- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
