my Computer Quest: Restoring the Show Desktop Icon in Windows 7

04 May, 2010

Restoring the Show Desktop Icon in Windows 7

For the many changes from NT, XP and Vista, and all other previous OSes, Windows 7 engineered the Show Desktop feature in 2 ways:

a rectangular bar at the far right side of the Taskbar (which means bottom-right side of the screen), and
a mouse right-click on the Taskbar, and the Show Desktop selection is somewhere in the middle of the list

Change is almost always a bitter pill to swallow, and while Windows 7 generally is a change that is welcome, not all that it brings along is. At least for some, it isn't - until another 5 to 10 years of encountering it, and getting used to it.

For those who want to "see it" just like before, one way to have it like before is to show again the Show Desktop icon - at the left side of the taskbar.

There are 2 ways to do that: simple, and simpler, method.

New Registry Cleaner, if you are looking for one...

Base method:
Open up Notepad.
Enter below (5) lines, exactly the same, as is, no change.
Save As "Show Desktop.scf" in desktop folder, or the folder of your choice. (Note that the common place to keep this file is in the following folder: "C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\". But why save it there, when it will be done for you by Windows 7? Save it to a safe folder of your like, that is.
We're done with the base file.

-----

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

Simple method:

Select an icon that is currently on the desktop (e.g., Notepad, Sticky Notes, etc.)
Right-click the icon, select Copy, then Paste on the desktop, as well. This is a duplicate icon.
Click-and-drag the duplicate icon to the Taskbar, and drop it there nicely (on the left next to the pearl button, since that is the closest to the Show Desktop XP/Vista icon).
Right click the pinned icon, select Properties.
Replace the following: Target field, to the file that was saved earlier (Show Desktop.scf), so you have to remember where the file was saved for faster execution.
Empty the Start In field.

Finally, do a Change Icon. Click on that button, and select from the list offered when using %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll, or from the list offered when using %SystemRoot%\system32\shell%.dll. It is the blue screen icon, or select which one you prefer for that matter.
To really have it show "Show Desktop" when hovered by the mouse, rename that icon by clicking on the General tab in the Properties dialog.
To conclude, restart your PC/laptop for the changes to take effect. You should see the 'Show Desktop' icon where you planted it.
Enjoy!

Tinting a physical window

Simpler method:

Do base method, and make sure that you save the file in Desktop.
Click and drag the icon to the Taskbar, to the leftmost part, next to the pearl button.
We're done! Restart your PC/laptop to see the changes.

Disclaimer: