I wasn’t able to get a new icon to stick to the folder. Maybe that’s the bug you were talking about. I’m not sure what you meant in your bug description. Or you meant this:
I pinned 2 different WE folders onto the taskbar per your instructions. When I click them one after the other, both WE screens will open, pointing to the 2 different folders which I added to the taskbar. But if I click on one taskbar icon, then wait, then click the remaining icon, the 2nd icon will open up the same path as the first icon I just opened.
About the icon, that’s another bug. Apparently, you can’t change the icon of a folder pinned to the taskbar. However, you can change the icon before you pin the folder to the taskbar.
attempting to pin an Office shortcut described above to the Taskbar, after creating the shortcut, the only options for pinning are to the Start Menu. there’s no “Pin to Taskbar” item – even when shift-rightclicking. what’s up with that? thanks for the tips
Slim
14 years ago
You can just drag the folder (to which you are creating a shortcut) onto the start button and drop it. A shortcut will automatically be created and pinned to the start menu.
Anonymous
14 years ago
I have followed you instructions to get my microsoft office folder on to the task bar on windows 7. but when i put the word explorer at the start windows inserts another C: and the the path is wrong. if i leave out the word explorer it works but i can not pin it to the task bar
Yes i see that now but if you dont put a space between the word exprorer and “C:program data…… then widows puts it there automaticly and then i will not work but if you leave a space between the explorer and C: programdata it works perfect. you just need the space.
Regards for the help.
DaniJani
14 years ago
ok i have a lil homemade fix for this, i usually like to keep my drives and most used folders in quick launch,…so i just made my own quick launch since windows 7 doesnt have a decent one…
i created a folder on desktop put shortcuts for all my folders that i need to be seen on taskbar as quicklaunch…
then i made a shortcut on desktop n targeted the folder i created, now i have the shortcut on the desktop containing all the shortcuts i need on my quicklaunch..
now i just rightclick on taskbar>toolbars>new toolbar….now select that shortcut folder on desktop n u have it in ur taskbar ..
to simplify it as windows vista/xp quick launch, simply right click on the new toolbar and uncheck show title and show text…move it anywhere,,..u own windows 7!
Shawn
14 years ago
WORKEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
THANK YOU
THIS WAS A HUGE PAIN FOR ME
bob123
14 years ago
Sorry, if this question has already been asked. After you pin a folder how do you make it show contents like in the old XP Classic style Start Menu – i.e. click on the folder and it branches out to shortcuts inside? Does my question make sense?
Thank you. 🙂
Anonymous
14 years ago
While this works, do note that this will create extra Explorer.exe procedures since executes it everytime it is used.
Anonymous
13 years ago
A New Toolbar is faster:
I find it faster to create and use by having a new taskbar with a shortcut on my taskbar.
Create a folder with shortcuts to favourite programs, files, other folders etc.
On the taskbar, right-click> Toolbars>New Toolbar>browse to the folder and wolla! (its done!)
Next to the name of the new toolbar (on the taskbar), appears /”>>” which upon clicking on it, shows all the content of the folder in a compact list without opening the folder.
Its much faster to setup and use than the procedure here (although I would still prefer to improve this by showing larger icons and by having more to click on than only the >> which is rarther small, so I am still looking…)
I followed your steps, but my problem i face is that the folder I want on the taskbar is from a partitioned drive. Explorer is from C:/ but the folder I’m making a shortcut of is on D:/…Will I not be able to make a direct shortcut to the folder because the source didn’t come from c:/??
Thanks man, I researched this for about an hour or so and everybody had me trying to edit registry keys and a bunch of other non-sense. Hands down this was the best tutorial that I have seen on this subject. Thanks for taking the time to put it together!!
Jurgen Hissen
13 years ago
Turns out there’s a much easier way:
Grab the folder you want to pin. Drag it onto the windows explorer icon on the taskbar. The cursor icon displays a “pin to windows explorer”.
Done.
(I only found this with inspiration from your pictures above).
Why this behaves differently from everything else, nobody knows..
