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Show Desktop Gives Quick Access to Desktop Icons
By Stephen Bucaro
The standard method to access applications and folders in Windows is through
the Start menu. The Start menu is slow because you have to wait for submenus to
open and cascade. To be a proficient Windows user, you need quick access to
frequently used files and applications on your PC. The quickest access can be
achieved through the Quick Launch toolbar on the left-side of the Taskbar.
Note: On Windows XP, if the Quick Launch toolbar is not visible, right-click on
the Taskbar to open the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box. Set
the checkbox next to Show Quick Launch. Click on the OK button.
The Quick Launch toolbar is faster than the Start menu because you need only to
single-click on an icon to launch the application or open the folder. To put an
icon on the Quick Launch toolbar, drag and drop the application's icon over the
Quick Launch toolbar.
The drawback to the Quick Launch toolbar is that it can hold only a limited number
of icons. Heavy Windows users need quick access to dozens of applications, files,
folders, and command scripts. The second quickest access to these objects is to
place them, or shortcuts to them, on the desktop.
The drawback to shortcuts on the desktop is that the desktop is usually covered
by open applications and files. The Show Desktop icon on the Quick Launch
toolbar allows you to minimize all open windows with one click. Then after opening
the desired desktop object, one click on the Show Desktop icon restores any
windows that were previously open.
The Show Desktop icon is usually placed on the Quick Launch toolbar by default.
If the Show Desktop icon is missing, locate the file Show Desktop.scf in
the Windows\System, or WINNT\System32 folder and drag it to the Quick
Launch toolbar to create a shortcut for it there.
If the file Show Desktop.scf is missing, open Notepad and enter the following lines:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop
Save the file in the Windows\System or Winnt\System32 folder with
the name Show Desktop.scf.
Note: Notepad may automatically append a .txt extension to the file name. Remove
the .txt extension if Notepad adds it.
Then drag the file to the Quick Lanch bar to create a shortcut for it there.
To be a proficient Windows user, you need quick access to frequently used files
and applications on your PC. The quickest access to applications can be
achieved through the Quick Launch toolbar, but it can hold only a limited number
of icons. The second quickest access is through shortcuts on the desktop, but the
desktop is usually covered by open windows but the solution is to click on the
Show Desktop icon to to minimize all open windows.
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