How to Fix Missing ‘Show Desktop’ Shortcut?

On Windows 10 systems, we get a Show desktop shortcut in our taskbar. It is located in the bottom right corner of the screen, next to the action center icon. When you hover your mouse over this show desktop shortcut, you get a preview of your desktop. If you click on it, then all your active applications will be minimized to the taskbar, and you will be taken to your desktop. Due to some temporary glitch in the OS modules, this particular shortcut may become non-functional or disappear completely.

You might be facing this scenario if any tweaks were made to the group policy setting or the user used a script to remove the button. Both of these scenarios can be the cause of your show desktop shortcut not functioning properly. If you have used a script, then you should use it to revert the change too. Additionally, retrace what you did to change the group policy setting settings and revert to how it was before. If you have not performed any of these two mentioned actions but are still having trouble with your show desktop shortcut, this article will help you. Here, we have included a list of all the solutions that you can try to fix your show desktop shortcut. So without any further ado, let’s get into it.

How to Fix Missing 'Show Desktop' Shortcut?

How to fix Missing ‘Show Desktop’ Shortcut?

Try one solution after the other and see which one solves your issue. If none of the solutions help you out, take a look at the solution mentioned in the end. It is a workaround solution to use the show desktop shortcut function.

Turn on Peek to preview:

  • Press Windows Key + X and choose “Settings” from the list of options that show up.
  • Go to Personalization.
  • Click on the taskbar tab on the left pane.
  • On the right-pane, turn on the toggle for the “Use Peek to Preview the desktop” option.

How to Fix Missing 'Show Desktop' Shortcut?

If this does not solve your problem, try the next solution.

Turn off Tablet mode:

  • Click on the action center icon in the bottom right corner of your screen next to the clock and date icon.

How to Fix Missing 'Show Desktop' Shortcut?

  • Turn off Tablet Mode here.

If it was already disabled and you still can’t get the show desktop shortcut to work, go for the next solution.

Restart the Windows Explorer:

  • Press Windows Key + X and choose “Task Manager” from the list of options that show up.
  • Click on the processes tab in the Task Manager window.
  • Look for the Windows Explorer process, and when you find it right-click on it. Then choose Restart.

How to Fix Missing 'Show Desktop' Shortcut?

  • Wait a while till explorer restarts itself.

Now try using the show desktop shortcut again. If you are still stuck with the icon not working or showing, try the next mentioned solution.

Change the Taskbar Location on the Screen:

  • Press Windows Key + X and choose “Settings” from the list of options that show up.
  • Go to Personalization.
  • Click on the taskbar tab on the left pane.
  • Set “Taskbar location on screen” to something other than Bottom. Wait till the taskbar changes the orientation.

How to Fix Missing 'Show Desktop' Shortcut?

  • After that, revert the setting to Bottom.

Now check whether you can see and use the show desktop shortcut or not. If you are still unable to do it, try the next solution.

Go back to the previous version of Windows 10:

  • Press Windows Key + X and choose “Settings” from the list of options that show up.
  • Go to Update & Security.
  • Click on the Recovery tab on the left pane.
  • Under “Go back to a previous version of Windows 10,” you will see a Get started button. Click on it, and Windows will go back to a previous build. However, this method won’t work if your Windows was updated more than 10 days ago. In that scenario, Windows can’t revert to the older build.

If going back to a previous build of Windows 10 also does not work with your show desktop shortcut issue, try the next solution mentioned below.

Reset Windows 10:

  • Press Windows Key + X and choose “Settings” from the list of options that show up.
  • Go to Update & Security.
  • Click on the Recovery tab on the left pane.
  • Under “Reset this PC,” you will see a Get started button. Click on it, and Windows will start resetting itself.

How to Fix Missing 'Show Desktop' Shortcut?

Once the reset is done, try using the Show Desktop shortcut again. If you are still stuck with this shortcut not working at all, try the workaround mentioned below.

Create a desktop shortcut:

This method is not really a solution but a workaround if none of the solutions mentioned above did work out your issue with the show desktop shortcut. Here, we will see how you can create the shortcut by yourself and pin it to the taskbar to use it as the show desktop shortcut.

  • Right-click on an empty space in the desktop and go to New > Shortcut.
  • Enter the following as the path for the shortcut without the inverted commas:

“explorer.exe shell:::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}”

  • Click on Next and then enter a name for this newly created shortcut.
  • After you are done with the name, click on Ok, and you will have a new shortcut on your desktop that functions just like the show desktop shortcut. You can pin that shortcut to your taskbar and then use it as the show desktop shortcut replacement.

This is what you can do when your show desktop shortcut in the taskbar has gone missing or is not working. If you have any questions or queries about this article, then comment down below, and we will get back to you. Also, be sure to check out our other articles on iPhone tips and tricks, Android tips and tricks, PC tips and tricks, and much more for more useful information.

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