If you want to access your frequently used apps, programs, or other tools quickly, you can pin them to the taskbar of your Windows 11 computer. And that’s not all you can do with the taskbar: you can also pin special items and shortcuts to it, such as File Explorer’s This PC or Network, and even the Recycle Bin. Moreover, you can even add taskbar shortcuts for locations and items found in the Settings app or in the old Control Panel. To learn how to pin shortcuts to the taskbar in Windows 11, read on: 1. How to pin Start Menu shortcuts to the taskbar in Windows 11 If you want to pin an item from the list of shortcuts Pinned to your Start Menu, right-click or press and hold on it, and then click or tap the Pin to taskbar option from the context menu. How to pin an app to the taskbar You can also use the same process for the apps that have shortcuts in the All apps list from the Start Menu. Locate the one you want, right-click or press and hold on it, hover over or click/tap on More, and then select the Pin to taskbar option. How to pin a Start Menu shortcut to the taskbar 2. How to pin desktop shortcuts to Windows 11’s taskbar If you want to pin a desktop shortcut to the taskbar, right-click or press and hold it to see its context menu. Then, click or tap on Show more options at the end of the menu. Show more options in the context menu This makes the context menu switch to its older-style format, where you get more options. Among them, you’ll also find one called Pin to taskbar. Click or tap on it, and the desktop shortcut will be added to the taskbar immediately. Pin a desktop shortcut to the taskbar TIP: If you want to pin something to the Start Menu instead of the taskbar, here’s how to pin to Start Menu in Windows 11. 3. How to pin to the taskbar an app or program that’s already open on your Windows 11 PC If you have an app or program already open and running, you can easily add it to your taskbar in Windows 11. All you have to do is right-click or press and hold on its taskbar button and then select the “Pin to taskbar” option from the context menu displayed. How to pin an open app to the taskbar in Windows 11 4. How to pin apps or shortcuts to the taskbar using File Explorer Windows 11 also allows you to pin to the taskbar any executable file or shortcut from your computer. To do so, first open File Explorer and locate the program or shortcut that you want to add to the taskbar. Once you find it, right-click or press and hold on it to open its contextual menu. In it, select Show more options. Right-click and select Show more options This switches the context menu to the old right-click menu, where there are more options. Look through them to find and click/tap the one named Pin to taskbar. That will add the program or shortcut you selected to the taskbar. Pin an executable file to the taskbar TIP: The right-click menu has changed significantly in Windows 11. You may want to read this guide to see exactly how: The right-click menu in Windows 11: All you need to know! 5. How to pin folders to the taskbar of Windows 11 It’s not as easy to pin folders as it is to add regular shortcuts to the taskbar, because Pin to taskbar is missing from the list of options in the context menu of folders. However, you might want to do it for the folders you use most often. You can do that by first creating desktop shortcuts for those folders and using the “Pin to taskbar” feature on them. We’ve explained all the required steps here: How to pin a folder to the taskbar in Windows. Folder shortcut pinned to the taskbar 6. How to pin taskbar shortcuts to special locations like This PC, Home, OneDrive, Network, or Recycle Bin If you’re wondering why you can’t pin This PC to the taskbar in Windows 11, or for that matter, why you can’t pin other folders such as File Explorer’s Home, OneDrive, Network, or Recycle Bin, it’s because these are special locations of the operating system. To pin them to the taskbar, you need to make a special shortcut for each item first. Then, you have to follow some extra steps to add them to the taskbar. You can’t just drag and drop them like regular shortcuts. Here’s how to do all that: Right-click or press and hold on an empty space on the desktop and select New > Shortcut in the context menu. Creating a new shortcut in Windows 11 In the Create Shortcut wizard, type explorer.exe followed by a space (the space is mandatory) and one of the following texts, depending on what you want the shortcut to open: For Home, type: shell:::{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6} For This PC, type: shell:MyComputerFolder For OneDrive, use: shell:OneDrive For Recycle Bin, enter: shell:RecycleBinFolder For Network, type: shell:NetworkPlacesFolder For example, if you want to create a Recycle Bin shortcut that you can pin to the taskbar, enter: explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder[/DC-CODE] Then, click or tap on Next. Creating a shortcut to the Recycle Bin Give a name to your shortcut, and click or tap on Finish. Naming the shortcut Once the shortcut is created, you can pin it to the taskbar. However, before you do that, you may want to change