Pin Items to File Explorer's Quick Access View

by Barry Dysert
(last updated July 4, 2016)

File Explorer's Quick Access view is great for navigating the file system. If there are particular files or folders that you frequent, you can pin them to Quick Access and have them be just a click away.

Pinning an item to Quick Access is very easy. Within File Explorer, navigate to the file or folder that you want to pin, right-click it, and select "Pin to Quick Access" from the Context menu. The item that you pinned doesn't move, but you'll now see it also in the Quick Access section of File Explorer. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Pinning a folder to Quick Access.

And you don't have to settle for the order in which File Explorer keeps your pinned items. You can drag/drop items within Quick Access section to place them in the order you like by clicking on an item and, while holding down the mouse button, dragging the item to another location in the Quick Access section. When you release the mouse button, the item is repositioned. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. Drag/drop a folder in Quick Access to reorder it.

Finally, if you later wish to remove an item from the Quick Access section, you right-click the item and select "Unpin from Quick Access" from the Context menu. The item still retains its availability in its original location on disk, but its Quick Access entry is removed. (See Figure 3.)

Figure 3. Unpinning an item from Quick Access.

 This tip (13452) applies to Windows 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Refreshing the Explorer Window

It's possible that the Windows Explorer window may occasionally get out of sync with the data it's displaying. You can ...

Discover More

Moving Your Downloads Folder

If you're on the Internet a lot, chances are you do a lot of downloading. By default, your Downloads folder is on your C: ...

Discover More

AutoHotKeys

AutoHotKeys is a great multi-purpose utility that covers the spectrum from allowing you to define shortcut keys for ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Understanding Robocopy

Robocopy is a robust file copy utility built into Windows. If you have a lot of file management to do that can't easily ...

Discover More

Changing User Permissions for a File

All objects on your computer (e.g., files) have permissions that allow or deny various types of access. This tip shows ...

Discover More

Defragmenting a Hard Drive

As files are added, removed, and edited on a hard drive, the files and the disk itself become fragmented. This causes ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 0 + 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.