Rick's Daily Tips

Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!

  • Home
  • Rick’s Bio
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Rick’s Tip Jar
  • Get My Tech Tips Newsletter
  • Recommended Tech Gear
  • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Computer Tips / Two ways to quickly view the Desktop in Windows 11

Two ways to quickly view the Desktop in Windows 11

Posted on April 10, 2025

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Sign up for my daily Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter!


If you’ve recently switched to Windows 11 from a previous Windows version you’ve probably noticed that the little “Show Desktop” icon that used to be located beside the Start button is no longer there.

The folks at Microsoft really love making changes just for the sake of making changes, and this one is a real head scratcher.

The thing is, Windows 11 still has a “Show Desktop” icon. They’ve simply moved it to the far right-hand side of the Taskbar and changed its appearance a bit. And depending on your settings, it could actually be hidden from view.

Here’s how make sure the “Show Desktop” icon is enabled on your Windows 11 PC… 

1 – Right-click the Start button and select Settings from the menu.

2 – Click Personalization.

3 – Scroll down and click Taskbar, then select Taskbar behaviors.

5 – If it isn’t checked already, check the box beside “Select the far corner of the Taskbar to show the Desktop“.

Now that we know the “Show Desktop” icon is enabled, this is how you use it:

1 – Move your mouse to the far-right side of the Taskbar until a thin vertical line pops into view. That vertical line is the new “Show Desktop” icon.

2 – Click the Show Desktop icon (the vertical line) to instantly hide all open windows and reveal the Desktop. Click it again and the hidden windows will be restored.

That’s how you use your mouse to reveal the Desktop in Windows 11. But what if you prefer using your keyboard instead of the mouse? Well, you’re in luck…

Simply press the Windows+D key combination to reveal the Desktop. Then press Windows+D again to place everything back onto the screen.

 







Popular…

How do I ask you a tech question?

Step-by-step guide to completely ridding your PC of viruses and other malware

10 reasons why I recommend buying tech gear from Amazon

How to upscale video – Top 4 AI video enhancers in 2023


Advertise

Guest Post Guidelines

Want to ask me a tech question?

Handy Tech Resources

Privacy Policy

Computer Tips
Smartphone Tips
Blogging Tips

Tech Q & A
Reviews
Tech News

Write for RicksDailyTips.com

Scam alerts
Downloads

Copyright © 2025 RicksDailyTips.com

Affiliate Disclaimer


Rick's Daily Tips is hosted by InMotion Hosting. Click here to find out why.

This blog uses cookies to ensure that you receive the best experience on my website. Please click 'Accept Cookies' to continue.