its icon. Shortcuts created this way use the File Explorer icon by default. This means that if you pin multiple items like this on the taskbar, you get multiple File Explorer icons on it, making it hard to identify what’s what. If you don’t want that, follow these steps to change the icon of your new shortcut. Change the icon of the shortcut TIP: If you decide to change the icon of your shortcut, you may want to know where to find other icons on your Windows 11 computer, so this article may come in handy: Windows icons locations. Where are the default icons found? Finally, you can now pin the shortcut to the taskbar. You can do it either by dragging it onto the taskbar or by right-clicking (pressing and holding) it, choosing Show more options, and clicking or tapping on Pin to taskbar. How to pin Recycle Bin to the taskbar in Windows 11 TIP: If you need help understanding how to drag a shortcut to the taskbar of Windows 11 or anywhere else, read this guide: What is drag and drop? How to drag and drop. 7. How to pin the Control Panel to the taskbar of Windows 11 If you still like using the old Control Panel on your Windows 11 computer, you can also pin it to the taskbar. For that, open the Control Panel, right-click (or press and hold) its taskbar button, and click or tap the Pin to taskbar option from the context menu displayed. How to pin the Control Panel to the taskbar in Windows 11 8. How to pin items from Windows 11’s Settings app or Control Panel to the taskbar If you just want to pin some individual items from the Settings app or Control Panel, you’ll need to follow the same steps I illustrated in the sixth method of this guide. In short, you must first create shortcuts to those special locations or items in the Settings app or Control Panel that you want to pin. Only then can you pin them to your taskbar. When creating a shortcut, type one of the following commands, depending on where you want your new shortcut to point: Settings locations: Display: explorer.exe ms-settings:display Cast to a wireless display: explorer.exe ms-settings-connectabledevices:devicediscovery Night light: explorer.exe ms-settings:nightlight Graphics: explorer.exe ms-settings:display-advancedgraphics Sound: explorer.exe ms-settings:sound All sound devices: explorer.exe ms-settings:sound-devices Volume mixer: explorer.exe ms-settings:apps-volume Notifications: explorer.exe ms-settings:notifications Focus: explorer.exe ms-settings:quiethours Power & battery: explorer.exe ms-settings:powersleep Storage: explorer.exe ms-settings:storagesense Storage Sense: explorer.exe ms-settings:storagepolicies Where new content is saved: explorer.exe ms-settings:savelocations Multitasking: explorer.exe ms-settings:multitasking Activation: explorer.exe ms-settings:activation Troubleshoot: explorer.exe ms-settings:troubleshoot Recovery: explorer.exe ms-settings:recovery Projecting to this PC: explorer.exe ms-settings:project Remote Desktop: explorer.exe ms-settings:remotedesktop Clipboard: explorer.exe ms-settings:clipboard About: explorer.exe ms-settings:about Devices: explorer.exe ms-settings:bluetooth Printers & scanners: explorer.exe ms-settings:printers Phone Link: explorer.exe ms-settings:mobile-devices Cameras: explorer.exe ms-settings:camera Mouse: explorer.exe ms-settings:mousetouchpad Touchpad: explorer.exe ms-settings:devices-touchpad Pen & Windows Ink: explorer.exe ms-settings:pen AutoPlay: explorer.exe ms-settings:autoplay USB: explorer.exe ms-settings:usb Network & internet: explorer.exe ms-settings:network Wi-Fi: explorer.exe ms-settings:network-wifi Cellular: explorer.exe ms-settings:network-cellular Ethernet: explorer.exe ms-settings:network-ethernet VPN: explorer.exe ms-settings:network-vpn Mobile hotspot : explorer.exe ms-settings:network-mobilehotspot Airplane mode: explorer.exe ms-settings:network-airplanemode Proxy: explorer.exe ms-settings:network-proxy Dial-up: explorer.exe ms-settings:network-dialup Personalization: explorer.exe ms-settings:personalization Background: explorer.exe ms-settings:personalization-background Colors: explorer.exe ms-settings:personalization-colors Themes: explorer.exe ms-settings:themes Lock screen: explorer.exe ms-settings:lockscreen Start: explorer.exe ms-settings:personalization-start Start Folders: explorer.exe ms-settings:personalization-start-places Taskbar: explorer.exe ms-settings:taskbar Fonts: explorer.exe ms-settings:fonts Device usage: explorer.exe ms-settings:deviceusage Installed apps: explorer.exe ms-settings:appsfeatures Default apps: explorer.exe ms-settings:defaultapps Apps for websites: explorer.exe ms-settings:appsforwebsites Video playback: explorer.exe ms-settings:videoplayback Startup: explorer.exe ms-settings:startupapps Accounts: explorer.exe ms-settings:accounts Your info: explorer.exe ms-settings:yourinfo Email & accounts: explorer.exe ms-settings:emailandaccounts Sign-in options: explorer.exe ms-settings:signinoptions Dynamic Lock: explorer.exe ms-settings:signinoptions-dynamiclock Other Users: explorer.exe ms-settings:otherusers Windows backup: explorer.exe ms-settings:backup Access work or school: explorer.exe ms-settings:workplace