How to Hide or Show System Icons on the Windows Desktop

Customizing and adjusting the Windows OS to better fit your personal preferences is extremely important. It can save significant amounts of time if you now have easy access to the applications and tools that you require on a daily basis. One common question that new Windows users have is how to either show or hide the system icons on the desktop of their computers. No matter if you are still using Windows 10 or have updated to the newly released Windows 11, the steps are identical. 

1. Open the Settings application.
2. From the available choices, open 'Personalization.'
3. Select 'Themes' from the options in the left pane.
4. Now, scroll down until you have reached the 'Related Settings' section.
5. Click on 'Desktop icon settings.'
6. In the 'Desktop icon settings' window, you can check the boxes corresponding to the icons you wish to be shown on the system's desktop or uncheck the ones you wish to be hidden. You can choose between the 'Computer,' 'User's Files,' 'Network,' 'Recycle Bin,' and 'Control Panel' icons. 

Adding an Icon to the Desktop Manually

Usually, applications create their own desktop shortcut automatically if the corresponding option has been selected during installation. Adding a custom desktop icon for an application that has already been installed is equally as easy:

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Click on 'All apps.'
3. Locate the app you wish to create a desktop icon for.
4. Right-click the app and select 'More' followed by 'Open File Location.'
5. In the installation location of the app, locate its executable (.exe) file.
6. Right-click the file, go to 'Send to' and pick 'Dekstop (create shortcut)' from the available options.