Did the trick. Went back and saw that was a feature of Vista. have done most work in xp so it was new to me. Since you are miles ahead, is there a way to get an icon on the taskbar that allows you to show the desktop with a click I can get it by right clicking on desktop and then selecting...
How do I display icons on the desktop as i do in xp/vista. For example. if i right click on the desktop and creat a new folder it shows upunder desktop on the taskbar but not on the desktop itself. I have to be missing someting very simple. Thanks