Q&A? How do you pin a folder to the Taskbar in Windows 11?

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Question from Bob: Is there a way to put a folder on the Taskbar? I know I could in Windows 10 but I haven’t figured it out for Windows 11.

I like my desktop to be clean, but I like the ease of opening things with one click and I tend to add things to the Taskbar, and a folder would be handy.

Rick’s answer: Bob, windows 11 doesn’t provide a simple way to pin a folder to the Taskbar like you could in Windows 10, but there’s a simple work-around that works quite well.

I made this short video that shows how to pin any folder to the Taskbar in Windows 11 (it works in Windows 10 as well):

If you prefer following written instructions, just follow the steps below:

1 – Right-click on the folder you want to pin to the taskbar and click Create shortcut. You should now see a new shortcut icon on the Desktop for that folder.

2 – Right-click on that new icon and select Properties from the drop-down menu.

3 – Click inside the Target field and then press the Home button on your keyboard to move the cursor all the way to the left of the first character in the field.

4 – Type the word explorer and then press the Space Bar on the keyboard.

5 – Click OK.

6 – Finish up by dragging the new icon onto the Taskbar.

You should now have your folder pinned to the Taskbar. Click on it to verify that it opens correctly. If it does you can now delete the folder from the Desktop if you want to (or you can leave it on there, your choice). If not, just try again, making sure you follow the instructions to the letter.

I hope this helps, Bob. Please let me know how it goes.

Update from Bob: That worked perfectly, Rick. The instructions you provided were easy to follow. In all honesty, though, I had to search for the Home button on my keyboard. I cannot remember ever using it. I have actually installed a scroll to top extension, when all along I could have used the home button.

Bonus tip: There are quite a few handy tips and tricks that can make using your Windows 11 PC faster and easier. You’ll find many of the best ones in this excellent resource. (#ad)