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You are here: Home » Windows 10 » How To Pin Any File To Windows 10 Taskbar

How To Pin Any File To Windows 10 Taskbar

Last Updated on August 16, 2017 by admin 8 Comments

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The Windows 10 taskbar is not merely a place to see your apps. Unfortunately, most PC users use the taskbar to launch apps, open Start menu by clicking on the Start button, and to check the date and time.

The taskbar is a powerful place. You can make it even better by pinning your favorite apps, moving the taskbar around the screen, pinning websites to the taskbar, pinning items to jump lists, and more.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic6

You probably know that Windows 10 allows you to pin apps and programs to the taskbar for easy access. However, Windows 10 doesn’t allow you to pin folders and files to the taskbar.

We have already covered how to pin folders to Windows 10 taskbar. We will use this guide to share how to pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar. For instance, you can pin that important Word document or your favorite video to the taskbar.

As said, Windows 10 doesn’t support pinning files to the taskbar. But as you likely know, it supports pinning executables to the taskbar. Using this support, we have come with a workaround to pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar.

Pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar

NOTE: In this guide, we are pinning a Word document (.docx) to the taskbar. However, you can pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar by following the given below workaround.

Step 1: Open up File Explorer and navigate to the folder containing the file which you want to pin to the taskbar. If the file is on the desktop, navigate to the desktop folder using File Explorer.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic1

Step 2: Click the View tab and then click File name extensions check box to make File Explorer show file names with extensions.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic2

Step 3: Now, rename the extension of the file ( the file you want to pin to the taskbar) to EXE. Before doing so, please note down the original file extension as we need it.

For instance, we are renaming IW.docx file to IW.exe file.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic3

When you see the confirmation dialog, click Yes button to rename the file.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic4

Step 4: Now, drag and drop that file on to the taskbar to pin it to the taskbar. No, you cannot launch the file just yet.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic6

Step 5: Go back to the folder containing the file that you just pinned to the taskbar. Rename the file extension back to the original extension. In this case, we are renaming IW.exe back to IW.docx file.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic7

Click Yes button when you see the confirmation dialog.

Step 6: Right-click on the file that you just pinned to the taskbar to see its jump list.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic8

Step 7: In the jump list, right-click on the file name and then click Properties. As you can see below, the file name appears just above Unpin from taskbar option.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic9

Step 8: Under the Shortcut tab, in the Target section, rename the file extension back to the original one. Again, in this example, we are renaming the file extension back to .docx from .exe file.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic10

Click Apply button. That’s it! You may now click on the file pinned to the taskbar to open it with the default program.

Change pinned file’s taskbar icon

If you want to change file’s icon on the taskbar, please follow these two steps.

Step 1: Right-click on the file icon on the taskbar to see the jump list. Right-click on the file name and then click Properties.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic8

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic9

Step 2: Under the Shortcut tab, click Change icon button. Browse to an icon file or use one of the existing system icons. Click OK. Click Apply.

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic11

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic12

pin any file to Windows 10 taskbar pic13

Restart the File Explorer or restart your PC once to see the new icon.

Filed Under: Windows 10 Tagged: taskbar

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Comments

  1. Dave says

    June 5, 2021 at 1:12 am

    Thank you!

  2. Joseph Reinckens says

    February 29, 2020 at 5:08 am

    Not working. I tried two different file managers and neither of them activates “Pin to Taskbar”. Using Win 10 Pro ver 1903.

  3. Steve says

    December 30, 2019 at 7:31 am

    Thank thank thank you

    Totally helped me with my father in law’s instructions to hook up bluetooth. He’s lovin’ his classic rock on his big stereo. now he has instructions to make sure it always works!

  4. Robyn Denton says

    September 13, 2019 at 6:46 am

    Tried this, worked until I tried to apply the new icon. Wouldn’t let me apply because the file path had been changed from .exe to .docx. Maybe things have changed since this was written. Is there a new workaround for this task?

    [13 September 2019]

  5. Frank Phinney says

    June 27, 2019 at 5:56 am

    Been trying to Pin-To-Start a file for weeks now! Tried out your sys today. Double-checked my work & I cannot get the IW to show – when I right-click on the file that you just pinned to the taskbar to see its jump list.
    WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE I AM DOING WRONG?

  6. Ardnassac says

    September 6, 2018 at 6:38 am

    Thank you very much for your insight ! Yours was the only one that worked and was very easy to understand ! =)

  7. admin says

    August 17, 2017 at 5:15 pm

    Yes, Davin. Slide to shutdown is very useful for touch screen users. We have covered about it here:
    intowindows.com/slide-to-shut-down-feature-in-windows-8-1/

  8. Davin Peterson says

    August 16, 2017 at 9:09 pm

    You can pin SlidetoShutdown.exe to the taskbar which allow a quick way to shutdown your PC.
    Slide to Shutdown is found in the C:\Windows\System32 folder

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