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We all know that Windows 7 comes with new Superbar which is a modified version of classic Taskbar. This new superbar in Windows 7 provides lots of useful features like jumplist, iconized program buttons and pin functionality.
Using the "Pin" functionality, you can put any desired program or file shortcut to Windows 7 Taskbar and can launch that program or file within a single mouse click.
But there is a limitation in this Pin feature. Whenever you try to pin a folder or drive to Taskbar, Windows pins it to Windows Explorer shortcut. As soon as you drag-n-drop the folder or drive shortcut to Taskbar, Windows shows a tool-tip "Pin to Windows Explorer" as shown in following screenshot:
Once its pinned to Windows Explorer, you can't launch the pinned folder or drive directly. If you click on the pinned shortcut, it launches Windows Explorer in Library mode instead of opening the pinned folder or drive. The only way to launch the pinned folder or drive is to first show jumplist and then click on the pinned folder or drive shortcut as shown in following screenshot:
Wouldn't it be great if you could pin a direct shortcut to desired folder or drive instead of pinning it to Windows Explorer shortcut?
If you can remember we have posted a tutorial in past about pinning useful system shortcuts like My Computer, Recycle Bin, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, etc to Windows 7 Taskbar:
How to Pin My Computer, Recycle Bin & Other Useful Shortcuts to Windows 7 Taskbar
Using the same trick used in the above mentioned tutorial, we'll hack Windows 7's built-in "Pin to Taskbar" feature to allow us pinning direct shortcuts to a folder or drive.
So without wasting time lets start the tutorial which will help us in pinning a folder or drive directly to Windows 7 Taskbar:
1. First you'll need to create a new shortcut. To do this, right-click on Desktop and select "New -> Shortcut":
2. It'll launch "Create Shortcut" wizard. Now you'll need to enter following command in "Type the location of the item" text box:
explorer "E:\Downloads"
And if you want to pin a drive E:, then you'll need to use following command:
explorer "E:"
In drive case, double-quotes ("") are optional.
3. After entering the command, click on "Next" button. Now enter the folder or drive name in "Type a name for this shortcut" text box and click on "Finish" button.
4. That's it. It'll create the folder or drive shortcut on Desktop.
If you want, you can also change its icon. Right-click on the shortcut and select "Properties". Click on "Change Icon" button:
Now you can browse and select any desired icon. We'll recommend to use imageres.dll file for selecting new icon as this file contains lots of good looking icons:
5. After selecting the new icon, click on OK and then Apply the changes.
6. Now you just need to pin this folder or drive shortcut to Taskbar. You can either drag-n-drop the shortcut to Taskbar or right-click on the shortcut and select "Pin to Taskbar" option:
As you can see now Windows is showing "Pin to Taskbar" in tool-tip instead of "Pin to Windows Explorer". Now the folder or drive will be pinned directly to Taskbar and you'll be able to launch it using a single mouse click.
That's it guys. Using this trick, you'll be able to pin a direct shortcut of any desired folder or drive instead of pinning it to Windows Explorer icon.
We all know that Windows 7 comes with new Superbar which is a modified version of classic Taskbar. This new superbar in Windows 7 provides lots of useful features like jumplist, iconized program buttons and pin functionality.
Using the "Pin" functionality, you can put any desired program or file shortcut to Windows 7 Taskbar and can launch that program or file within a single mouse click.
But there is a limitation in this Pin feature. Whenever you try to pin a folder or drive to Taskbar, Windows pins it to Windows Explorer shortcut. As soon as you drag-n-drop the folder or drive shortcut to Taskbar, Windows shows a tool-tip "Pin to Windows Explorer" as shown in following screenshot:
Once its pinned to Windows Explorer, you can't launch the pinned folder or drive directly. If you click on the pinned shortcut, it launches Windows Explorer in Library mode instead of opening the pinned folder or drive. The only way to launch the pinned folder or drive is to first show jumplist and then click on the pinned folder or drive shortcut as shown in following screenshot:
Wouldn't it be great if you could pin a direct shortcut to desired folder or drive instead of pinning it to Windows Explorer shortcut?
If you can remember we have posted a tutorial in past about pinning useful system shortcuts like My Computer, Recycle Bin, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, etc to Windows 7 Taskbar:
How to Pin My Computer, Recycle Bin & Other Useful Shortcuts to Windows 7 Taskbar
Using the same trick used in the above mentioned tutorial, we'll hack Windows 7's built-in "Pin to Taskbar" feature to allow us pinning direct shortcuts to a folder or drive.
So without wasting time lets start the tutorial which will help us in pinning a folder or drive directly to Windows 7 Taskbar:
1. First you'll need to create a new shortcut. To do this, right-click on Desktop and select "New -> Shortcut":
2. It'll launch "Create Shortcut" wizard. Now you'll need to enter following command in "Type the location of the item" text box:
explorer "folder_path_or_drive_letter"For example, if you want to pin a folder "Downloads" present in E:\ drive, then you'll need to use following command:
explorer "E:\Downloads"
And if you want to pin a drive E:, then you'll need to use following command:
explorer "E:"
In drive case, double-quotes ("") are optional.
3. After entering the command, click on "Next" button. Now enter the folder or drive name in "Type a name for this shortcut" text box and click on "Finish" button.
4. That's it. It'll create the folder or drive shortcut on Desktop.
If you want, you can also change its icon. Right-click on the shortcut and select "Properties". Click on "Change Icon" button:
Now you can browse and select any desired icon. We'll recommend to use imageres.dll file for selecting new icon as this file contains lots of good looking icons:
5. After selecting the new icon, click on OK and then Apply the changes.
6. Now you just need to pin this folder or drive shortcut to Taskbar. You can either drag-n-drop the shortcut to Taskbar or right-click on the shortcut and select "Pin to Taskbar" option:
As you can see now Windows is showing "Pin to Taskbar" in tool-tip instead of "Pin to Windows Explorer". Now the folder or drive will be pinned directly to Taskbar and you'll be able to launch it using a single mouse click.
That's it guys. Using this trick, you'll be able to pin a direct shortcut of any desired folder or drive instead of pinning it to Windows Explorer icon.
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