If you’ve ever used Windows XP, you might be familiar with the Quick Launch toolbar. In case you don’t know, the quick launch toolbar allows you to launch your favorite applications and folders without the need to search for them in the start menu or file explorer. This is done by adding the relevant program and folder shortcuts to the toolbar. In fact, most programs automatically add application shortcuts to the quick launch folder while you install the application. That is the reason why you see “Add to quick launch” option while installing an application.
In newer versions of Windows, Microsoft removed the quick launch toolbar option from the taskbar. However, you can still add quick launch toolbar to Windows 10. Here’s how.
Add Quick Launch to Windows 10
Even though Microsoft removed the Quick Launch toolbar option from the taskbar, the Quick Launch folder still exists. Which simply means that you need to create a custom toolbar using the Quick Launch folder. The advantage of the Quick Launch toolbar is that most programs still add shortcuts to the Quick Launch folder.
1. First, right-click on the taskbar and select “Toolbars -> New Toolbar” option. This option lets you create a custom toolbar using the folder of your choice. In our case, we are going to use the already existing Quick Launch folder.
2. As soon as you click on the New Toolbar option, Windows open the folder selection window. Here, enter the following path in the Folder field and press Enter. Since we are using the environment variable, you don’t have to manually use your username in the folder path.
%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
3. The above action will take you to the already existing Quick Launch folder. Here, click on the “Select Folder” button to continue.
4. When you click on the select folder button, a new toolbar called Quick Launch will be added to the taskbar.
5. To see all the shortcuts and programs in the quick launch toolbar, click on the double arrow icon next to it. You will see a flyout menu with all the shortcuts.
6. If you didn’t find your favorite application in the list, simply drag and drop the program shortcut on to the quick launch toolbar. For instance, I added the Spotify application shortcut to the quick launch list.
7. The new program will be added to the quick launch toolbar as soon as you drop it. Of course, you will find the newly added program in the flyout menu.
8. In the same manner, you can also add your most used or favorite folder to the quick launch toolbar. However, if you simply drag and drop a folder, it will be copied to the quick launch toolbar rather than creating a shortcut. To avoid that, hold the Alt key while dragging and dropping a folder. When you hold the Alt key, you will see “Create link in quick launch” which dragging and dropping.
9. If you want to, you can also add the shortcuts directly to the Quick Launch folder and the shortcuts will appear in the quick launch list.
That is all.
Add Links Toolbar to Windows 10
In Windows 10, Microsoft added a new toolbar called Links. This is very similar to the Quick Launch toolbar. The difference is that it is readily available in the toolbars list and the Links folder is located in a different location in the File Explorer. This toolbar is useful if you want to start with a blank slate so that you can add your own program and folder shortcuts.
1. To add Links toolbar, right-click on the taskbar and select “Toolbars -> Links”.
2. The above action will add the Link toolbar to the taskbar.
3. Just like with the quick launch toolbar, you can either drag and drop the application or folder shortcuts to add them to the Links toolbar.
4. Alternatively, you can also add the shortcuts directly to the Links folder via File Explorer. To do that, right-click on the Links toolbar and select “Open Folder” option. You can also go to %UserProfile%\Favorites\Links.
5. In this folder, add the shortcuts and they will appear in the Links toolbar on the taskbar.
That is all.
If you like this article, you might also like to learn how to show real-time download and upload speed on the taskbar and how to make taskbar completely transparent.
