How to restore Show Desktop icon in quick launch bar?
I think many of you might accidentally deleted the Show Desktop icon in the quick launch bar. I also did accidentally deleted the Show Desktop icon at quick launch bar. Finally i found the solution to re create or restore this Show Desktop icon in quick launch bar again.
Just follow the steps below and you will restore Show Desktop icon back in your quick launch bar:-
- Click Start -> Run -> type Notepad and enter
- Copy the contents below to your Notepad and save as Show Desktop.scf
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop - Once the file created, drag the file to the Quick Launch bar.
You will see the icon above if you restore the Show Desktop successfully - Done! You just restore Show Desktop icon.
Note: By default Notepad save all document as txt file. To save your file as .scf file extension, type the full file name together with the extension and simply select the “Save as type” from txt to “All files” and click “Save”
There are another way to restore show desktop icon in quick launch bar:-
- Click Start -> Run and type regsvr32 /n /i:U shell32.dll and enter
- Done! You just restore your Show Desktop icon
Posted at October 3rd, 2006 by chua
If you think this article helps you to solve your problem and clear your headache, feel free to buy me a drink :)
November 2nd, 2006 at 12:48 pm
I followed the directions to recreate the show desktop icon on the quick lauch bar, but both methods end with the same results. An icon is recreated and the hoverover text is “show desktop” but nothing happens when it is clicked.
What am I missing?
November 2nd, 2006 at 5:57 pm
Did u click it on your desktop?
if yes, then it wont have any effect cuz you already in the desktop.
Remember to drag that icon to your Quick Launch Bar and open few program,
then you click on it, you will see the difference.
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:37 am
My 12 year old daughter lost the whole registry setting to make show desktop icon to function. I got the icon back but the .scf defaulted to a Sims 2 mod. I tried to restore all the reg settings, but with no avail. WOW! I couldn’t even make such a mess, but my daughter did. Google and MS searches show how to get the icon…but what about how the .scf functions!! HOw do I tried restor .scf reg settings by referencing my othe pc’s. How do you reset explorer to even dafault to execute the .sfc commands??
November 23rd, 2006 at 1:58 pm
THanks for ur help i restored my show desktop button thank you very much
November 29th, 2006 at 11:55 pm
Thank you so much. I got my icon back. It was really a great stuff.
December 15th, 2006 at 12:41 pm
VERY NICE, Perfect and now I don’t have to minimize 20 programs to find my icons.
Thank you.
December 15th, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Thanks for the hint and the lesson. I guess you call that a “batch file” from the old DOS days. Most excellent !! Thanks
December 18th, 2006 at 6:02 am
Great stuff! Got the icon back on the quick launch bar and it’s working. This is a much better solution than what those idiots have on the official Microsoft website!
Congrats and thanks!
December 29th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
It worked and the icon automatically appeared. Thanks so much. I accidently deleted my whole computer using logmein. I had all my files in a 45GB folder i was trying to backup. I used some recovery program to recover the folder. I still have no way to backup to reinstall windows.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I get the icon back. Thank you so much!
January 14th, 2007 at 11:04 am
I am no technocrat. This was easy and took me less than 3 minutes. It does what it says it will do. I used to press (alt option – M) to do the same thing. Thanks…
January 21st, 2007 at 1:11 am
to Robert..
in order to clear your desktop from programs, press windows icon + D
to bring it again do the same
January 31st, 2007 at 11:38 am
My show desktop icon come back! Thank’s for the steps.
February 3rd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Failure. Both of your suggested methods bring back the ICON, but not the functionality. When I click the show desktop icon now, I get a security warning asking if I want to open or save the file. (Name: Show Desktop.scf Type: Windows Explorer Command, 79 bytes) Choosing save makes a new copy of the file; choosing open returns to the same dialog box again. Opening the file through Notepad confirms that the commands are correct. Hitting the windows key + D properly minimizes all my windows and shows the desktop. Do you have any idea what is going wrong?
February 12th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
I have just tried it and it worked very well, if it doesnt at the first time just desactivate your quick launch icons then lauch them again it’s gonna work.thanks for the help
February 27th, 2007 at 4:11 am
Start/Run
regsvr32 /n /i:U shell32
does the same thing
March 3rd, 2007 at 11:26 pm
You rock dude, thanks!
March 9th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Worked well for me once I carefully followed the instructions and right-clicked on the Windows toolbar then selected “Toolbars” and clicked on Quicklaunch which had been previously hidden.
Thanks for the help!
March 20th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
dear chris, am facing the same problem.. clicking the icon just opens a dialog bax with open & save options.
i cant say just how frustrating this is, but i have just spent more than 5 hours trying to resolve the issue. if u have done omething to correct the problem, pls o post.it,
regards,
al.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
It worked! I tried Option 2 & then followed Riad’s advice. Thank you both for the assistance! =0)
March 30th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Worked, THANK YOU!!
