Temporarily preview the desktop using Peek

You can temporarily view the desktop using Peek. This can be useful for quickly viewing desktop gadgets and folders, or when you don’t want to minimize all open windows and then have to restore them.

Watch this video to learn how to preview the desktop using Peek (1:08)

To temporarily preview the desktop

Point to the Show desktop button at the end of the taskbar. The open windows fade from view, revealing the desktop.
To make the windows reappear, move the pointer away from the Show desktop button.

Tips

Press the Windows logo key +Spacebar to temporarily preview the desktop. To restore the desktop, release the Windows logo key +Spacebar.
To minimize open windows so that they remain minimized, click the Show desktop button, or press the Windows logo key +D. To restore the open windows, click the Show desktop button again or press the Windows logo key +D again.

To turn off desktop previews

If you don't want the desktop to fade when you point to the Show desktop button, you can turn off this feature of Peek.

Open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.
Under Preview desktop with Aero Peek , clear the Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop check box, and then click OK.

Tips

You can also use Peek to preview an open window on the desktop (and temporarily make other open windows fade). For more information about this feature of Peek, see Preview an open window on the desktop using Peek.
To learn more about Peek and related Windows 7 desktop features, see What is the Aero desktop experience?

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