How To: Create A Show Desktop Shortcut on Windows 7 and Vista

While Windows 7 (and Vista, if I remember right) does have a "Show Desktop" shortcut - it's in the system tray, to the right of the clock - you may long for the days when it was in the Quick Launch toolbar like in XP or Windows 2003.

Not to fear.  You can easily create a show desktop shortcut and place it anywhere you'd like.

Open your favorite text editor and type the following code:

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

Save the file as 'Show Desktop.scf' and make sure theat 'All Files' is selected in the File Type list.  Save this file on your desktop, then drag it to the Quick Launch toolbar.

If you want to customize the icon and use your own Icon instead of using the Windows default, put the path of the icon next to 'IconFile=' as follows:

IconFile='PATH_TO_ICON',0

See also Create Windows Shortcuts With a Script at the Command Line.

How to Add Quick Launch to Windows 7 Task Bar

By default Windows 7 does not display quick launch on the taskbar like Windows XP and Vista.

How to Enable Quick Launch in Windows 7

1. Right-click on taskbar.
2. From Toolbars Menu select New Toolbar.
3. Under Folder add: %appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch then press Select Folder.

How to Unlock the Taskbar

1. Unlock the taskbar by right-clicking on taskbar and select unlock the taskbar.
2. To lock, do the same but select lock the taskbar.

Taskbar options

In Windows 7 quick launch you can choose whether to display the title and to show text or not.  To change these settings unlock the taskbar, right-click in the quick launch area of the taskbar and toggle Show Text and Show Title as desired.