Show, hide, or resize desktop icons of Windows Vista

The icons on the desktop give you quick access to shortcuts. You can show them, or hide them if you prefer a clean desktop. You can also resize them.

To show desktop icons

Right-click the desktop, point to View, and then click Show Desktop Icons.

A check mark will appear, indicating that desktop icons are displayed on your desktop.

To hide desktop icons

Right-click the desktop, point to View, and then click Show Desktop Icons to clear the check mark.

Note Hiding all of the icons on your desktop doesn't delete them, it just hides them until you choose to show them again.

To resize desktop icons

Windows Vista gives you the option to resize your desktop shortcut icons quickly by right clicking on your desktop and choosing the size you want.

Right-click the desktop, point to View, and then click Large Icons, Medium Icons, or Classic Icons. (Classic icons are the smallest size.)

The usual icon size options that Vista allow users to have are Medium, Large and the Classic (default) size. Here’s a small trick by which you can resize the icons using your mouse wheels in any size you want and won’t be limited to use the default ones.

The trick is simple and very easy to try. Just left-click anywhere on the desktop, hold the "Ctrl" key and move the scroll wheel on the mouse. The desktop icons will grow smaller or larger depending upon the direction of your scroll.

This trick only works on Winodws Vista. If you would like to see better results, than uncheck “Auto Arrange” option.