How To Use Windows 10 Quick Access

How to Use Windows 10 Quick Access

Quick Access takes the place of the Favorites feature, which allowed users to bookmark frequently used files or folders in previous versions of Windows. With Quick Access, you can see up to 10 frequently used folders, or the 20 most recently accessed files, in the File Explorer window. Open Windows File Explorer and select Quick Access in the left pane to see your frequently used files and folders.

How to Pin Folders to Quick Access in Windows 10

Quick Access is enabled in the Windows 10 File Explorer window by default. The folders and files that show in Quick Access are those you use most frequently or recently. You can, however, customize which folders are displayed under Quick Access by pinning them to the Quick Access view. To do so, click on the folder in File Explorer, then select the Home tab and select Pin to Quick Access in the top-left corner. You can also remove folders from Quick Access. Right-click the file you want to remove and choose Unpin from Quick Access.

How to Disable Quick Access in Windows 10

If you prefer how File Explorer looked in previous versions of Windows, you can disable the Quick Access feature. It’s also possible to hide frequently used folders so that you only see your recent files under Quick Access:

How to Clear Quick Access History

Even if you are comfortable using the Quick Access File Explorer view, you may want to start fresh once in a while. For example, let’s say you finished one project and started another, but you don’t want to wait for the folders you’re using on the new project to replace the folders you used on the old one. You can reset your Quick Access history like so:

The Quick Access toolbar appears in the top-left corner of the File Explorer window. By default, the options available in this Quick Access menu are Properties and New Folder, but there are additional options that you can add to the menu such as Undo, Redo, Delete, and Rename. Select the down arrow in the top-left corner of File Explorer to configure the Quick Access toolbar.