Windows 7 Tip: View Your Desktop Without Minimizing Open Windows

by on Jan 25, 2010 | 4 comments

Since the Quick Launch toolbar was added in Windows XP, there has been a simple shortcut you click which minimizes all open Windows and displays your desktop. A shortcut available in Windows 7 is the ability to see your desktop without minimizing open windows by using the Windows Key + Spacebar shortcut. While you have this pressed down, you can see your desktop with the outline of open window positions.

This shortcut is useful in cases where you may have documents saved on the desktop and want to verify their location. Alternately, you can see the outline of any windows which may be behind the one you have in front. Or if you simply want to play around with the fading effects of Windows 7 and view your desktop background quickly, this does the trick.

While this is not the coolest shortcut ever, it is a nice function which I have found useful a few times.

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  • Robert

    I must be missinmg a step, because it wouldn’t work for me. I’m running Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit. I thinking that either it’s another thing that doesn’t work with the 64bit editions or there is something that I don’t have activated that allows it to work. The good thing is that I’m no worse off than I was an hour ago (before I read the tip).

    BTW: Don’t do what I did and try pressing the Windows key the spacebar and the “+” key. It appears that pressing the Windows key and the “+” activates some sort of magnifire that took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to turn off.

    • Jason Faulkner

      I have 64-bit Windows 7 and it works. Make sure you are using the Aero desktop.

  • CarlS

    Good tip. I can view my desktop through Aero; but I cannot work with it. With this trick, I can work with the desktop.

  • Robert

    Yep, that was the step that I was missing. as soon as I changed the theme to areo, it worked. Thanksf Jason.

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