No shortcuts to files on Taskbar in Win11

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In Windows 10, I used to have shortcuts to a few files <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>on my taskbar</span>.  I could even stack several Excel files on one Excel icon on the taskbar.  So, I could have those files accessible when other app(s), like a browser, are filling the screen.  That was really handy!  Windows 11 doesn’t allow that, or I haven’t figured out how.  I used to just hold down the right mouse button and drag the file to the taskbar.  Is this a lost feature?  Or is there another way?

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You ready for this?  Take your file.  Rename it to exe.  Pin the fake .exe to the taskbar.  Now go to the taskbar and rename it back to .xls or .xlsx

Of course you can install a third party menu software.  But faking it out is the “native” way to do it.

 

 

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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OK, maybe I did this wrong, but:

I renamed the file worksheetfile.xlsx to worksheetfile.exe.

Pinned that to the taskbar = OK.

Renamed worksheetfile.exe back to .xlsx.

Attempted to modify the Properties of the shortcut on the taskbar to link to the .xlsx but there was no way to modify the shortcut – & since it’s trying to find a .exe, it can’t find the file cause I renamed it back to.xlsx.  So = didn’t work.  What did I do wrong?

Many thanks for the quick response, though.

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I renamed the file worksheetfile.xlsx to worksheetfile.exe

This works in Windows 10.  I do not know if also works in Windows 11, but it’s worth try.

I use this alternate way to pin any shortcut to the task bar or start menu.  In this case it’s a shortcut to the Downloads folder, but it can also be directly you your xlsx file

1. The icon image will change to the common explorer icon, so you’ll want to change the icon.
2. Right click on your shortcut and the options for “pin to taskbar” or “pin to start menu” will be visible. Click one or both.

Desktop mobo Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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Paul

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Win11 Home 22H2

I couldn’t get Susan’s tip (rename .xlsx to .exe, pin, rename back) to work for me.  But this tip worked just fine.  Very useful.  Many thanks.

I found that if I had already pinned the shortcut to the task bar and then changed the icon (right click on shortcut.lnk, then properties, change icon, select icon, then apply), the task bar icon didn’t change.  But if I then unpinned it from the task bar followed by repin to task bar, the icon changed.  (Icon might have changed on the next reboot without the repinning step – didn’t test.)

 

Dell XPS17, 11th Gen Intel I7, 64gb RAM, Windows 11 Home 24H2

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TechTango

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I tried all these suggestions – none worked.  Biggest problem is that once I’ve pinned the “.exe” to the taskbar, “Properties” is no longer available on the right-click menu.  So, I can’t change the link back to .xlsx and I can’t change the icon. (The icon is not a big deal to me, but the link has to be changed back to .xlsx)

This is a new computer, running Windows 11 Pro, 22H2, never had Windows 10 (no left-over remnants of Win 10).

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TechTango’s suggestion (which worked for me on Win11 Home 22H2) would not change the .xlsx extension to exe.  What he did was right-click on the .xlsx file, then Create Shortcut.  The new shortcut file has the original .xlsx filename with an .xlsx – Shortcut.lnk extension.  Then right click on the .xlsx – Shortcut.lnk file and put “explorer” (or “C:\Windows\explorer.exe”) in front of the Target.  (No quote marks.)

Dell XPS17, 11th Gen Intel I7, 64gb RAM, Windows 11 Home 24H2

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This worked perfectly on Win 11 Entreprise – Thanks alot !

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It would be so much simpler, and logical as well, if Microsoft would simply make the desktop toolbar on the taskbar available in Windows 11, as it is in Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10. The desktop toolbar on the right hand side of the taskbar, with its popup and flyout menus, is essentially a menu of shortcuts to any file, folder, or executable located anywhere on the C: drive. It makes no sense for Microsoft to delete this option from Windows 11; but then Microsoft simply isn’t in the business of customer service any longer. They simply don’t care.

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Cybertooth

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While the ‘Desktop’ button or toolbar is not on the Win11 Taskbar, what I’ve been doing – for many years – is “Windows key” + “D”.  That worked in Win10 and also works in Win11 (I have Win11 Pro – 22H2).

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Nice try everybody but no go here! I 100% agree with Douglas-just Microsoft being evil to their customers!

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To add a shortcut to any file on the taskbar in Windows 10 (and I suspect is the same for Windows 11):
Open File Explorer to the file.
Place the pointer over the file, left click and hold as you drag the pointer to the taskbar and release. It will say “pin to XXX” where XXX is the default app for that file extension. For .xlsx it would be the Excel app. If that app’s icon is not already on the taskbar, Windows will add that app to the taskbar.
Right click that app’s icon and click the file which is pinned to the top of the app’s context menu. You can pin and unpin different files for that app.

KingGeorgeN wrote:

tried all these suggestions – none worked.  Biggest problem is that once I’ve pinned the “.exe” to the taskbar, “Properties” is no longer available on the right-click menu.

FYI: There are two context menus (right click menus) for apps on the taskbar. The plain right click yields the recent and pinned files for that app. Hold the Shift key down while right clicking to show the context menu for that shortcut which will have the Properties to select.

HTH, Dana:))

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Here’s what worked for me:

1. Create a shortcut.
2. Change its icon.
3. Right click the shortcut, choose properties, and explorer (with a space) in front of the Target.  For example Target: explorer “C:\Users\<yourname>\Documents\<yourfile.xlsx>”.
4. Click OK.
5. Now simply drag the shortcut to the taskbar.  It should say “link” as you drop it onto the taskbar.  Now you can reorder your pinned taskbar icons as you see fit.

The options to drag and drop the shortcut for some reason is not available until “explorer” is added in front of the target path…

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See this as well. It’s in this same thread earlier:
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/no-shortcuts-to-files-on-taskbar-in-win11/#post-2588859

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I could kiss you!  This worked perfectly. Thank you so much.

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TechTango

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This is another way to create a shortcut to a file that will pin to the Taskbar without other icon or file extension changes. Use the start switches for the app that will open the document.

Example: Since the original poster is using an Excel document, I will use that as an example. Here are the steps.

1. Locate the Path to your Excel.exe app installed on your PC. The properties of the shortcut to open Excel will show that Path in the Target box. In my case its:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\EXCEL.EXE”
2. Locate the Path to the Excel file you wish to open such as: “D:\Documents\workfile.xlsx”
3. Create a shortcut on the Desktop and enter for the location the Path address to Excel.exe, a space, then the Path address to the workfile.xlsx like my example below:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\EXCEL.EXE" "D:\Documents\workfile.xlsx"

4. You can name the shortcut anything you want.
5. Once the shortcut is on the Desktop, you can right click and select Pin to Taskbar.
This works because you are pinning an app to the Taskbar, but that shortcut tells that app to open that specific document.

These startup switches differ for different apps so you need to know the switch for your app connected with the document. For Excel above it is a space and then the Path to the file. For Word it is a space, followed by /t, another space, followed by the Path address to the document.

 

BTW: You can delete the shortcut from the Desktop after you pinned it to the Taskbar and it will still stay on the Taskbar  with the Desktop one deleted (at least on my setup).

HTH, Dana:))

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