Anonymous
13 years ago
I have done it that way too!
It was pain in the *** because i have tried creating a shortcut of “Favorites” (in the sidebar/i find this folder so useful!) using a shortcut + shell command and i have not found the shell command for this Favorites… Grrr
if anyone has it?
Anonymous
13 years ago
Open a window explorer; go to where the folder you want to pin is; right click and drag the folder to Windows 7 Taskbar; release the right mouse button when you see “Pin to windows explorer” tool tip message. That’s it.
Deadly-Bagel
13 years ago
MUCH easier method and with more flexibility, pin ‘Windows Explorer’ to the task bar. Yes, when opened, this will open your Libraries, but keep reading. Find the folder you want easy access to, and drag it onto the new Windows Explorer icon on the task bar. When you right click it on the task bar, a list of all the folders you have pinned to it will appear, as well as frequently used ones.
You’ll need two clicks rather than just one, but it’s much easier to set up and you can attach many folders to it instead of just one.
gassab
13 years ago
If you place the added folder to the left of the explorer folder on the taskbar it will be just fine not opening in explorer.
Goodluck
Dallas
13 years ago
Thanks! I have been trying to do this for ages!!! Worked perfectly!
Stephen Cleamer
13 years ago
I love you.
Sincerely,
My clicking finger.
Etosha
12 years ago
Me too! 🙂
fanboy
12 years ago
Seriously? On a Mac you just drag it to the task bar.
John
12 years ago
…Or you can just drag the folder immediately to the taskbar and it will be pinned under the usual forlder icon on the bottom left which you access by right-clicking it.
Brentonious
11 years ago
Does anyone know if you can pin folders to the folder shortcut in Windows 2010? I’ve having trouble doing that. Let me know how if you do please!
Brentonious
11 years ago
Can anyone tell me how to pin folders to the taskbar folder in Windows 2010? I used to have no trouble with Windows 2007. Now I can’t figure it out! Please reply to this post as I entered the wrong email in the earlier post – thank you!
Santhini
11 years ago
This was helpful.
Thanks
malan
11 years ago
awesome! managed to pin music folder to my taskbar 18 months after purchasing my laptop, haha. thanks for the clear instructions.
Donna Guidry
11 years ago
I would give away my dog, my husband, and possibly my house if you could get your trick to work for me, but when I follow your directions exactly (the ones with the visual pics at the beginning), I do not have an option to Pin to the Task Bar. 🙁 Your steps are easy to follow…I wonder why it won’t work for me? I really, really wanted this to work. Donna in Texas
Dino
10 years ago
Great help! Thank you very much.
Mark
10 years ago
The file path “%windir%system32imageres.dll” appears not to exist for windows 8.1 when trying to find additional icons.
So far I haven’t been able to find where the icon file location is in Win8.1. Sorry!
David Vanderschel
10 years ago
Does not work for me. In Windows 8.1, after creating the shortcut on the desktop, there is no option in my context menu for the shortcut to pin it to the taskbar. Pin to Start, yes. If I have no other folder on the taskbar and I open the folder, then I can pin it using the icon which now appears on the taskbar. However, when I close the folder, the pinned icon simply becomes the generic This PC ‘folder’. Any way around this? I want to pin a _particular_ folder, and I don’t want it to merge.
Thank you. I needed to know how to pin a file to the taskbar in Windows 7. It will make life much easier for me now. Everything is very clearly explained.
This works fine if you only pin one icon but I found that if I try to pin two, opening the latter-added icon will cause it to add a currently-opened listing under BOTH of the icons.
This sort of defeats the purpose of “one click access for most common folders” because you now need to click twice. Since there are multiple folders opened under the same icon, it requires a first click to display the “sub-options” and then click again to specify which one you want.
Very annoying as the list eventually builds up, adding all subsequently-opened folders to the list under your shortcut icons (even if they’re completely unrelated) & makes folder switching very time consuming when you add up a dozen instances or “hmmm, let me see which one it was….nope, nope, nope, nope… nope… oh, this one!” per hour over the course of a work day, every day for the entire year.
