How to Add A "Show Desktop" Icon to Windows 10 Taskbar

Isabella Shinn

Updated: January 11, 2024

This page shows you how to add a "Show Desktop" icon to the taskbar in Windows 10 so that you can simply click on the icon to quickly get back to the desktop.

How to add a "Show Desktop" icon to Windows 10 taskbar

Follow the three steps.

Step 1: Create a "Show Desktop" shortcut on the desktop

1) Get to the desktop.

2) Right-click on any blank area of the desktop, point to New, and select Shortcut.

3) After the "Create Shortcut" wizard opens, type %windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257} in the location box, and then click Next.

4) Name the shortcut as "Show Desktop", and click Finish. Of course, you can also name it as any other name you can identify.

5) Then you will see a "Show Desktop" shortcut on the desktop.

Step 2: Change icon for the "Show Desktop" shortcut

The default icon of the "Show Desktop" shortcut is the same as the File Explorer icon. To make it easier for you to identify the "Show Desktop" shortcut, you can change the icon for it.

1) Right-click on the "Show Desktop" shortcut, and select Properties from the context menu.

2) Select the Shortcut tab, and click the "Change icon" button.

3) Select an icon from the list, and click OK.

4) Click Apply followed by OK.

Step 3: Pin the "Show Desktop" shortcut to the taskbar

1) Right-click on the "Show Desktop" shortcut, and select "Pin to taskbar" from the context menu.

2) Then you will see the "Show Desktop" icon is on the taskbar. Once you click on the icon, Windows 10 will minimize all open windows at once and immediately show the desktop. Once you click the icon a second time, you will bring all the open windows back.

3) You can delete the "Show Desktop" shortcut on the desktop if you want to. If you delete the shortcut on the desktop, the "Show Desktop" icon on the taskbar still works properly.