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Pin a folder or document for fast navigation [1]

April 8, 2026 by ES and UIS Communications [2]

How to pin a folder

1. Navigate to the folder you want to pin.

2. Single-click the folder to select it.

3. Right-click the folder to open the pop-up menu.

4. From the pop-up menu, click Pin to Quick access.

An image highlighting the Pin to Quick access option in the right-click menu

That folder now appears in the Quick Access sidebar above those most frequently used. Pinned folders will remain there, even if not frequently accessed.

A pinned folder is highlighted in the Quick Access sidebar

The top nine pinned folders will also be available if you right-click on the File Explorer icon from the taskbar.

A pinned folder is highlighted from the File Explorer menu

When you’ve finished a project and no longer need easy access, you can right-click the folder on the Quick Access sidebar and select Unpin from Quick access.

The Unpin from Quick access option is highlighted in the Quick Access right-click menu.

You can also right-click on the File Explorer icon from the taskbar and select the unpin icon to remove from Quick access.

The unpin icon from the File Explorer menu is highlighted

How to pin a file

Likewise, you can pin a file — not to Quick Access, but instead to its application in your taskbar.

1. Right-click an application and select Pin to taskbar, if it is not already pinned. Now, it will show in your taskbar even when it is not open.

The Pin to taskbar option is highlighted from the Word icon

2. Open the file or document you would like to pin to make sure that it will appear in the application’s list of recent files.

3. Right-click on the application icon in your taskbar to see a list of recent files.

4. Click on the pin icon next to the document name.

The pin icon is highlighted from the Word icon menu

Now when you right-click on the application icon, you will see your document “pinned” at the top.

To unpin, right-click the application from the taskbar and select the unpin icon.

The unpin icon is highlighted from the Word icon menu

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Source URL:https://www.cu.edu/blog/tech-tips/pin-folder-or-document-fast-navigation

Links
[1] https://www.cu.edu/blog/tech-tips/pin-folder-or-document-fast-navigation [2] https://www.cu.edu/blog/tech-tips/author/249473 [3] https://www.cu.edu/blog/tech-tips/tag/windows