This should be basic functionality, I can’t believe folder navigation still has such bugs this late into windows.
As an aside, this captcha system you guys have is complete trash. “Captcha reuse attack detected” ok.jpg
chris
9 years ago
Doesn’t work for me: It gets pinned and everything, but when I click on the icon in the task bar it takes me to C: and not C:Userschris
It’s more like bad design. They never thought about implementing this feature.
Sharon
8 years ago
HELP~ Ok, I really, really use the lower taskbar JUMP features a LOT, but I cannot find ANYWHERE what the LIMIT of items are for each icon. I am using 12 on the internet chrome icon; and I have 15 folders in the Explorer icon, but I want to add one more folder, but it won’t let me. WHERE are these “limits” explained????? Your viewers should also take note: there’s been 2 occasions for unknown reason where my JUMP items have disappeared… so I’ve learned to not only LIST them on a Notepad, but I also keep a copy of the shortcuts in a folder-for quick rejuvenation. Thanks -using HP PC Windows 7 Home Premium version
I wasn’t able to get a new icon to stick to the folder. Maybe that’s the bug you were talking about. I’m not sure what you meant in your bug description. Or you meant this:
I pinned 2 different WE folders onto the taskbar per your instructions. When I click them one after the other, both WE screens will open, pointing to the 2 different folders which I added to the taskbar. But if I click on one taskbar icon, then wait, then click the remaining icon, the 2nd icon will open up the same path as the first icon I just opened.
That’s exactly what I mean. Sorry if the explanation wasn’t very clear.
About the icon, that’s another bug. Apparently, you can’t change the icon of a folder pinned to the taskbar. However, you can change the icon before you pin the folder to the taskbar.
That worked. Thanks.
Any chance anyone knows how to make that newly pinned folder behave like a menu?
Try 7stacks or Standalone Stack.
Nice..Work for my Windows 7..Thanks.
attempting to pin an Office shortcut described above to the Taskbar, after creating the shortcut, the only options for pinning are to the Start Menu. there’s no “Pin to Taskbar” item – even when shift-rightclicking. what’s up with that? thanks for the tips
You can just drag the folder (to which you are creating a shortcut) onto the start button and drop it. A shortcut will automatically be created and pinned to the start menu.
I have followed you instructions to get my microsoft office folder on to the task bar on windows 7. but when i put the word explorer at the start windows inserts another C: and the the path is wrong. if i leave out the word explorer it works but i can not pin it to the task bar
Can you show a screenshot of that please?
i carnt see anyway of uploading a screen shot
use http://imageshack.us/ and then post the link in a comment.
Hi hope this works
http://img138.imageshack.us/i/capture1d.png/
http://img138.imageshack.us/i/capture2l.png/
Hi i have managed to work this out the problem was i was not leaving a space after thw word explorer and the letter C.
it now work brilliant thank you
Actually, the correct version is: explorer “C:program data….”
You don’t need any C:explorer at the beginning. It is an incorrect path.
Yes i see that now but if you dont put a space between the word exprorer and “C:program data…… then widows puts it there automaticly and then i will not work but if you leave a space between the explorer and C: programdata it works perfect. you just need the space.
Regards for the help.
ok i have a lil homemade fix for this, i usually like to keep my drives and most used folders in quick launch,…so i just made my own quick launch since windows 7 doesnt have a decent one…
i created a folder on desktop put shortcuts for all my folders that i need to be seen on taskbar as quicklaunch…
then i made a shortcut on desktop n targeted the folder i created, now i have the shortcut on the desktop containing all the shortcuts i need on my quicklaunch..
now i just rightclick on taskbar>toolbars>new toolbar….now select that shortcut folder on desktop n u have it in ur taskbar ..
to simplify it as windows vista/xp quick launch, simply right click on the new toolbar and uncheck show title and show text…move it anywhere,,..u own windows 7!
WORKEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
THANK YOU
THIS WAS A HUGE PAIN FOR ME
Sorry, if this question has already been asked. After you pin a folder how do you make it show contents like in the old XP Classic style Start Menu – i.e. click on the folder and it branches out to shortcuts inside? Does my question make sense?
Thank you. 🙂
While this works, do note that this will create extra Explorer.exe procedures since executes it everytime it is used.
A New Toolbar is faster:
I find it faster to create and use by having a new taskbar with a shortcut on my taskbar.
Create a folder with shortcuts to favourite programs, files, other folders etc.
On the taskbar, right-click> Toolbars>New Toolbar>browse to the folder and wolla! (its done!)
Next to the name of the new toolbar (on the taskbar), appears /”>>” which upon clicking on it, shows all the content of the folder in a compact list without opening the folder.
Its much faster to setup and use than the procedure here (although I would still prefer to improve this by showing larger icons and by having more to click on than only the >> which is rarther small, so I am still looking…)
Magic – like this
I followed your steps, but my problem i face is that the folder I want on the taskbar is from a partitioned drive. Explorer is from C:/ but the folder I’m making a shortcut of is on D:/…Will I not be able to make a direct shortcut to the folder because the source didn’t come from c:/??
Here is a screen shot of the problem…
Step 1
http://img80.imageshack.us/f/94781734.jpg/
Step 2
http://img807.imageshack.us/f/98347234.jpg/
Error
http://img718.imageshack.us/f/43679457.jpg/
What if you add a space between explorer and the path of the folder?
Something like explorer “D:Rasmus….” I think that’s the cause of the problem.
Thanks that worked!
Thanks man, I researched this for about an hour or so and everybody had me trying to edit registry keys and a bunch of other non-sense. Hands down this was the best tutorial that I have seen on this subject. Thanks for taking the time to put it together!!
Turns out there’s a much easier way:
Grab the folder you want to pin. Drag it onto the windows explorer icon on the taskbar. The cursor icon displays a “pin to windows explorer”.
Done.
(I only found this with inspiration from your pictures above).
Why this behaves differently from everything else, nobody knows..
I have done it that way too!
It was pain in the *** because i have tried creating a shortcut of “Favorites” (in the sidebar/i find this folder so useful!) using a shortcut + shell command and i have not found the shell command for this Favorites… Grrr
if anyone has it?
Open a window explorer; go to where the folder you want to pin is; right click and drag the folder to Windows 7 Taskbar; release the right mouse button when you see “Pin to windows explorer” tool tip message. That’s it.
MUCH easier method and with more flexibility, pin ‘Windows Explorer’ to the task bar. Yes, when opened, this will open your Libraries, but keep reading. Find the folder you want easy access to, and drag it onto the new Windows Explorer icon on the task bar. When you right click it on the task bar, a list of all the folders you have pinned to it will appear, as well as frequently used ones.
You’ll need two clicks rather than just one, but it’s much easier to set up and you can attach many folders to it instead of just one.
If you place the added folder to the left of the explorer folder on the taskbar it will be just fine not opening in explorer.
Goodluck
Thanks! I have been trying to do this for ages!!! Worked perfectly!
I love you.
Sincerely,
My clicking finger.
Me too! 🙂
Seriously? On a Mac you just drag it to the task bar.
…Or you can just drag the folder immediately to the taskbar and it will be pinned under the usual forlder icon on the bottom left which you access by right-clicking it.
Does anyone know if you can pin folders to the folder shortcut in Windows 2010? I’ve having trouble doing that. Let me know how if you do please!
Can anyone tell me how to pin folders to the taskbar folder in Windows 2010? I used to have no trouble with Windows 2007. Now I can’t figure it out! Please reply to this post as I entered the wrong email in the earlier post – thank you!
This was helpful.
Thanks
awesome! managed to pin music folder to my taskbar 18 months after purchasing my laptop, haha. thanks for the clear instructions.
I would give away my dog, my husband, and possibly my house if you could get your trick to work for me, but when I follow your directions exactly (the ones with the visual pics at the beginning), I do not have an option to Pin to the Task Bar. 🙁 Your steps are easy to follow…I wonder why it won’t work for me? I really, really wanted this to work. Donna in Texas
Great help! Thank you very much.
