Where Is The Desktop Folder Located In Windows 7?

On Windows 7, the Desktop lives at C:\Users\yourname\Desktop; shared items sit in C:\Users\Public\Desktop.

New to Windows 7 or tidying a PC and need the exact Desktop path? You’ve got two spots to know: your personal Desktop inside your user profile and a shared Desktop for all accounts. Learn the paths, quick ways to jump there, and what to do if the folder was moved or hidden.

Find The Desktop Folder Path On Windows 7

Windows 7 stores your personal Desktop here: C:\Users\yourname\Desktop. Anything you see on the screen that belongs to your account lives in that folder. Shortcuts that every account should see go in the shared area: C:\Users\Public\Desktop.

Both folders combine in the view you see on the screen. That’s why a shortcut placed in the public area shows up for every account on the machine.

Fast Ways To Open Your Desktop Folder

Address bar jump: Open any folder window, click the address bar, type %USERPROFILE%\Desktop, and press Enter.
Run dialog: Press Win+R, type shell:desktop, press Enter. For the shared area, use shell:common desktop.
Start search: Press the Windows key, type desktop, then choose the folder result shown with your account name.

Command Prompt And PowerShell Methods

Working in a script or just prefer the keyboard? These quick commands jump straight to the right place.

Command Prompt Shortcuts

:: Open your personal Desktop
start "" "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop"

:: Open the shared (all users) Desktop
start "" "%PUBLIC%\Desktop"

:: List items on your Desktop
dir "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop"

PowerShell Shortcuts

# Open your personal Desktop
ii ([Environment]::GetFolderPath('Desktop'))

# Open the shared Desktop
ii ([Environment]::GetFolderPath('CommonDesktopDirectory'))

# Print both paths
[Environment]::GetFolderPath('Desktop')
[Environment]::GetFolderPath('CommonDesktopDirectory')

Why There Are Two Desktop Locations

Windows merges two file system folders into one view: your account’s Desktop and the shared one. That merged view keeps personal items separate while still letting admins pin company-wide or family-wide shortcuts once.

Personal Desktop: Content only you see. Lives under your user profile.
Shared Desktop: Content everyone sees. Lives under the Public profile and may be hidden by default.

When Paths Look Different

Some PCs redirect profile folders to another drive or a network share. In that case, the Desktop keeps its role but points somewhere else (the view still merges personal and shared items). Developers and IT tools find these folders by their official “known folder” IDs rather than hard-coded paths, which is why scripts using those IDs continue to work even when the location moves.

Open The Hidden Public Desktop

The shared area can be hidden. To browse to it anyway, type C:\Users\Public\Desktop in the address bar and press Enter. If you want it visible in normal browsing:

Open any folder window, press Alt, then choose Tools → Folder options.
Open the View tab and enable Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
Browse to C:\Users\Public, right-click the Desktop folder, open Properties, and clear the Hidden checkbox.

Paths, Variables, And “Shell:” Shortcuts

You don’t have to type the full drive path every time. These variables and shortcuts expand to the right places on any Windows 7 machine.

%USERPROFILE%\Desktop → your personal Desktop.
%PUBLIC%\Desktop → the shared Desktop.
shell:desktop → personal Desktop (use from Run or Explorer).
shell:common desktop → shared Desktop (use from Run or Explorer).

These are backed by Windows “known folders,” a system that lets apps and scripts find the right place even if the folder moved due to policy or customization. If you’re curious about the official names behind the scenes, check Microsoft’s page on Known Folders.

Copy-Paste Blocks You Can Use

Drop these into a batch file or run them directly.

Print Both Desktop Paths (Batch)

@echo off
echo Personal Desktop: %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
echo Shared Desktop:   %PUBLIC%\Desktop
pause

Open Both Desktops Side By Side (Batch)

@echo off
start "" explorer "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop"
start "" explorer "%PUBLIC%\Desktop"

Show The Registered Desktop Location (Registry Query)

REG QUERY "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders" /v Desktop

This reads the stored location for your account’s Desktop. Expect an expandable string pointing to something like %USERPROFILE%\Desktop.

Fix A Desktop That Was Moved Or Broken

If files stopped showing up on the screen, the folder may have been moved incorrectly. Windows 7 supports a clean method to relocate the Desktop, and it also lets you revert to default.

Restore The Default Location

Open your user folder: press Win+R, type %USERPROFILE%, press Enter.
Right-click the Desktop folder → Properties → Location tab.
Click Restore Default, then Apply. Decline any prompt to merge if you want a clean reset.
Sign out and back in if items still look out of place.

Move The Desktop The Right Way

If you need more space on your system drive, you can move the folder to another partition. Use the same Location tab and choose a new target. Windows will update internal pointers so shortcuts and programs continue to reference the correct spot.

Common Symptoms And Quick Checks

Items missing on the screen: Check both %USERPROFILE%\Desktop and %PUBLIC%\Desktop. The item might be in only one of them.
Error about an unavailable location: The path may refer to a drive that isn’t connected, or a redirect that no longer exists. Use the Restore Default button to bring it back to your profile.
Folder looks like a plain one: If the special folder was deleted and re-created manually, Windows won’t treat it as the real Desktop. Use the Location tab to repair it.

Developer And IT Notes

Tools and scripts should not hard-code the Desktop path. Instead, query the OS for the registered place. On Windows 7 and later, the “known folder” system exposes stable identifiers for folders such as the personal Desktop and the shared Desktop. That’s why code using those IDs still resolves correctly when an admin moves the folder or a policy redirects it to a network share.

PowerShell: [Environment]::GetFolderPath('Desktop') and [Environment]::GetFolderPath('CommonDesktopDirectory').
Win32 / .NET: Use the relevant Known Folder or SpecialFolder constant rather than building strings.

Curious what Windows calls these internally? Microsoft documents the constants on its KnownFolderID reference. Older code may reference CSIDL values, which still work on Windows 7 but were replaced by the Known Folder model; details live on Microsoft’s CSIDL page.

Table: Quick Paths And When To Use Them

Path Or Shortcut	Applies To	Use It When
`C:\Users\yourname\Desktop` or `%USERPROFILE%\Desktop`	Your account	Opening, backing up, or scripting items only you should see
`C:\Users\Public\Desktop` or `%PUBLIC%\Desktop`	All users	Placing shortcuts that must appear for every account
`shell:desktop` / `shell:common desktop`	Run/Explorer	Jumping straight to either folder without typing the full path

Practical Tips

Backups: Include both locations in your backup set. Many tools grab only the user profile and miss the shared folder.
New PC setup: To give every account a browser or app shortcut, place it in the shared Desktop path once.
Clean installs: If you reinstall Windows on the same drive, check the shared folder first; it often holds a few shortcuts you expect to see after a fresh sign-in.
Folder names: On localized editions, the underlying path still uses Desktop in English, even if File Explorer shows a translated display name.

Recap

Your on-screen Desktop in Windows 7 pulls from two physical folders. Your stuff sits in C:\Users\yourname\Desktop, and shared items come from C:\Users\Public\Desktop. Use the quick shortcuts above, and if things go sideways, repair the location with the folder’s Properties → Location tab.