Create a Shortcut to Turn the Desktop Icons On or Off

he solution comes through a small utility written by one of the Desktop Sidebar programmers (an alternate sidebar with loads of modules). Just so we're clear, this utility does the same thing as a right-click on the desktop and toggling the "Show Desktop Icons" item.



Setting Up the Shortcut

The first thing you'll need to do is download the HideDesktopIcons application and save it somewhere other than the desktop, preferably somewhere where it won't be deleted.



Now you need to create a shortcut to the executable, and put it somewhere like the Quick Launch bar, which you can quickly access by typing the following into the location bar:

Code: Select all

shell:Quick Launch

Now you have a shortcut that can be used for quick access…



To assign a hotkey, right-click on the shortcut and choose Properties to assign a hotkey (I use Ctrl+Alt+D since it's easy to remember).



Now you can access the desktop icons through a shortcut icon or shortcut key.

Note: It's been brought to my attention that the shortcut keys don't work if the shortcut is in the Quick Launch bar. In this case you'd need to make another shortcut for the start menu or (ironically) the desktop that contains the shortcut key. If you put the shortcut into the start menu you might have to logout and back in for it to work.

Supporting Files (If Needed)

If you get an error when you try to run this application, you probably need to have the Microsoft C++ runtime installed, which you can get get from the following link:
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package (x86)

Download Application

Note: I'm also posting a local mirror copy here because the Desktop Sidebar forums were down while trying to write this article.