April 28th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
I lost me Show Desktop icon after deleting files from a user acccount that I didn’t want no more, This solution is quick and easy and it works.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I had just tried it and its really works,a great advance solution tips to share with. Thanks for the help
May 14th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
that was gr8 solution…
i had been lookin for it..
that was easy but couldn’t find out myself…
thats the same when you open the “show desktop” in notepad,
just drag it to notepad, and u’ll see…..
and more u can change the icons by changing the values…
IconFile=explorer.exe,”x”
giving various values for x… dats fun…
May 15th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Great Job..I restored my Desktop Icon..I am so happy too…
Thank you/
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Great!
been looking for this for a while now..
took less than 10 seconds, thanks a lot.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:06 pm
thanks the icon came back but the function that is suppose to do is still not working.
How do u make it work again?
June 25th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Thanks for the tip. It worked well for me. I am glad to have the icon back. Thanks.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I tried the second option and it restored the icon, but after rebooting it restored all of my XP settings to their defaults. It even tried to restore Office again and started asking for disks. Is there any way to reverse the registry change without harming the system?? I used the restore function and it brought me back to my original screen (without the desktop icon) and then the next time I rebooted it reverted back to the defaults again and I had to restore again….Help!
October 8th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Dear Chris and Al,
When creating your txt file, save as and make sure the file extension is .scf
It may be worth trying the following after saving as well:
My computer
Tools
Folder options
View
Untick the box “Hide extensions for known file types”
Apply
Ok
Know check the .scf file you have created. it may look something like this
“Show Desktop.scf.txt”
Try renaming the file “Show Desktop.scf” making sure once applied the .txt extension is not showing.
Hope this helps!
November 8th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Thank you, this was a quick and easy fix for my windows XP system. I had it back within 3 minutes!!
November 25th, 2007 at 3:42 am
thanks soooooo much, i deleted mine by accident ages ago and it has been bugging me ever since. I owe you a huge thank you!
December 10th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
thanks a lot ! lo my show desktop is restored.
January 14th, 2008 at 2:25 am
Thanx man it worked real good.
February 7th, 2008 at 5:16 am
THANKS SO MUCH. (:
February 9th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
WOW that was amazing!
ur a god
thanks so much
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 am
I DID ALL THAT,FIRST AND THE SECOND WAY,AND MY SHOW DESKTOP ICON ISNT WORKING?NOTHING HAPPENS WHEN I CLICK ON IT!
February 24th, 2008 at 12:27 am
thank you
March 14th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I DID EVERYTHING YOU SAID BUT I DONT KNOW WHERE THE QUICK LAUNCH BAR IS….IM LOST….PLEASE HELP…THANK YOU
April 5th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Dude thanks for the tip just like u said i acedently deleted mine dont ask how but i just did, BUT thanks man for the lesson i learned sumthing new today
May 1st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Go to Start and click search
Choose All files and folders
Type in – show desktop
Search
Wait for results
Choose file
When Icon comes to desktop drag to quick launch.
Excellent!
May 13th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
GREAT JOB..
i finally restored my icon..
thanks ya!!!
May 18th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
ive created the .scf file, dragged it to the quick launch and that didnt work, tried double clicking, that didnt work!
May 21st, 2008 at 7:27 am
I LOVE you!!!
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:29 am
I’ve tried these two techniques and nothing works. I used to enjoy this feature but one day it sopped working and is still dead. Any ideas?
John
June 11th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Hey
After I had run the “regsvr32 /n /i:U shell32.dll” and pressed Enter I went to the C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR-USERNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch and I found the ShowDesktop ShortCut and dragged it to the taskbar! AND IT WORKS.
Regards
Morten
June 19th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
thanks so much u made it so simple & easy
July 8th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Worked like a charm, thanks for the info
July 31st, 2008 at 8:47 pm
WOW! I was skeptical, thinking something could damage my PC here, but it actually worked! I used the ‘resvr32′ suggestion and the icon just popped up. The best advice was from Morten P. – his notes helped me get thru the process. And I’m an accountant, not a techie! I spent hours trying to fix this last week, took me 2 minutes today … thanks for the help.
August 3rd, 2008 at 2:50 am
Fantastic! I ran the registry command and the little icon just mysteriously appeared in my quick launch bar again. No more using a dumb shortcut – wohoo!
Thanks for the help!
August 29th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I ran the registry command and the icon apeared in my quick launch bar but doesn’t execute. Instead when I click on it, my Spybot scans it and doesn’t find anything and that’s it. How do I get rid of the Spybot execution and let it execute itself?
August 30th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Thank you soooo much! Your directions were so clear cut that even a pc-illiterate such as myself can understood, so thanks!
