Hide All Desktop Items and Icons The desktop items give you quick and easy access to some of Windows most popular standard features. In addition to this, Shortcuts and other icons may appear on the desktop. You may prefer to work with a more streamlined desktop by hiding these objects.   Hide Desktop To hide or show all desktop items and icons: Check the Hide Desktop checkbox to streamline your desktop. Or, Uncheck the Hide Desktop checkbox to return your desktop to normal. Click Restart to restart Windows.