Can Desktop icon highlights be maintained?

Not sure how best to ask this really, but here's the cryptic question in more detail. I'm running Win10 Pro, 20H2.

With my previous version of Windows (Vista), double-clicking a Desktop icon would open that file, program or whatever, but when the file was closed the Desktop icon remained highlighted until another was selected. That was handy. Over time I accumulate quite a clutter of icons, mostly for temporary stuff I'm working on. Come housecleaning time, it's easy to double-click a poorly-named icon to find out what it points to, and if the Desktop link or temporary Desktop storage is no longer required, the icon can be deleted. But now, once I click and see what's in that folder or whatever, when the full Desktop pops back I have to search-out that file among all the others. Is there a way to restore that function that I had with Vista?

On my System, if I am on the Desktop and double click an Icon to run it, then after closing the window of whatever item it ran, it appears that the Desktop loses focus, but if I press the Win+ D hotkey to get back that focus, I can see that last Icon highlighted again.

Hey, das10, that works like a champ! I don't lose focus at all, but a Win+D brings back the highlight. Problem solved, many thanks!

I am glad it works for you.

pn: When I said the desktop loses focus, what I was trying to say was that after an iconized program is run and closed, the desktop itself, although fully visible, does not accept normal keyboard input straight away unless somehow you bring it back into focus eg. by pressing Win+D, or if you either click it directly or if you click the bottom Right End Edge of the taskbar or if you 'Tab' away from the desktop and then 'Shift+Tab' back on it etc.

Hey, das10, I'd like to better understand that 'focus' scenario you speak of. Seems to me that when my Desktop returns it's ripped 'n rarin' to go. Can you give an example that I could duplicate here of what you're describing?

Ok, this is what happens on my System. If I double click & run an iconized program, and then close it so I am returned to the desktop, then straight after that, pressing the Arrow (navigation keys) or the Enter key don't do anything on the desktop - this would mean that the desktop has lost some kind of keyboard focus.

Doesn't the same kind of thing happen on your desktop ?

According to these links, it appears that there may be a bug with Windows Explorer which causes the loss of focus, and the suggested solution may be to restart Windows Explorer eg using Task Manager. I can confirm that at least on both my Systems, when that focus is lost, ending and then re-starting Windows Explorer (using the Task Manager > Processes - Right-Click Windows Explorer and select Restart from the context menu), brings back focus (and the icon highlight).

Windows 10 - Automatically focus windows on virtual desktops - Super User
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...963b14e?auth=1

Although those links describe the bug in the context of Virtual Desktops, it seems to be applying even if you don't even make use of them.