Peek at Desktop - Turn On or Off in Windows 8

How to Turn Peek at Desktop On or Off in Windows 8 and 8.1


information   Information
Peek (Aero Peek) is used to give you a preview of the desktop from anywhere in Windows 8. While using Peek, it will show you the desktop with all opened windows as transparent to be able to see what is on the desktop.

This tutorial will show you how to use and turn Peek on or off for your user account in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

Note   Note
When Peek is turned on, you can use it by:

Pressing Windows :winkey: + , (comma) keys

OR

While on the desktop, move and hover your pointer over the Show desktop button (invisible) at the far end of the taskbar to the right of the clock.


EXAMPLE: Peek at Desktop in Windows 8
Normal.jpgExample.jpg







OPTION ONE

To Turn Peek On or Off from Show Desktop Button


1. While on the desktop, right click on the Show desktop button, and do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot below)​
Step-2.jpg High_Contrast_Themes.jpg
2. To Turn Off Peek
A) Click/tap on Peek at desktop to uncheck it.​
3. To Turn On Peek
NOTE: This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on Peek at desktop to check it.​





OPTION TWO

To Turn Peek On or Off in Taskbar Properties


1. While on the desktop, right click or press and hold on the taskbar, and click/tap on Properties.​
2. In the Taskbar tab, do step 3 or 4 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot below)​
3. To Turn Off Peek
A) Uncheck the Use Peek to preview the desktop... box, and click/tap on OK.​

4. To Turn On Peek
NOTE: This is the default setting.​
A) Check the Use Peek to preview the desktop... box, and click/tap on OK.​

Step-1.jpg






OPTION THREE

To Turn Peek On or Off in Visual Effects


NOTE: This option will also turn taskbar thumbnail live previews on or off.
1. Open Visual Effects, and do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot below)​
3. To Turn Off Peek
NOTE: This will gray out the settings in OPTION ONE and OPTION TWO above.​
A) Uncheck the Enable Aero Peek box, and click /tap on OK.​

4. To Turn On Peek
NOTE: This is the default setting.​
A) Check the Enable Aero Peek box, and click/tap on OK.​

VE.jpg




OPTION FOUR

To Turn Peek On or Off using a BAT File



Note   Note
The .bat files below are for the registry key and value below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

DisablePreviewDesktop DWORD

0 = Turn on
1 = Turn off


1. Do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do.​
2. To Turn On Peek
NOTE: This is the default setting.​
A) Click\tap on the Download button below to download the .bat file below, and go to step 4 below.​
Turn_On_Peek.bat
download
3. To Turn Off Peek
A) Click\tap on the Download button below to download the .bat file below, and go to step 4 below.​
Turn_Off_Peek.bat
download

4. Save the .bat file to your desktop, and run it.​
5. If prompted, click\tap on Run.​
NOTE: If you like, you can stop getting the Run prompt by unblocking the downloaded .bat file.​
6. You will now notice your screen flicker as explorer is restarted.​


That's it,
Shawn


 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks, it think it was disabled by default for me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 (3GHz)
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD 5670
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 X Dell
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
Did all that stuff, it's supposed to be disabled, every item you list here for the post-disable state is exactly the same; yet still Peek is working. I've rebooted several times, too. I thought maybe there would be an override in gpedit.msc, but there's no options for 'Peek' in it. Searched on 'taskbar' and didn't find anything related. The only thing I can think of is that I installed Classic Menu to make Windows 8 navigable, but it has no preset to enable Peek, either.

So I'm stumped. If you have any ideas on where I should look next, I'd be grateful! Thank you!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    mix: Win95, 98, XP Pro, Vista, 7, 8.
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    30: mix of Dell Latitudes, Dimensions, Optiplexes, HP 6400, Acer, and a bunch of 286-486 incl. GRiD
    CPU
    varies from Atom to i7 quad
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    varies, mostly 4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon, Intel, nVidia
    Sound Card
    Creative Soundblaster, Xonar, Intel
    Monitor(s) Displays
    varies, mostly FHD or widescreen used
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 or 1600x900 or 1366x768 etc
    Hard Drives
    Many kinds, probably Hitachi, Seagate, or WD
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Dell wireles
    Internet Speed
    1 G
    Browser
    Firefox preferred
    Antivirus
    AVG
    Other Info
    Endless computer glitches
Hello Brainout,

Please go ahead and post some screenshots of what you're seeing to see if it may help to ID an issue. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I like peek at desktop, one feature reminds me of days of Windows 7 and Aero, option 2 did not work though, others do. Thanks Brink
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme 1502 (GX1502)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 5820K 3.30 GHZ 64 bit 6-Core Processor
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-X99-UD3
    Memory
    G.Skill 16GB Quad Channel DDR4-2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0+ DDR5 4GB
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster ZxR 5.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA24Q 24" Pro Art IPS LCD/LED Backlit 1920x1200
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200 16:10
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG 850 EVO 250GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    WD WD10EZEX-00RKKA0 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 3.5 Internal HDD
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 750W 80 Plus Gold Full Modular
    Case
    AZZA Cosmas Black Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Cool Master Hyper 212 Evo Dual 120mm, ( 2) Noctua PWM 120mm Case Fans (1) Gelid PWM 120mm Blue LED
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800 Illumiated Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball
    Internet Speed
    84mbps /94mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox 41.0.1 / Microsoft Edge/ IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security 2015
    Other Info
    Pioneer BDR-209DBK 16x Blu-Ray Burner, LG 24x Dual Layer DVD Burner,
    StarTech Front Bay 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Multi Media Memory Card Reader,Logitech Z906 5.1 Speaker system
I've found that it's best to make sure that you have Peek enabled or disabled in all options since one option could override the other.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I've found that it's best to make sure that you have Peek enabled or disabled in all options since one option could override the other.

O.k. Brink, i like peek feature, leaving it on, i see what you mean tried option 2 it was still working. Unless i may have to reboot to take affect.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme 1502 (GX1502)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 5820K 3.30 GHZ 64 bit 6-Core Processor
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-X99-UD3
    Memory
    G.Skill 16GB Quad Channel DDR4-2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0+ DDR5 4GB
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster ZxR 5.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA24Q 24" Pro Art IPS LCD/LED Backlit 1920x1200
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200 16:10
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG 850 EVO 250GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal SSD,
    WD WD10EZEX-00RKKA0 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 3.5 Internal HDD
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 750W 80 Plus Gold Full Modular
    Case
    AZZA Cosmas Black Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Cool Master Hyper 212 Evo Dual 120mm, ( 2) Noctua PWM 120mm Case Fans (1) Gelid PWM 120mm Blue LED
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800 Illumiated Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball
    Internet Speed
    84mbps /94mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox 41.0.1 / Microsoft Edge/ IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton Security 2015
    Other Info
    Pioneer BDR-209DBK 16x Blu-Ray Burner, LG 24x Dual Layer DVD Burner,
    StarTech Front Bay 22-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Multi Media Memory Card Reader,Logitech Z906 5.1 Speaker system
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