There may be times when you might want to quickly show a clean desktop by hiding all the icons. If you want to hide or unhide the desktop icons, or if your Desktop icons are not showing in Windows 10/8/7, then this post is sure to help you.
Unhide or Hide Desktop icons in Windows 10
Right-click on your desktop > View > uncheck Show desktop icons.
This will hide the icons.
To show the icons, simply select the option.
Desktop icons are missing
If you find that your desktop icons are missing, type gpedit.msc in the Start menu and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to:
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Desktop.
Now select the Desktop folder, present in the right pane. On the right-side locate Hide and disable all items on the desktop.
Double-click on it to open its Properties box.
This setting removes icons, shortcuts, and other default and user-defined items from the desktop, including Briefcase, Recycle Bin, Computer, and Network Locations. Removing icons and shortcuts does not prevent the user from using another method to start the programs or opening the items they represent.
If Enabled, this setting removes icons, shortcuts, and other default and user-defined items from the desktop, including Recycle Bin, Computer, and Network Locations.
To show desktop icons, ensure that the setting is Not Configured.
Hit Apply > OK.
Restart your computer and see if it has helped.
TIP: This post will show you how to auto-hide desktop icons in Windows 10.
Incidentally, on a related note, this post will help you if your Desktop Icons not working. Usually, this happens if the file associations are messed up.
