How to Minimize All Open Windows at Once on Windows 10 & 11

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Quick keyboard shortcuts to hide all open windows on your PC

Written by Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: March 4, 2026 Fact Checked

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Minimizing All Windows

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Other Helpful Shortcuts

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Video

This wikiHow teaches you four ways to minimize all windows at once when you’re using Windows. We’ll also explain how to restore your minimized windows, and cover other helpful shortcuts to arrange your windows however you like in an instant.

Shortcuts to Minimize All Windows

Windows key + D: instantly minimize all windows and show the desktop.
Windows key + M: minimize all windows (slower than Windows key + D).
Desktop button: click this button in the taskbar to minimize windows and show the desktop.
Windows key + Shift + M: restore all minimized windows.

Section 1 of 2:

Minimizing All Windows

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1
Press ⊞ Win+D. The ⊞ Win (Windows) key is near the bottom-left corner of the keyboard.
- This shortcut quickly hides all open windows and shows the desktop.
- Press this key combination again to hide the desktop and restore your windows.
2
Press ⊞ Win+M. The ⊞ Win (Windows) key is near the bottom-left corner of the keyboard.
- The difference between ⊞ Win+M and ⊞ Win+D is that ⊞ Win+M will use the standard animations when minimizing windows, which may not be as fast. ⊞ Win+M does not minimize windowed fullscreen applications/games.
- Press ⊞ Win+⇧ Shift+M to restore all windows after minimizing them.^{[1]
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3
Click the desktop button. This button is the thin vertical strip on the far-right edge of the taskbar. You might not see it unless you hover your cursor over the end of the taskbar. When you click it, all windows will disappear to display the desktop.
- If you are using Windows 11 and you don’t see this button, here’s how to make it appear:
  - Right-click the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings.
  - In the Personalization > Taskbar window, expand the Taskbar behaviors section.
  - Click the checkbox next to Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop.
This quickly hides all open windows and shows the desktop.

Section 2 of 2:

Other Helpful Shortcuts

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This will bring back all the windows you minimized.
2
Minimize all but the active window with ⊞ Win+⇱ Home. This will minimize all windows except the one that’s currently selected. Press the same key combo to restore all windows except the active one.
- The location of the Home key varies depending on your keyboard (and some don’t have it at all). It’s typically located at the top right side of the keyboard, above the arrow keys, near the Insert, Delete, and Page Up/Page Down keys.
- On some keyboards, you can press Fn + left arrow to activate the Home function.
This combo will minimize the window that’s currently selected, but leave all other windows visible.
This key combo will snap the current window to the left or right side of the screen. This is a good option to quickly create a split-screen style display for easy multitasking.
This returns all windows to the state they were in before you snapped or maximized them.
If you have multiple extended monitors set up, these shortcuts allow you to move your currently selected window to another display. Use the appropriate arrow key to choose whether the window moves to a display on the left or right side of the current monitor.