How to Customize Quick Access Folders in Windows 11/10

Quick Action comes with Windows 11 and can’t be turned off. Most people don’t think about it, but it’s a fairly new part of Windows. It makes it easy and quick for the user to get to files and folders. You don’t have to look through every partition to find a small file. You can just pin it to the Customize Quick Access Folders in Windows 11/10, and with one click you can get to it.

In the older version of the Windows OS, there was no Quick Access. There was a feature called Favorites that was similar. It wasn’t as good, but it was the only thing that could be done at the time. With Windows 10, Quick Access was added. But by default, the feature was turned off. So, users had to manually turn it on from File Explorer, which wasn’t hard.

It also shows you the files and folders you’ve used most recently. Overall, this is a feature that both advanced and regular Windows users will find useful. But things weren’t always so good. Quick Access is something new. So let us show you how to make it work and how to benefit from it.

How to Customize Quick Access Folders in Windows 11/10

Steps to Pin Quick Access Folders in Windows 11

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Navigate to the folder that contains the folder you want to add.
3. Right-click on the folder and select Pin to Quick Access
4. The folder you selected displays under Quick Access in File Explorer with a thumbtack icon next to it.

How to Unpin Quick Access Folders in Windows 11

1. Right-click on the folder under Quick Access in the left pane.
2. Select Unpin from Quick Access
3. The folder is removed from Quick Access. It may reappear in Quick Access as a dynamically added folder if you still access it often. But it won’t be pinned anymore.

Hide Quick Access in Windows 11

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Click the See more menu (three dots icon) on the toolbar and select Options.
3. On the Folder Options dialog, make sure the General tab is active.
4. Select This PC from the Open File Explorer to drop-down list.
5. Click OK.
6. You will still see Quick Access in the left pane, but the right pane will show Folders and Devices and drives.

How to Reset Quick Access Folders in Windows 11

1. Copy the following location and paste it into the address bar in File Explorer:
2. Locate the f01b4d95cf55d32a.automaticDestinations-ms file under the AutomaticDestinations folder. You can copy the file name from here and paste it in the Search box in File Explorer, as shown below.
3. Select that in the file list and press the Delete key to delete it.
4. Close all open Explorer windows.
5. Open a new File Explorer window. All the folders that you manually pinned and the dynamically added folders are gone.

Steps to Reset Quick Access Folders Using the Command Prompt

1. Close all open File Explorer windows.
2. Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog.
3. Type: cmd in the Open box and click OK.
4. Copy the following command.
5. Right-click on the prompt line in the Command Line window. The command is automatically pasted.
6. Press Enter.
7. Open File Explorer.

FAQ

How to customize File Explorer with folder options in Windows 11?

One way to open Folder Options while in File Explorer is to click or tap the View tab in the ribbon and then the Options button on the right. A second method is to click or tap the File tab on the ribbon and choose “Change folder and search option” in the menu that appears.

How to set a default folder view for all folders in Windows 11 10?

Click the arrow under Options on the far right of the View tab, and click on Change folder and search options. A pop-up window for Folder Options will open, presenting you with General, View, and Search tabs. Under the View tab, click on the Apply to Folders option.

Why are folders read only in Windows 11?

Why Are Your Folders Reverting to Read-Only Mode? Your folders revert to read-only mode for various reasons, including restrictions imposed by your administrator, an issue with a recent Windows update, or changes you make to Windows Defender or your antivirus settings.

How do I rearrange quick access folders?

To remove a folder from Quick Access, right-click it and select Unpin from Quick Access from the pop-up. You can change the order of the folders in Quick Access. Simply drag and drop one folder higher or lower in the list until you’ve organized them all according to your preferences.