How to delete the Show Desktop button on the Taskbar

The taskbar in Windows has a small button on the right side of the screen. This button is called Show Desktop . As the name suggests, when you click on it, all apps are minimized and you will be taken to the desktop. On the desktop, click it again, the apps will be re-zoomed and restored to the original order.

In general, the Show Desktop button is quite handy. But if you don't use this button or repeatedly mistakenly click it, you can completely remove Show Desktop from Taskbar.

If so, follow the detailed steps below to remove or hide the Show Desktop button on the taskbar.

Windows doesn't have a built-in option to remove the Show Desktop button from the taskbar. However, it is still possible to do that with third-party tools.

Use the AutoHotKey script to delete the Show Desktop button

With AutoHotKey, you can use a single command to remove the Show Desktop button on the taskbar. This is the easiest way to remove or restore the Show Desktop button. Install AutoHotKey and follow the steps below.

Step 1. Right-click on the desktop and choose New> Text documen t.

Step 2. Rename the file to "HideShowDesktopButton.ahk".

Step 3. Right-click on the file and select the Edit script option .

Step 4. Now, copy and paste below code, then press Ctrl+ Sto save.

Control, Hide, , TrayShowDesktopButtonWClass1, ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd

The Show Desktop button will be hidden.

To restore the Show Desktop button on the taskbar, follow the same steps but use the code below in step 4.

Control, Show, , TrayShowDesktopButtonWClass1, ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd

Note : After restoring the node, you may have to reboot the system for the change to take effect.

Use Taskbar Tweaker

If you don't like creating custom scripts, you can use the Taskbar Tweaker. This is a full free taskbar customization software with lots of options.

Step 1. First, download Taskbar Tweaker.

Step 2. Once downloaded, install Taskbar Tweaker.

Step 3. Next, open the installed application from the Start menu.

Step 4. In the Taskbar Tweaker window , select the checkbox "Hide the show desktop button" .

Step 5. Close the application.

It's done! There is no need to manually save changes. You can see that the Show Desktop button is hidden on the taskbar.

To restore it, just open the app and uncheck the option above.

Jessica Tanner

Update 19 April 2021