The file path “%windir%system32imageres.dll” appears not to exist for windows 8.1 when trying to find additional icons.
So far I haven’t been able to find where the icon file location is in Win8.1. Sorry!
Does not work for me. In Windows 8.1, after creating the shortcut on the desktop, there is no option in my context menu for the shortcut to pin it to the taskbar. Pin to Start, yes. If I have no other folder on the taskbar and I open the folder, then I can pin it using the icon which now appears on the taskbar. However, when I close the folder, the pinned icon simply becomes the generic This PC ‘folder’. Any way around this? I want to pin a _particular_ folder, and I don’t want it to merge.
I found the (non-obvious) solution. Here:
http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/microsoft-surface-faq-guides/3105-how-add-folders-windows-8-desktop-taskbar.html
Thank you. I needed to know how to pin a file to the taskbar in Windows 7. It will make life much easier for me now. Everything is very clearly explained.
I’m glad you found this helpful!
This works fine if you only pin one icon but I found that if I try to pin two, opening the latter-added icon will cause it to add a currently-opened listing under BOTH of the icons.
This sort of defeats the purpose of “one click access for most common folders” because you now need to click twice. Since there are multiple folders opened under the same icon, it requires a first click to display the “sub-options” and then click again to specify which one you want.
Very annoying as the list eventually builds up, adding all subsequently-opened folders to the list under your shortcut icons (even if they’re completely unrelated) & makes folder switching very time consuming when you add up a dozen instances or “hmmm, let me see which one it was….nope, nope, nope, nope… nope… oh, this one!” per hour over the course of a work day, every day for the entire year.
This should be basic functionality, I can’t believe folder navigation still has such bugs this late into windows.
As an aside, this captcha system you guys have is complete trash. “Captcha reuse attack detected” ok.jpg
Doesn’t work for me: It gets pinned and everything, but when I click on the icon in the task bar it takes me to C: and not C:Userschris
See my earlier reply to myself. (You encountered the same problem I did, and I would have expected this tutorial to have been corrected.)
What if you write
explorer.exe "C:Userschris"instead ofexplorer "C:Userschris".Also, always use the ” for the path to the folder you want to pin.
Thank you! Very clear and easy to understand instructions with helpful details and great images. Love your work!
Thanks, worked, solved my problem
I’m glad it worked. Thanks for letting us know.
Thank You!!!
Thanks!!!
i can’t get past the “click or tap Browse” part of your instructions. Where do i find the Browse command?
It doesn’t really do me any good to pin folders to the taskbar if I have to leave them on the desktop anyway.
Worked like a charm!!! I really needed this. You are a good technical writer.
Great tutorial! Seems like a serious flaw that we’re not able just to drag a folder to the task bar.
It’s more like bad design. They never thought about implementing this feature.
HELP~ Ok, I really, really use the lower taskbar JUMP features a LOT, but I cannot find ANYWHERE what the LIMIT of items are for each icon. I am using 12 on the internet chrome icon; and I have 15 folders in the Explorer icon, but I want to add one more folder, but it won’t let me. WHERE are these “limits” explained????? Your viewers should also take note: there’s been 2 occasions for unknown reason where my JUMP items have disappeared… so I’ve learned to not only LIST them on a Notepad, but I also keep a copy of the shortcuts in a folder-for quick rejuvenation. Thanks -using HP PC Windows 7 Home Premium version
RESOLVED! Found the answer to my OWN question! You can set your JUMP list to 60… but all may not be displayed. Here’s the answer and instructions and IT WORKED!!! http://malektips.com/windows-7-jump-list-size-increase-decrease.html#.VUbBa_lVgoI
THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANK YOUUUUUUUUU! Saved me so much time trying to figure out how to get something like this to work!
Bless you, you have brought an end to a very large pain in my arse
Worked like a charm. Very simple and easily described. Thank you for your assistance with this!
Awesome thx mate