Sharon wants a quick way to launch a screen saver to hide her screen at work
Hi, I’m wondering if there is a quick shortcut for bringing up a screensaver or something so that when someone walks in my office and looks at my computer screen, that I can “hide” it so they can’t read what is on my screen? I am using Windows 8. Thanks. 🙂
Our answer
Hi Sharon. We are very familiar with this — EB has become a professional screen hider. Every time I look she’s at her desktop. I see her quickly pushing keys as I walk in. I suspect foul play but I can’t prove it, she’s too sly 🙂
Seriously now — There’s a better, faster and easier way to hide what’s on your screen — press the Windows Key + the “M” key. Everything disappears from your screen and you’re back to the desktop or the Start screen (depending on which you are using at the time). So if someone walks in, all they’ll see is the desktop or the Start Screen.
You can create a shortcut to any screen saver and place it on your taskbar or desktop or start screen. You’ll have to unhide hidden files and folders first though, you can do this from Control Panel/Appearance and Personalization / Folder Options / Show hidden files and folders. When dialog appears, tick the box next to “Show hidden files, folders and drives ” then click Apply / OK.
Now navigate to C :\ Windows \ System32 and sort the files by type (Click “Type” near the top of the dialog). All screen savers have an .scr extension. There are a lot of files in that folder, so to make your search faster, type *.scr in the search form at the top of the Explorer window. You’ll see all screen savers in that folder. To create a shortcut on your desktop, just right-click on the file and choose “Send to ” then choose “Desktop (create shortcut). If you want a shortcut on your taskbar, right-click and choose “Pin to taskbar”.
We think you’ll find that Windows Key + M is faster. You can also use Windows Key + D too 🙂.
I’ve been using the windows key and D dozens of times a day, ever since I found out that I don’t have to x out of whatever I’m in to look at something else. I just tried the windows key and M and it does the same job. Thanks for another arrow to my bow.
Barb.
you don’t have to go through all that trouble.all you have to do is click just to the right of the date and time on your task bar.click it again and the screen comes back up.
Now sure how that saves time. I can click Windows Key + M or Win key plus D faster than you can grab your mouse, move the cursor to the show desktop button at the bottom right.
Thank you for that tidbit, quite often I am working on confidential files at work and someone walk in, that is going to come in handy!
why not just click minimize up in the right hand cornor of you screen…duh?
Basically because it wound only close one program — what would you do if you had seven programs open? You’d have to do that for each program — doesn’t make a lot of sense to minimize every window separately when you can minimize them all at once, right?
What am I missing here? Neither than Windows key + D or M work from my computer.
Is there a way to bring back a file you deleted by accident?