"Pin to Taskbar": Now you see it, now you don't!

Dragon Drop

Member
Member
Messages
347
The "Pin to Taskbar" function, though always available for programs, appears temperamental in regard to data files (txt, doc, pdf). At the moment I find that if I pin a file to Start, the "Pin to Taskbar" option will then appear if I right-click it on the Start Screen or All-Apps Screen (though it still won't appear in the Desktop environment). But I'm sure I've tried that before and it didn't work then.

At any rate, on one occasion (January 9th) I was able to pin two files to the Taskbar from the All-Apps Screen (after making them appear there by putting shortcuts to them in the Start Menu folder). And yet -- although those two files are still on my Taskbar -- that method fails to work now!

Of course, there are other ways of doing it, which have been discussed in other threads.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
I like creating a shortcut using the target below that you are able to pin to the taskbar and/or Start. You can also change it's icon to whatever you like as well.

explorer "full path of file or folder"
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
The key there is "by putting shortcuts to them in the start menu folder". You can't pin data documents to the start page or the taskbar, but you can pin shortcuts to them. This should always work, just make sure it's a shortcut you're pinning and not the document themselves.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Thanks, Mystere. Now I remember what my original discovery was:
If you pin a file to Start (which can be done if you've used the registry edit from the tutorial) the system creates a shortcut
to it in the Start Menu folder, and you can pin THAT to the Taskbar.
But if I create a shortcut myself, I find the Pin to Taskbar option doesn't show up, unless I pin to Start first.

As far as I can make it out, an item can be pinned to the taskbar if it is:
(1) A program;
(2) A shortcut to a program;
(3) A file or folder shortcut created by the system itself;
(4) An indirect shortcut to a file or folder by way of File Explorer; or
(5) A Start Screen tile for a file or folder.

And, interestingly, the existence of any one of the above conditions is apparently sufficient
to make "Pin to Taskbar" available for that item in all contexts.
For example: Create a shortcut to a file in the usual way, and right-click it. "Pin to Taskbar" does not appear.
Select "Pin to Start." Then right-click the icon again, and "Pin to Taskbar" is there!
And right-clicking an item in the Metro All-Apps Screen gives "Pin to Taskbar"
if the item corresponds to any of the above (1) through (5).

But I'm sure all these unfathomable mysteries stem from that great God (or Devil) of Windows -- the Registry!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
There is no need to have a "Pin to taskbar" command on most shortcuts. All you have to do is drag the shortcut onto the taskbar, and it pins it.

Pin to taskbar is necessary on the start page because you can't just drag something from the start page to the taskbar.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
You're right. But I wasn't really referring only to the command. What I meant is, an item CAN'T be pinned to the Taskbar (by any method) unless one of these 5 conditions applies.

I tried it just now with a Word file. I created a shortcut to it, and when I dragged the shortcut to the Taskbar, an icon appeared there -- but it just opened Word (i.e., a blank document) instead of my file.

So I made the shortcut Taskbar-pinnable by pinning it to Start; I dragged the same icon to the Taskbar again, and it pinned correctly. Then I deleted the shortcut and the Start Screen tile. The Taskbar icon still works. The item just has to be Taskbar-pinnable at the time the pinning is done.

I guess, then, that the quickest way to get something on the Taskbar, if it doesn't want to go there, is just pin it to Start for a minute to make it Taskbar-pinnable. If that can't be done either, you can use a File Explorer shortcut.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
An update: I tried disabling the "Pin to Start" command for files, and I found that without it you can't get a file onto the Taskbar at all, except with a File Explorer shortcut. You can still get a file onto the Start Screen, by the "Start Menu" method I found a few weeks ago, but "Pin to Taskbar" remains unavailable.

And yet, if you have the "Pin to Start" option for files and you use that, you can then get "Pin to Taskbar" as I described above. Apparently the "Pin to Start" and "Pin to Taskbar" commands, though not one and the same, are somehow related.

There may be some way to make "Pin to Taskbar" available for files by editing the Registry, but I wouldn't dare try it without knowing how.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
A Triumph of Hacking

The following falls into the category of "Curiosities."
It is NOT intended for practical use, because it is unnecessary.

We already know two very simple ways to pin a data file to the Taskbar:
If you've installed the "Pin to Start" option for files,
you just create a shortcut to the file, pin it to Start,
and then you can pin it to the Taskbar.
And if you haven't installed that option,
you can always use an "indirect" shortcut to the file by way of
File Explorer, as I've previously described.

