If you have Object Docks, why would you need Fences

Honestly,I see no need for both. Fences is a great way to organize the shortcuts on your desktop. OD is a equally great way to organize your shortcuts if you don't like icons on the desktop at all or prefer to keep them all in one area, such as with a small display size.

. What the rig is used for often comes into play as well.In a work environment, Fences is a clear winner. On the other hand, OD is much more attractive when used with a matching WB, imho.

Liz, I tried Fences and like you, was having a great deal of consternation managing the fences and I used it mainly to hide the icons on my desktop when I was working on a wall so I could get a better view of it (I tend to keep a lot of crap on my Desktop for easy access) I once had a program that would hide the icons with a single click on an icon in the taskbar plus it would allow you to change the color of the text labels under the icons. I did not know if it would work on Win7 but went hunting for it and sure enough it does still work. The only drawback is that if you change the text color, you do not have drop shadows on the text. you can find it here if interested: http://byukruk.tripod.com/interest.htm It is called Icondesk. I do use OD for my other unruly desktop!

Fences helps me work.

I have fences set up for different types of file like zipped ones.  I download them all the time to my desktop and find it easy to manage them if they all go to that fence.  I have a rule that does that automatically.  I have another rule for images.

I also have rules for diffeent projects I work on.  all files that start with that file name go to a specific fence.

Fences is an icon organizer.  If you have 'lots' of icons the simple act of locating them in specific related groups makes the whole desktop interaction more intuitive.

If I had to choose one OR the other I'd probably go for Fences over ObjectDock....but I don't have to...so I have both...;)

That is the way I had mine set up as well but I found it too cumbersome to sort through the files within the fences because of constantly having to resize them to see what was inside. It is a fine program if you don't work the way I do, but I find it simpler to just leave things as they are and hide my mess with Icondesk! LOL. PS> I do clean up the desktop weekly filing everything away where it belongs!

I have both, I only skin ObjectDock....don't use it. I use fences, would like to be able to skin it.

I have nearly no icons on my desktop. I am from the IT Tech era where memory was so precious that every icon on the desktop took away from the productivity of the machine. We taught the users to get their programs by clicking the start menu, and we helped them to customize that so it would have their most needed icons in the same place. (you should see my Start menu - organized to a "T") I'm not sure anyone here would remember the days when someone had 30 icons on the desktop it reduced their computer to a crawl and as soon as you took them all off it was like lightning.

Well, in that case Liz your original post seems like a moot point. If you don't use icons on your desktop then why would you even consider Fences?

Just wanted to make sure. I had the software just sitting there...

I can see a place for both...  

lol@ Doc(k)

LOL Doc, that made my evening.

I think I could even figure out THAT fence