In a previous article, I explained how to pin shortcuts to websites on the Taskbar. Now I’m going to show you how you can pin shortcuts to files/folders on the Taskbar.
There is no option in Windows 11 for pinning frequently accessed files and/or folders to the Taskbar, but with a little creativity, it’s not all that difficult to do.
In the following example, I’ll be working with a folder that I access frequently, where I save all my images and screenshots for articles, appropriately named “DCT”.
How To Pin Files/Folders To Taskbar
First off, you need to create a desktop shortcut:
- Right-click the file/folder you want to pin and select Show more options > Send to > Desktop (create shortcut)
- Right-click the desktop shortcut, click Show more options, and then select Properties
- In the Target field, you need to add “explorer” (minus the quotes) followed by a single space in front of the existing path
- So, in this case, it would look like this:
- Click Apply, Ok
- Right-click the desktop shortcut, click Show more options, and then select Pin to taskbar
- You can now delete the desktop shortcut, if you want
Bonus Tip
To help distinguish between the new shortcut and the existing File Explorer shortcut, you can choose a different icon:
- In the properties window, and before clicking Apply, OK, click the Change Icon button
- Highlight (click on) your preferred icon and now click Apply, OK
BOTTOM LINE:
I am not a fan of Windows 11’s Start menu, but with a combination of Taskbar shortcuts for frequently accessed files, folders, websites, etc., plus desktop shortcuts for less frequently accessed items, I don’t even need to bother with the Start menu.
- You also might like: How To Pin Websites To The Taskbar – Any Browser
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