But, being a "Hack-a-holic," I set myself -- as an arbitrary problem --
to find a method of pinning a file to the Taskbar in such a way that
(1) The "Pin to Start" option for files need NOT be installed, AND
(2) The Taskbar icon will NOT be indirect,
but a direct shortcut to the file itself.
(That is, its "Target" will be simply the file,
with nothing about "Explorer" in it.)
I've spent a lot of my spare time on it for a while,
and tried countless approaches that failed to work for one
reason or another, which only made me more determined
to solve the "puzzle." Now I've finally found such a method.
It requires 18 steps. But if you want to use it purely out of
admiration for my incredible triumph of Windows-hacking --
as I know EVERY one of you will -- then proceed as follows.

To set it up for the first time:
1. Open the following hidden folder:
C:\Users\(Your UserName)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\
Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
2. Put a shortcut to that folder on your Desktop or Taskbar,
so you can open it quickly whenever you need to pin a file.
3. Right-click the Desktop and select "New > Shortcut."
4. Paste this address into the "Location" pane:
C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}
5. Give it a name, such as "Pinner."
6. Change its icon to one that you will recognize.
The icon file "C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll" contains an icon
that looks like a pin and a Taskbar; you might use that.
7. Keep this "Pinner" on your Desktop so that you can use it
to pin files to the Taskbar whenever you want.
As it now stands, it would just act as a "Show Desktop" shortcut,
which you obviously don't need on the Desktop!
But this is just the preliminary setup.

Then, whenever you want to pin a file to the Taskbar, do the following:
8. Right-click the "Pinner" and select "Copy."
Then right-click the Desktop and select "Paste."
This will make a second copy of the "Pinner" with a System-generated
name, such as "Copy of Pinner" or "Pinner (2)".
9. Rename the copy to the name of the file you're going to pin
(but leave out the file's extension).
10. Change the icon to whatever you want to see on the Taskbar for that file.
("imageres.dll" gives a large selection of icons.)
11. Right-click it and select "Pin to Start."
(It won't have to stay on the Start Screen permanently.)
12. Go to the Start Screen, right-click the newly-created tile there,
and select "Pin to Taskbar."

Though the icon should now be on your Taskbar,
it will obviously just work as another "Show Desktop."
But now comes the trick!
13. Look in the "Taskbar" folder that I mentioned above.
It will also contain your new icon.
14. Right-click it there and select "Properties."
15. On the Shortcut" tab, delete the entire contents of the "Target" pane.
16. In its place, type the complete address of the file you want to pin.
(All the way from C:\ up to the filename and extension.)

If you've followed all these steps exactly,
the icon on your Taskbar will now open the data file.
Then -- in order for the method to be usable again in the future
for pinning other files -- you MUST do the following:
17. Go to the Start Screen, right-click the new tile,
and select "Unpin from Start."
18. Delete the new shortcut from your Desktop, leaving only the
original "Pinner" which you will use again next time.

That will be $579.95, please. I take Visa and MasterCard.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
One other note:
You may run into problems with this method if you already
have "Show Desktop" on your Taskbar as a PINNED item.
In that case, you can use something else for Step 4 instead.
But whatever you use --

(1) It must be something that CAN be pinned to the Taskbar
(such as a shortcut to a Desktop program like those shown on the Metro
All-Apps Screen under "Windows Accessories" or "Microsoft Office").
(2) It must be a SHORTCUT icon, not an ACTUAL program.
(3) It must NOT be anything that's already on your Desktop
or pinned to the Taskbar.
(4) It should be a shortcut that you are now creating by yourself --
NOT an already-existing shortcut,
and NOT a copy made from an already-existing shortcut.

The reasons for all these restrictions (and for the complexity
of the method) have to do, I believe, with the Registry and the
way it keeps its records of which items are pinned.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
Or you can just disguise the file as a program!

Another possible way of Taskbar–pinning a direct shortcut to a data file (like a Word or Notepad
document) is by making it look like a program temporarily just so you can pin it.

As an illustration, suppose you have a Word file called "HW.doc" which is your list of excuses
for not doing your homework. You want it pinned so you can refer to it every day.

Open the folder containing "HW.doc" and, on the View tab, check "Filename extensions."
Make a note of what the file's EXACT extension is (doc, docx, etc. or in other cases it might
be txt, pdf, or anything. You'll have a problem later if you can't remember it.)

Rename the file: Put the cursor at the end, backspace over the extension, and change
it to "exe" so that the file becomes "HW.exe" which makes it look like a program.
(The icon will also change temporarily.)

Warning: DO NOT left–click the file, or any shortcut to it, while it has the "exe" extension.
If you do that, Windows will try to "run" the file as if it were a program itself.
That would probably mess up your computer pretty well!

Right–click the file and select "Pin to Taskbar." (Do NOT Pin to Start –– see below.)
You will see the temporary substitute icon on your Taskbar, but DO NOT click it yet.