September 8th, 2008 at 2:06 am
I have the exact same problem as “john m”
When I click on the “show desktop” button, Spybot scans it and finds nothing wrong with it!
Does anyone know why this would be happening, and is there any fix for this?
October 4th, 2008 at 1:23 am
I have also lost my taskbar and desktop icons. I have tried all that was said to try to fix it and it still has not appeared. Any suggestions? The only operable function I have it ctrl+alt+delete then click on new task. Please help!! Thanks
October 14th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Thank U
October 17th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
why troubling yourselves too much just copy it from any other computer and drag it to your quick launch
i did it before
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Thanks alot for this little fix. been wanting my icon back for a few days now but to lazy to look up on the net for it. hehe. ty again.
November 7th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Cheers – When my office switched servers my quick launch folder vanished and would come up with an error when I tried to get it back. Desktop icon was gone, and when having to minimise 6 windows everytime I wanted to get to the desktop finally started annoying the hell out of me, this little trick solved the prob. Thanks again.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 am
Thank you soo much… It worked perfectly.. but I am not sure about the second method.. it didnt work for me..
November 26th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
It worked just as u said. Thank you so much.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Second fix doesn’t work in XP x86-64.. just an fyi, but thanks for the 1st tip!
December 9th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
thank u very much, u r amazing
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I had this problem, however the icon was there but not working, I didn’t know the second method, I used the first one but it did not work for me. Then I found out that I should this also:
Go to My Computer->Tools->Folder Options->File Types
click New
type “SCF” (no quotes)
Click Advanced
For @ssociated File Type type “Windows Explorer Command” (no quotes)
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
for gina
try running explorer.exe from new task
December 27th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
As soon as I read this from Javad from Iran, “Javad from Iran Says:
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I had this problem, however the icon was there but not working, I didn’t know the second method, I used the first one but it did not work for me. Then I found out that I should this also:
Go to My Computer->Tools->Folder Options->File Types
click New
type “SCF” (no quotes)
Click Advanced
For @ssociated File Type type “Windows Explorer Command” (no quotes)”, …….
I followed his lead and discovered that my SCF files were mis-associated with a Sims sound file from a game that had been installed. I fixed that easily and typed the “Run” command, – regsvr32 /n /i:U shell32.dll and presto! Everything was correct and working. Javad, I thank you.
January 9th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
thanks ! you really helped me.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Thanks. It worked fine for me.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Thx the 2nd option worked .
regsvr32 /n /i:U shell32.dll
Thanks again…
March 12th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
The second option on your,”HOW TO RESTORE DESKTOP”,worked perfect.
You made it very easy,thank you so much.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:26 am
Wow, my friend lost ALL of my quick launch icons. Thanks to you I could reset the last one…. the desktop icon! Just keineig!
March 25th, 2009 at 6:35 am
Well done – excellent & easy fix… many thanks
March 29th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Thank you on helping me get my desktop icon back in my taskbar,and working perfectly.Even a rookie can do it,thank you.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Windows Logo+D keystroke is just as effective.
Others that are handy to know;
* Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
* Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
* Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
* Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
* Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
* Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
* Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
* CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
* Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
* Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
* Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
* Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)
April 7th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
That has been bothering me for close to a year now. This worked perfectly. Thank you.
April 13th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Both methods worked a treat
April 17th, 2009 at 12:03 am
thanks man..the second one worked.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Thanks, worked like a charm!
May 12th, 2009 at 5:08 am
It works! thanks men.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
The fix worked great! Thanks for posting!
May 15th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Javad from Iran- THANKS!!!
June 26th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
lol thanks for posting
June 28th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Thanks , i have use the first option and it works
Thanks again
June 30th, 2009 at 4:02 am
w00t! Thank you, chua!
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
All good, but, only seems to work if you leave a copy of it on the desktop as well as on the quick launch bar?
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:31 pm
For those whom this does not work, check the spelling in the file.
I did the same mistake and then corrected.
July 29th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Thanks so much! i just misplaced this by accidently dropping it on my desktop then i deleted it xD
So thanks alot! This is my favorite button!
September 27th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Works !! Awsome.
For some reason, I was reading “.scf” as “.csf” again and again ….
“.scf” works. cheers !!
October 8th, 2009 at 12:59 am
the smallest thing makes my day! Thanks a million!
November 5th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
heyy…… i had the same problem like sumtime bk… searchd. tried ur steps… and ther u go… its working now…!!
thanx a million…!
November 16th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Dang, For some reason when i made a new user, the quick launch for show desktop wouldn’t work at all.. Thanks to your greeaat help
it saved me and a heap of people a lot of time 
November 24th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Thanks man…Good Code
December 5th, 2009 at 10:39 am
thanks so much! huge help! you rock!