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If, like me, you work, rest and play on a Windows 10 machine, you’re likely to have anything up to a couple dozen windows open at any one time. Managing them all and navigating to the desktop can take several clicks. At least it did until I added a show desktop shortcut to Windows 10.
Show desktop instantly minimizes all windows and shows you the desktop. It doesn’t close any of them and you don’t lose any work but you quickly gain access to desktop icons and whatever else you might have. Here’s how to add one yourself.
Add a show desktop shortcut to Windows 10
1. Right click on an empty part of your desktop.
2. Select New and then Shortcut.
3. Paste the following without quotes: ‘explorer.exe shell:::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}’
4. Name it something meaningful. I call mine Show Desktop.
5. An icon should appear on the desktop. Right click and select Properties.
6. In the shortcut windows, select Change Icon at the bottom and select an icon.
7. Select ‘Pin to taskbar’ and place it wherever you like.
Click the new icon and all open windows will immediately close, offering unobstructed access to your desktop.
If you don’t want to create a new icon, there is a minimize all Windows shortcut key. If your keyboard has a Windows key, press it and then M. It will do much the same thing as this icon. I can never remember shortcut key combinations though, which is why I like clicking!
Other Windows 10 desktop tutorials you might like:
How to change icon spacing in Windows 10 desktop
How to fix the Start Menu and Taskbar In Windows 10
How to change system language
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