Windows 11: how to enable "Desktop »" in the taskbar?

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Windows 11: how to enable "Desktop »" in the taskbar?

Brett Gregory 75

On my Win 10 machine, in the Task Bar to the left of the Show Tray icon (^), there is a "Desktop »" icon. I click the » and all the items on the Desktop pop up in a panel, and it is only one click on any item to open it (unless it's a folder).

I don't know where I found that in Win 10, but does it exist in Win 11? It is really useful.

You can see it at the bottom right of this pic:

Desktop chevron

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Answer 1

Crisss 2,395 Independent Advisor

Hello!

I'm Yasllame. I'm here to help and clarify.

This functionality doesn't exist in Windows 11 in the same way it did in Windows 10.

What you describe in Windows 10 isn't a standard system feature, but rather a taskbar toolbar called "Desktop," which could be added manually. This feature was removed in Windows 11.

Why doesn't this exist anymore in Windows 11?

In Windows 11, Microsoft:

removed custom toolbars from the taskbar;

simplified the taskbar, eliminating items such as:

Desktop (toolbar),

Links,

Address bar,

custom toolbars in general.

This is a design decision, not a hidden setting.

What still exists in Windows 11 (official alternatives)

Show Desktop

Click on the right corner of the taskbar (thin line).

Or use the shortcut: Win + D

File Explorer

Open Explorer → Desktop

Allows access to all items, but not as a quick panel.

Unofficial alternatives (optional)

If you really need this behavior:

Third-party tools like ExplorerPatcher or StartAllBack can:

restore Windows 10 behavior,

reactivate toolbars in the taskbar.

Important: these solutions are not from Microsoft and are not officially supported.

I hope this information has been helpful! If you need anything else, I'm here.

Sincerely,

Brett Gregory 75 Reputation points

2026-01-15T11:30:17.63+00:00

Thank you Yasllame. It seems MS doesn't know when we are well off. I use that feature about 50 times a day! I will research your suggested alternatives.
Brett Gregory 75 Reputation points

2026-01-18T05:26:14.3133333+00:00

StartAllBack seemed to be the best option, so I got that. Certainly it brings back the Quicklaunch Toolbar for the Desktop.

Thanks again!
Brett Gregory 75 Reputation points

2026-01-18T08:00:38.5266667+00:00

Something odd is going on with the Desktop toolbar. I have a bunch of shortcuts in there, a few small folders, and a couple of documents. When I click on the double Chevron to pop the toolbar up, there is a whole bunch of stuff at the top, which is NOT in the Desktop folder. I can't just delete them because they are important things like Control Panel (twice, plus my own shortcut), etc. I never use the folder that MS wants me to use, like Documents, Pictures, etc, but I still don't think they should be deleted. Libraries also just repeats Documents, Pictures, etc.

What is going on with those?
Benjamin Raper 5 Reputation points

2026-02-21T19:23:26.6766667+00:00

Totally agree with you Brett that this is unfortunate and a setback. I also used this feature a huge amount. This removal just added a huge amount more clicks to get where I need to go. Ideally I want to keep all the apps I have open and up (Not using Windows D to minimize everything) and launch something from a file folder on my desktop. Really poor that the answer from MS is to install a third part app to restore a productivity item they removed with Windows 11. The math... If this takes user now 2 seconds longer to do. A person like me who has a work computer and can't download a third-party app. Let's say your nominal business user is making $30/hr. Let's round it out with a nominal 1 million users (woefully low).

2 sec extra / 3600 sec/hr * $30 per hr * $1M users... = design decision is resulting in a loss of $16,667 per hour for your users who used this feature... how is this a win?
Brett Gregory 75 Reputation points

2026-02-21T21:22:03.4766667+00:00

"how is this a win?"

It's not. It's a Windows.

Answer 2

As an alternative, without using potentially problematic third party tools.

You could create a shortcut to the desktop and pin it to the taskbar, that will open the desktop in a File Explorer Window

create a temporary shortcut on the desktop
right click on an empty space and select New -> Shortcut
In the "location of the item" box enter
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
and click next
give it a name and click finish.

You can try dragging the shortcut to the task bar.

if windows will not allow you to drag the shortcut to the task bar, right click on the shortcut and select pin to start.
click Start locate the new Desktop icon and drag that to the taskbar.

you can now, if you wish, delete the shortcut you made at the start and unpin from the start.

when you click on the taskbar icon, a File Explorer window will open to the Desktop.

for those that do install the third party tools mentioned, please mention them when you come back to Q&A with new issues.

Brett Gregory 75 Reputation points

2026-02-21T23:26:40.6333333+00:00

Thank you, but by far the best solution was to download StartAllBack. It is reliable, easy, and recreates the Desktop shortcut EXACTLY as it was in Win 10.

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Windows 11: how to enable "Desktop »" in the taskbar?

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