a new version is out?

The installer and ZIP editions check GitHub for a new version once a day. When there is one, a card shows in the bottom-right corner of the screen, once per version, and the tray menu gets Update to … at the top; click it to update: the installer edition downloads the new setup and installs it, the ZIP edition opens the download page. To stop the automatic check, turn off Check for updates automatically in “Settings” → “About”; the Check for updates button there checks by hand at any time. The Microsoft Store edition is updated by the Store.

How do I report a problem?

Right-click the tray icon and select Send feedback…, or open “Settings” → “About” and use the “Feedback” section further down. Write your message and select Send. A diagnostic log is attached by default. It contains no file names, paths or fence names, and you can check it first with View what will be sent.