How to Customize Quick Access in Windows 10?

80:20 rule works perfectly on many of the things we do in our life. Using your computer is one of the good examples that you will be accessing the same folders most of the times. In earlier versions of Windows 7, you might be using “Favorites” feature for reaching out frequently accessed folder. In Windows 10, you can find the same feature as “Quick Access” in File Explorer. In this article, we will explore various Quick Access customizations in Windows 10.

Where to Find Quick Access?

When you open File Explorer in Windows 10, by default it displays “Quick Access”. In Quick Access, you will see up to 10 folders and 20 files that you have accessed frequently and recently. This tool enables users to access their most important information from a single location with ease. Additionally, you can customize Quick Access in several ways to have a personalized Windows experience.

Enable/ Disable Quick Access

In Windows 10, File Explorer opens to Quick Access by default. However, you can disable this feature and open file explorer to “This PC”, hiding the Quick Access view.

• To do so, open the file explorer and switch to the “View” tab.
• Click the “Options” arrow on the right edge of the toolbar and then click the link to change the folder options.

• To change the “Open file explorer to” option, click the arrow and select “This PC”.

• Under the “Privacy” section of the folder options pop-up, uncheck the boxes to stop Windows from showing your most recently accessed folders and files in Quick Access.
• This will configure the Quick Access section to display the pinned folders only.
• Click “Apply” and then the “Ok” button to save the changes.

Customizing the Quick Access Folders and Files

By default, Windows 10 automatically generates the list of folders and files to show in Quick Access based on those you use frequently and most recently. However, you can personalize the content of the quick access view.

Pinning Folders to Quick Access

If you have a folder that you would like to access easily, you can pin the folder to appear permanently in Quick Access.

• Open the file explorer and navigate to the location of the folder.
• Click to select the folder, go to the “Home” and on the select the “Pin to Quick access” option on the toolbar ribbon.

• You can also achieve this by right-clicking the folder and select the option from the context menu.

• To unpin a folder, right-click the folder and select the unpin option from the context menu.

Remove Files/ Folder from Quick Access

If you need to clean up the file explorer or you do not want to see a certain folder on your frequently opened list, you can remove the item from the section. Right-click the file or folder and select the option to remove the item from Quick Access.

Note: To remove a pinned folder, you need to unpin it first.

Clear the Quick Access History

If you want to remove all frequently and recently accessed items, with the above option, you will have to remove each item at a time. This can be boring and tedious. Fortunately, you can clear the quick access history from the file explorer options settings.

• Go back to the “Folder Options” window and under the “Privacy” section, click the “Clear” button. This will erase the auto-generated quick access list.

Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access toolbar is located in the File Explorer title bar (On the top-right corner) and contains “Properties”, “New Folder” commands, and a drop-down configuration menu with a set of default commands. You can personalize the Quick Access toolbar in various ways.

Change the Position of the Quick Access Toolbar

• To change the position of the toolbar, click the Quick Access toolbar drop-down menu.
• Select “Show below/above the ribbon” depending on its current position.

Choosing the Quick Access Toolbar Commands

• You can add or remove commands from the quick access toolbar menu, but there only a few commands such as “Delete”, “Undo”, “Redo” and “Rename” available on the dropdown menu.
• To add a command, click the drop-down menu arrow and then check the unchecked command.
• To remove, click the command on the drop-down menu to uncheck. Alternatively, right-click the command on the toolbar and choose the option to remove the item from the quick access toolbar.

• You can also add a command from any ribbon tab.
• To do so, right-click the command on the ribbon and click the “Add to Quick Access Toolbar” option.

Summary

The Windows 10 Quick Access is a very useful feature that allows you to view your frequently browsed folder, and the files you worked on most recently. Gaining control over and personalizing the Quick Access tool makes files that you frequently use easily accessible from a single location. This can save you a lot of time when retrieving files, thus improving your productivity. If you do not need the feature, you may disable or clear the recent files history for your privacy.