By default, the Quick Launch toolbar comes with a Show Desktop button, which allows you to quickly hide all open windows and access stuff on your desktop, and then quickly bring them all back when you’re done.

But what if your Quick Launch toolbar doesn’t have one? If your Show Desktop icon got deleted in Windows XP, you could always restore the Show Desktop icon easily.

Unlike most other toolbar buttons, the Show Desktop button isn’t a Windows Shortcut. Rather, it’s a Shell Command File (.scf), which is really just a plain-text file containing a special command Windows understands. To create a new .scf file, open your favorite plain-text editor (or Notepad), and type the following five lines:

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

Save the file as Show Desktop.scf (or any other name, provided that you include the .scf filename extension) anywhere you like, including your desktop.

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You should see the icon appear on your desktop:

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Isn’t this a neat way to learn shell commands? Watch out for more shell command tips here in Help Desk Geek.

Ben Carigtan shows you how it’s done!