With default settings, the Recycle Bin icon appears on the desktop in all recent versions of the Windows operating system, including the latest Windows 10 and 11. The Recycle Bin icon on the desktop gives you quick access to the files and folders moved to the Recycle Bin. In other words, you can view deleted files by clicking on the Recycle Bin icon.
The Recycle Bin icon on the desktop is pretty useful. However, if you are a computer user who likes to keep the desktop clean, you might want to hide all icons on the desktop, including the Recycle Bin. But how do you quickly access the Recycle Bin if its icon is hidden?
If you need to access the Recycle Bin very often, you can add the Recycle Bin icon to the taskbar. Yes, you can add the Recycle Bin to the taskbar for quick and easy access. However, Windows 10/11 does not let you add or pin the Recycle Bin icon to the taskbar.
Since Windows 10/11 does not offer an option to pin or add the Recycle Bin to the taskbar, we will create a shortcut to Recycle Bin and then pin it to the taskbar. Here is how to do just that.
Pin the Recycle Bin icon to the Windows 10/11 taskbar
Step 1: Perform a right-click on an empty spot on the desktop, click New, and then click Shortcut to open the Create shortcut wizard.
Step 2: In the Type the location of the item field, copy and paste the following path. Click Next.
explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder
Step 3: Type Recycle Bin in the field and then click Next.
Step 4: Finally, click the Finish button to Recycle Bin shortcut on the desktop. As you can see, the newly created Recycle Bin shortcut does not have the Recycle Bin icon. We need to add the same.
Step 5: Right-click the newly created Recycle Bin shortcut on the desktop and click Properties.
Step 6: Under the Shortcut tab, click the Change icon button.
Step 7: In the Look for icons field, copy and paste the following path and then click the OK button.
%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll
Step 8: Scroll through the icons to see the Recycle Bin icon. Select the Recycle Bin icon and then click the OK button. Finally, click the Apply button to add the Recycle Bin icon to the Recycle Bin shortcut on the desktop.
Step 9: Now that the Recycle Bin shortcut is ready, right-click on it, click Show more options (skip this step in Windows 10), and then click the Pin to taskbar option to add the Recycle Bin icon immediately to the taskbar. That’s it!
Do not move or delete the Recycle Bin shortcut icon that you have created on the desktop!
Did you know?
An early build of Windows 10 offered an option to pin the Recycle Bin icon to the taskbar, just like other apps. We documented it in our Windows 10 lets you pin Recycle Bin to the taskbar article.
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