How to Pin Any Folder to Taskbar on Windows 10

Along with applications, you can pin any folder you want to the taskbar for quick and easy access. Here’s how to pin a folder to the taskbar.

One of the best things about Windows is its taskbar. On the taskbar, you can pin any application you want. All you have to do is right-click on the application icon and select “Pin to taskbar.” Once pinned, that specific application is just one click away to open. Though many know that you can pin applications, did you know that you can pin any folder you want to the taskbar?

If you taskbar space to spare, pinning your most-used folders is quite helpful. For example, I have pinned my Work folder to that taskbar. That way, I can open it with just a single click. No need to open the File Explorer and then navigate to the folder I’m looking for.

Generally, if you try to drag and drop a folder onto the taskbar, Windows will pin the entire File Explorer rather than that specific folder. However, by creating a custom shortcut, you can easily pin any folder to the taskbar with just a few clicks.

Though sounds confusing, it is pretty easy to do. Without further ado, let me show you steps to pin a folder to the taskbar on Windows 10.

Do note that though I’m showing this in Windows 10, the below procedure can be used to pin folders to taskbar in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Steps to pin folder to the taskbar

1. Right-click on the desktop
2. Select “New -> Shortcut.”
   
3. Click on the browse button.
4. Select the folder of your choice.
   
5. Add quotes (” “) around the folder path. See the image below.
   
6. Add explorer and a Space in front of the folder path. Once added, it should look something like explorer “F:\Workspace”.
7. Click “Next.”
   
8. Type a name in the Name field.
9. Click “Finish.”
   
10. You now have a custom shortcut on your desktop.
    
11. Drag and drop the shortcut on to the taskbar.
    
12. The folder is pinned to the taskbar.
    

That is it and it is that simple pin any folder to the taskbar on Windows 10. From now on, click on the pinned shortcut and the folder will open.

Change icon of the pinned folder

Since we’ve used explorer while creating the folder shortcut, Windows uses the default File Explorer icon for the shortcut icon. If you have pinned the File Explorer to the taskbar, it can be confusing when the same icon is representing two different things. To avoid this, you can change the icon of the pinned folder.

To change the pinned folder icon, you need to have the icon in .ico format. If you don’t have that, you can use https://www.iconarchive.com/ to download an icon of your choice. If you already have an image, you can convert it .ico format using https://convertico.com/.

Once, you have to the .ico file, store it somewhere on your hard drive and follow the below steps.

1. Right-click on the shortcut.
2. Select “Properties.”
   
3. Click on the “Change icon” button.
   
4. Click on the “Browse” button.
   
5. Go to where you have saved the .ico icon file, select it, and click on the “Open” button.
   
6. The icon is automatically selected. Click on the “Ok” button.
   
7. Click on the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons.
   

You’ve changed the folder shortcut icon. Now, drag and drop that modified shortcut on to your taskbar. That is it. You now have pinned a folder to the taskbar with its own icon.

Hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. Also, check out how to disable caps lock key and how to turn off automatic sleep mode on Windows 10.