I used to have a small icon (looking like a desktop) in the taskbar next to
the 'Start' button which would close down all windows and take me to the
desktop in one go.
It is now gone and I'd like it back.
It's called the "Show Desktop" icon. Note that it was *not* on the
Task Bar, but on the Quick Launch Bar. Despite what many people think,
the Quick launch Bar is not part of the Task Bar, but is a separate
toolbar; although by default, the Quick Launch Bar appears *on* the
Task Bar, and can actually be dragged off it and docked on whatever
side of the screen you prefer.
Create a text file in Notepad as follows:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop
Save it as Show Desktop.scf then drag it to the Quick launch bar.
Or just click on this link:
Restore/Add Show Desktop to Quick Launch (Line 61)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Also note that you can accomplish the same thing with a keyboard
shortcut: the combination of the Windows key + D or the Windows key +
M.