Date & time: explorer.exe ms-settings:dateandtime Language & region: explorer.exe ms-settings:regionlanguage Typing: explorer.exe ms-settings:typing Speech: explorer.exe ms-settings:speech Game Bar: explorer.exe ms-settings:gaming-gamebar Captures: explorer.exe ms-settings:gaming-gamedvr Game Mode: explorer.exe ms-settings:gaming-gamemode Accessibility: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess Accessibility > Text size: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-display Accessibility > Visual effects: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-visualeffects Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-mousepointer Accessibility > Text cursor: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-cursor Accessibility > Magnifier: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-magnifier Accessibility > Color filters: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-colorfilter Accessibility > Contrast themes: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-highcontrast Accessibility > Narrator: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-narrator Accessibility > Audio: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-audio Accessibility > Captions: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-closedcaptioning Accessibility > Speech: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-speechrecognition Accessibility > Keyboard: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-keyboard Accessibility > Mouse: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-mouse Accessibility > Eye control: explorer.exe ms-settings:easeofaccess-eyecontrol Privacy & security: explorer.exe ms-settings:privacy Windows Security: explorer.exe ms-settings:windowsdefender Find my device: explorer.exe ms-settings:findmydevice For developers: explorer.exe ms-settings:developers Windows Update: explorer.exe ms-settings:windowsupdate Windows Update > Update history: explorer.exe ms-settings:windowsupdate-history Windows Update > Advanced options: explorer.exe ms-settings:windowsupdate-options Windows Update > Optional updates: explorer.exe ms-settings:windowsupdate-optionalupdates Windows Insider Program: explorer.exe ms-settings:windowsinsider Control Panel items: Add a Device wizard: %windir%System32DevicePairingWizard.exe Add Hardware wizard: %windir%System32hdwwiz.exe Add a Printer wizard: rundll32.exe shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL AddPrinter Color and Appearance: explorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.PersonalizationpageColorization Desktop Background: explorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.PersonalizationpageWallpaper Device Manager: devmgmt.msc File Explorer Options (General tab): rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 0 File Explorer Options (View tab): rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 7 File Explorer Options (Search tab): rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 2 Performance Options (Visual Effects): %windir%system32SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe Performance Options (Data Execution Prevention): %windir%system32SystemPropertiesDataExecutionPrevention.exe Personalization: explorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} Presentation Settings: %windir%system32PresentationSettings.exe System Properties (Computer Name): %windir%System32SystemPropertiesComputerName.exe System Properties (Hardware): %windir%System32SystemPropertiesHardware.exe System Properties (Advanced): %windir%System32SystemPropertiesAdvanced.exe System Properties (System Protection): %windir%System32SystemPropertiesProtection.exe System Properties (Remote): %windir%System32SystemPropertiesRemote.exe User Accounts (netplwiz): netplwiz Windows Features: %windir%System32OptionalFeatures.exe Work Folders: %windir%System32WorkFolders.exe For example, if you want to create a shortcut that opens the Touchpad settings of your Windows 11 computer, one that you can pin to the taskbar, create a shortcut that points to: explorer.exe ms-settings:devices-touchpad[/DC-CODE] Creating a new shortcut to a Settings item After you finish creating the shortcut, just drag it on the taskbar to pin it there. Drag the shortcut to the taskbar of Windows 11 9. How to pin Windows Tools shortcuts to the taskbar Open Control Panel and go to System and Security > Windows Tools. Everything in the Windows Tools window is already a shortcut, so you can simply right-click (or press and hold) the one you want to pin to the taskbar and choose Pin to taskbar. How to pin Windows Tools to the taskbar That’s all! Did you add all the shortcuts you wanted to your taskbar? To pin most things to the taskbar in Windows 11, you just need a few clicks or taps. But some items, like the ones from the File Explorer, Settings, or Control Panel, are not so easy to pin. You need to use some tricks and extra steps, but you can still customize your taskbar to have fast and convenient access to the tools you use most often. What are your favorite items to pin to your taskbar? Do you have any tips for others? Share your thoughts in the comments.