What steps are you taking to achieve this? Normally I click Start then All programs. Select and right click on the program that needs a desktop icon and in the pop up menu hover over 'Send to...' and a side flyout appears. Click 'Create desktop icon' Done. Then I rename the new desktop icon if it is not exactly what I want.

it might be easier to simply use your firefox's bookmark toolbar and put you icons to your most used sites right there on that toolbar then once firefox is open just click on the icon. To put any website icon on the bookmark toolbar in firefox, put the cursor on the icon at the beginning of the url in the address bar then drag it from there to the bookmark toolbar and let go. Firefox's Bookmarks Toolbar

Not sure what you mean, but if I am working and want to see my desktop I go to the right of clock and date in the notification area and click on the narrow vertical strip. it will pull up desktop and it will be on top of what you are doing. If you click there again the page you were on will be there.

Ginny, AutoHotKey is a small, easy to learn, free programme that will do exactly what you require and much much more! You can simply edit one of the example files using Notepad and change it to suit your needs. If you make a mistake nothing gets harmed - just keep trying until it does what you want. It is even easier to use if you read the help file first because it explains everything in simple terms! I have made a file for you that starts Firefox and Word at the same time when you press WinKey and q together. Just open Notepad and copy and paste the following few lines into it and save the file as "win q.ahk" (without the quotes). It works when you press the WinKey and q together. (You can edit the file and choose any key you prefer later.) *** copy and paste the next lines *** ; win+q Start Firefox and Word when you press WinKey and q together #q:: Run c:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe Run c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe *** don't copy this line *** Make sure you don't miss the semicolon on the first line. Colin Here is a link that might be useful: AutoHotKey