The show desktop icon is an extremely useful tool. It makes it easy to get to the desktop when you have other windows open. However, unlike ordinary program shortcuts, if it disappears, it is not immediately obvious how to resurrect it back to the quick launch bar. Below you will find the instructions on how to do just that.
1/ Click the Start button
2/ Next Click All Programs
3/ From the All programs menu click Accessories
4/ From the Accessories drop down men click on NotePad
5/ In NotePad type the following:
[ Shell ]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe, 3
[ Taskbar ]
Command=ToggleDesktop
6/ Save the file as 'Show desktop.scf' (without the quotes) to MY Documents folder
7/ Finally Drag the resulting Icon from MY Documents to the Quick Launch Bar
If the above fix does not work then try the following fix supplied by Steve Diamond:
1/ Open Windows Explorer
2/ Click Tools on the main toolbar and the click Folder options
3/ Next click the File Types tab
4/ In the file types window click the New button
5/ The Create New Extension dialogue box now appears
6/ In the dialogue box type: SCF
7/ This file now need to be associated with the Windows Explorer Command. To do this click the Advanced button on the Create New Extension dialogue box
8/ An Associated File Type dialogue box will now appear
9/ Click the arrow to the right of this dialogue box
10/ A large list of file types will now appear
11/ Scroll down the list and highlight Windows Explorer Command then click OK
12/ Finally Close the Folder Options Properties Window
13/ Your Show Desktop Icon should now be working.