Pin folders to Windows 7’s Explorer icon

The new Windows 7 Taskbar is more sophisticated than its predecessors yet still extremely easy to use. Try this. Roll the mouse pointer over the Taskbar and right-click on Windows Explorer icon (it looks like a little yellow folder). Windows 7 displays a pop-up menu showing two kinds of folders; those accessed most frequently, and those ‘pinned’ there for easy access.

So how do you pin one of your favourite folders to the Windows Explorer icon so you can get at it more easily? Simple. Just left-click on any folder and drag and drop it onto the Windows Explorer icon in the Taskbar. When the two icons ‘meet’ Windows 7 will display the message ‘Pin to Windows Explorer’. Just let go of the mouse button and that’s it, job done.

Now, right-click on the Windows Explorer icon in the Taskbar and you will see the pinned folder is sitting in the top section of the pop-up menu, alongside any other folders that have been pinned in the same way. Windows populates the list below the pinned items with those folders it sees being accessed most frequently. To remove a folder hover the mouse pointer over the item and then click the pin button to remove it.