To hide the icons from desktop

**vinodpathak_214** · 17-01-2009

How to hide all the icons from decstop on Windows xp.

**Jimmy24** · 17-01-2009

This is a very simple way to show you how to temporarily hide all desktop icons (including My Computer and Recycle Bin)

1. Right-click on your desktop.

2. Select Arrange Icons By.

3. You will see a Show Desktop Icons with a check on it; click that.

4. To return the appearance of your desktop items, repeat steps one through three.

**Gusgr8** · 17-01-2009

In this way,

Uncheck the highlighted part - Show Desktop Icons to hide the icons on desktop and check it to have icons on desktop.

**napoleon** · 17-01-2009

There is a more elegant way to hide all icons on the desktop in XP. You can automatically hide all your desktop icons from view so your desktop is completely clear, and you will still have one click access to all your desktop icons.

Simply right click on your task bar at the bottom of the screen and click on “Toolbars” and then click on “Desktop”. This adds a small “Desktop>>” item to the task bar. When you click on the “>>” all your desktop icons are displayed, including their descriptions. Now, to hide your desktop icons, just right click on your desktop, click on “Arrange Icons By”, and then click on “Show Desktop Icons” (to remove the check mark). That’s all you need to do.

If you choose to, you may move the “Desktop >>” toolbar to the top or either side of your desktop by simply clicking on and dragging the “Desktop>>” to the location you want it. I personally do not like this method because when you move the "Desktop >>" toolbar it displays the icons. But you can play around with re-sizing the tool bar if you want to try it.