First, go back to the file in your folder and rename it again: Put the cursor at the end,
backspace over the "exe" and put back "doc" or whatever the file's original extension was.
Then uncheck "Filename Extensions" on the View tab. (That option shouldn't be left on,
because you might change a file's extension accidentally.)

Now open the Taskbar folder,
"C:\Users\(Your UserName)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\
Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar"
(If you were going to use this method all the time, you'd want to keep a shortcut
to the Taskbar folder on your Desktop.)

In the Taskbar folder you'll find your "HW" shortcut. Right–click it and select "Properties."
On the "Shortcut" tab, in the "Target" pane, make the same change: Remove the "exe"
from the end and put back the original extension.

Now you can click the temporary Taskbar icon and it should open the file. After the
next reboot, it will appear on the Taskbar as the file's actual icon.

In your folder, along with the file, you'll find another "HW" icon that the system
has created. That's just an empty exe file which you can now delete.

This method cannot be used for pinning a file to the Start Screen, because the
file is "pinnable" only when it has the "exe" extension. Thus, the Start Screen
tile would be linking to the name "HW.exe" and there would be no way to change it.
But the download in Brink's tutorial enables you to pin files to Start anyway.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
A Special Kind of Shortcut

This is my final report on the results of five weeks of tireless research on pinning data files
to the Taskbar, in defiance of the Windows system's refusal to do it. My requirements for what I
consider an "ideal" method are these: (1) It should pin an icon that opens the file directly,
with one click (rather than having to find it in a "Jump List"). (2) It should be possible to
pin more files, by repeating the same procedure every time, without any interference with (or by)
the results from previous pinnings. (3) It should give each pinned file its own separate Taskbar
icon (even if they all open with the same program) and allow you to choose whatever icon you want
for each file so they won't all look the same on the Taskbar. And (4) it should not involve any
"gimmicks" –– such as the "File Explorer shortcut" idea, or editing the Registry –– because, to
a purist like me, those things are just "cheating." (What a hypocrite I am to say that, after
I posted the "File Explorer shortcut" method myself!)

I've now found 12 methods of Taskbar–pinning data files, and I won't post the whole list of them,
which would easily win an award for "most pointless post of the year." Suffice it to say that most
of them either fail to satisfy all of the above requirements, or are unsuitable for practical use
due to being too complicated or just too long. (In fact, the "File Explorer" cheat is still the
simplest way I know.) But method 12, my latest, is the first one that qualifies as "ideal."
(Because I carefully designed the "requirements" so all the others wouldn't qualify.
See how sneaky I am?)

When you do it, you'll need to open your User Start Menu folder, which is
"C:\Users\(Your UserName)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"
You may want to create a shortcut to it for quick access.

For the one–time initial setup: Open Notepad, so you have an empty file. Click "Save As," name
it "Nothing.exe" and save it on the Desktop. That creates a "dummy file," 0 bytes long,
which looks like an "exe" program.

Then, whenever you want to pin a file to the Taskbar, do this:

1. Right–click "Nothing.exe" and select "Pin to Start." The system will create a shortcut
to it in the Start Menu folder.

2. Click once on your "target" file to select it, and then click "Copy Path" near the upper
left corner of the folder window.

3. Open the Start Menu folder, right–click the "Nothing" shortcut there, select "Properties,"
and press control–V to "Paste." This replaces the path to "Nothing.exe" with that of your
target file, so the shortcut will open it. Now the shortcut will look like the target file's
icon, and you can then change it to a different icon if you want. Then rename it to your target
file's name (but don't type any extension). Right–click it and "Pin to Taskbar."

4. Finally, go to the Start Screen and unpin the "Nothing" tile so this method can be used
again to pin more files. Or, if you want this file on the Start Screen too, leave the tile
there; at the next reboot it will become a link to your file.

Just for those who are dying with curiosity about it: *

The Windows quirk that I discovered, which makes this method work, is that if a new tile
is pinned to the Start Screen –– and its target at the time of pinning is an "exe" program
(in this case the "Nothing.exe" that you create) –– the shortcut to it, which the system
creates in the Start Menu folder, is a special kind of shortcut. I don't know the nature
of the special property that it possesses; it isn't a property that you can set (or even
see) on its "Properties" tabs. It probably has to do (like most Windows mysteries) with
the Registry. But the result of this special property is that the shortcut is not only
Taskbar–pinnable, but can have its target address changed to that of a data file and will
even then remain Taskbar–pinnable. And only shortcuts created that way have this property,
as far as I can tell.

The above is, of course, only a brief summary of my research. If anyone wants my
complete 847–page report, I'm selling copies at $139.99 plus tax and shipping.
To order it, call 1–800–U–SUCKER.

* In other words, "for all the Munchkins and their descendants......!"
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
Why all this trouble. I just put the folders into a toolbar. What would be wrong with that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Back
Top