Refresh Desktop in Windows 11

The desktop (Win+D) is your home screen and working space in Windows that contains the taskbar and any icons (ex: shortcuts, files, folders, etc…) you add to and arrange on the desktop.

The desktop is basically just a folder that shows the contents of your %UserProfile%\Desktop folder and the C:\Users\Public\Desktop folder.

Normally when the contents of the desktop changes, it will auto-refresh by default. Sometimes, the desktop does not auto-refresh though, and you may need to manually refresh the desktop.

You may need to manually refresh your desktop if:

• The desktop does not display files or folders you just created, moved, deleted, renamed, or saved on it.
• You need to re-align your desktop icons.
• Contents of the desktop or the folder do not change when expected to.

This tutorial will show you how to manually refresh the desktop for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

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