How to add desktop icons in Windows 11

The latest update to Microsoft’s Windows operating system brings with it a completely new aesthetic that was designed to optimize the user experience. However, some people who migrate from older versions of Windows miss out on classic features, such as having older desktop icons available. Fortunately, there are easy ways to restore these themes to their previous versions.

In this article, we’ll show you how to add desktop icons in Windows 11, along with other methods to restore classic Windows themes.

The newest Windows operating system

On October 5, 2021, Windows 11 was released to the general public. It was soon released as a free upgrade for Windows 10 system owners and many took advantage of this opportunity. The problem was that many features were removed from the previous version.

Because Windows 11 was designed to have a streamlined aesthetic, the desktop themes are quite minimalist. Many of the desktop icons that users know and love have been disabled by default. However, with a few tweaks, classic desktop themes can be easily restored.

Restore desktop icons in Windows 11

By default, the only icon on your desktop after a fresh install of Windows 11 will be the Recycle Bin. To recover desktop icons that are hidden or disabled, you can try the following:

Make hidden icons visible

If you’ve already set some icons on the desktop but can’t seem to see them, then maybe your icon display settings are set to invisible. To fix this issue, do the following:

1. Find an empty space on your desktop and right-click to display the pop-up menu.
   
2. Hover over View.
   
3. Click on Show desktop icons to toggle visibility. If you want to hide the icons on your desktop, simply toggle Show desktop icons again.
   

Add icons through the taskbar

If you have not yet placed an icon on your desktop, you can do so through the taskbar by following these steps:

1. On the taskbar, click Look for. This will be represented by a magnifying glass icon.
   
2. In the search text box, type the program or folder you want to add to your desktop.
   
3. Click Open after selecting the program or folder.
   
4. Drag and drop the program or folder icon from the explorer window to the desktop.
5. Alternatively, you can select the icon and press Ctrl + C, then head to your desktop and press Ctrl + V.
   
   

Add icons through the Start menu

Icons can also be added to the desktop using the Start menu. This is useful since the Start menu has many commonly used programs and placing them on the desktop reduces the number of clicks to open them. The steps to add icons to the desktop through the start menu are as follows:

1. press the windows key on your keyboard or click the Windows icon on the taskbar.
   
2. In the search text box, type the app or folder you want to add and press Open.
   
3. Right click on the application or folder.
   
4. From the pop-up menu, choose Show more options.
   
5. Hover over Send to.
   
6. From the pop-up menu, choose Desktop (create shortcut).
   
7. A shortcut icon should appear on your desktop.
   

Adjust the taskbar to classic Windows

Windows 11 places the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, with all icons aligned to the center by default. This follows the minimalist theme of the new operating system. However, you can change the alignment of the taskbar with a few simple steps. These are:

1. Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar to open the taskbar settings menu.
   
2. Click Taskbar settings.
   
3. Scroll down and find the Taskbar behaviors eyelash. Click on it to open the submenus.
   
4. Click the dropdown menu next to it Taskbar alignment.
   
5. Choose Left.
   
6. Your taskbar and all of its icons should now be left-aligned, just like previous versions of the operating system.
   

Classic Windows Themes

If you are missing your old computer icons, Control Panel, and other classic desktop applications, you can restore them by doing the following:

1. On the taskbar, click the windows iconor press the Windows button on your keyboard.
   
2. Click on Settings. This would be the gear icon.
   
3. In the left menu, click Personalization.
   
4. In the right menu, click Topics.
   
5. Low related settings, Click Settings on the desktop icon.
   
6. There will be a pop-up window showing the currently visible desktop icons. These available icons are Computer, User Files, Network, Control Panel, and Recycle Bin.
   
7. Click each icon to enable or disable its visibility settings.
   
8. If you want to change inpidual icons, click the one you want to change in the box, then click Change Icon. You can choose from a list of available icons or navigate to a folder with custom icons.
   
9. When you find the icon you want, click OK.
   
   
10. Once done, click Apply.
    

Restore the previous desktop context menu

When you right-click on the desktop, you may notice that some of the most useful commands that were available in Windows 10 are hidden in Windows 11. This can be quite annoying as it adds another layer of complexity to the commonly used features available previously. .

Fortunately, this can be fixed by editing the Windows Registry. However, a quick note: placing incorrect values ​​in the registry can cause functions to stop working, so follow these steps with caution:

1. Click on the windows icon on the taskbar or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
   
2. Write Regedit. Press the Enter key to start Registry Editor.
   
3. In the left menu, look for HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Click on it to highlight the folder.
   
4. In the right window, right-click and hover over New.
   
5. Choose key.
   
6. Name this key {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}.
   
7. Click the new key you just created to highlight it.
   
8. In the right window, right-click and place the cursor on New. Choose Key again.
   
9. Name this key InprocServer32 without quotation marks.
   
10. Double click Default in the right window. Press the Enter key without typing anything to set the values ​​to blank.
    
11. Restart your computer.
    
12. Right clicking on the desktop should now display the classic context menu.

Add frequently used apps to the Start menu

In Windows 10, the Productivity and Explore tabs in the Start menu allowed users to access programs faster. You can still do this in Windows 11 by pinning programs to the Start menu. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click on the windows icon on your taskbar or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
   
2. Click on Settings.
   
3. From the left menu, choose Personalization.
   
4. On the right, click Begin.
   
5. Click on Folders.
   
6. Activate or deactivate the programs and functions you want in the menu on the right.
   

Restoration of functionality

With the release of Microsoft’s latest version of its popular operating system, many classic features have changed significantly. Knowing how to add desktop icons in Windows 11 allows you to restore previous functionality to this newer platform.

Do you know any other ways to add desktop icons to Windows 11? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.