I got an email question recently about how to re-create the Show Desktop icon after it has been deleted. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t yet covered it on our tips, so here it is, direct from Microsoft:

1. Use any text editor (such as Notepad) to create a file with the following lines:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

2. Save the new file as a file named Show Desktop.scf in the Windows>System or Winnt>System32 folder. Note that Notepad may automatically append a .txt extension to the file name. Remove this extension if Notepad adds it. These steps do not work if the file is named Show Desktop.scf.txt.

3. Quit Notepad.

4. Using Windows Explorer or My Computer, right-click the Show Desktop .scf file, and then click Create Shortcut.

5. Copy the new shortcut to the appropriate folder. In Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98, copy the shortcut to this folder:
Windows>Application Data>Microsoft>Internet Explorer>Quick Launch
In Microsoft Windows NT or Microsoft Windows 2000, copy the shortcut to this folder:
Winnt>System32
In Microsoft Windows XP, copy the shortcut to the following folder:
WINDOWS>System32>Config>Systemprofile>Application Data>Microsoft>Internet Explorer>Quick Launch

6. Rename the shortcut to Desktop.

The Show Desktop icon automatically appears on the Quick Launch toolbar.