How to Enable Show Desktop on Taskbar in Windows 11

From this tutorial you will learn how to enable the Show Desktop button in the rightmost taskbar corner. In Windows 11, Microsoft replaces it with Copilot, but many finds this change not convenient. Here's how to bring the button back.

Microsoft has made the decision to remove the Show desktop button in order to create space for Copilot's AI assistant on the taskbar. This modification was rolled out as part of the mandatory Windows 11 February 2024 update.

Following the installation of KB5034765, the Windows Copilot icon changes its location from being the next to the search bar to the right side of the taskbar. It just takes the place of the rightmost button that minimizes open windows.

It was the default action in Windows 11 to show the desktop and minimize all open windows by clicking on the far right corner of the taskbar on the main display. You can also easily restore all minimized windows by clicking on the corner again.

Although the Peek at Desktop feature has been removed from the Show Desktop button in Windows 11, you can still access this function by pressing and holding the Win key and the comma key simultaneously (Win + ,). To stop peeking at the desktop, simply release the keys.

While Microsoft has not disabled the Show Desktop feature, its button is not readily available by default. Here's how to get it back.

Enable Show Desktop Button in Taskbar Right Corner on Windows 11

To add Show Desktop to the taskbar right corner, do the following.

1. Press Win + I to open the Settings app.
2. Click on Personalization on the left.
3. In the right pane, click on Taskbar.
4. Now on the right, click to expand the Taskbar Behavior section.
5. Finally, place the check mark for the Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop option.

You are done! The Show Desktop button is now resides at the right edge of the taskbar.

💡Tip: You can quickly open the taskbar options in the Settings app by entering ms-settings:taskbar in the Run box (Win + R). Such ms-settings commands exist for many pages of Windows Settings.

Obviously, you can disable the button back again by unchecking the same Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop option in Settings.

Alternatively, you can enable the Show Desktop right corner button in the Registry.

Enable the rightmost Show Desktop taskbar button in the Registry

1. Open the Registry editor (Win + R > regedit.exe).
2. Go to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced branch. You can paste this path to the address bar of regedit.exe to directly open the key.
3. Here, modify the TaskbarSd DWORD 32-bit value:
   • TaskbarSd =0 hide the button(default)
   • TaskbarSd =1 show the button.
4. Close the Registry editor.

You are done.

To save your time, you can download the ready-to-use REG files I have created for this tutorial. This will change the Registry without editing it manually.

Download REG files to hide or show the taskbar button

Here's the ZIP archive that contains two REG files. Extract it to any folder of your choice.

Double-click the Enable_show_desktop_on_far_corner_of_taskbar.reg file to add its content to the Registry. When prompted, click on  Yes  in the User Account Control, click one more time Yes in the next dialog. Finally click OK to approve the change.

The other file, Disable_show_desktop_on_far_corner_of_taskbar.reg, will remove the button again.

That's it.