How to use the show desktop feature in Windows XP

 

Get Back to the Desktop Quickly

One click on Show Desktop minimizes all the programs on your desktop.

Another click restores them just as you left them.

 
No matter how many windows you have open, you can always minimize all of them at once by clicking the Show Desktop button in the Quick Launch part of the taskbar in Windows XP. (Usually bottom left hand corner)

Practical User Comments  Many times I have Word, QuickBooks, Excel, and Internet Explorer open and I hate having to minimize each window to get from one to the other.  Using the Show Desktop feature in XP, I am able to minimize them all at once and open something new.  (Or go back into one of the windows)

Note  If you don't see the Show Desktop button, right–click an empty part of the taskbar, point to Toolbars, and make sure Quick Launch is checked. If it’s not, then click it.

 

Tech Tip  How to easily restore the Show Desktop icon to your Quick Launch bar

Copy and paste the following lines into a Notepad file.

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Save the file to your Desktop as Show Desktop.scf.   Next left click on the file you just created and drag it down to the Quick Launch bar and release.