How to enable quick access in windows 10

The Windows 10 Quick Access feature provides an easy way to find the files and folders that you use most often. It's possible to customize the folders that are shown in the Quick Access view, disable Quick Access altogether, or clear your Quick Access history to reset the files that are shown in the window.

Information in this article applies exclusively to Windows 10.

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.

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.

Alternatively, right-click the file and select Pin to Quick Access.

Pinning a file to the Quick Access window or removing a file that was previously pinned to the Quick Access menu won’t change the physical location of the file on your hard drive.

You can also remove folders from Quick Access. Right-click the file you want to remove and choose Unpin from Quick Access.

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:

1. Open File Explorer and select the File tab, then select Change folder and search options.

2. In the Folder Options window, select the drop-down menu next to Open File Explorer to and select This PC.

   If you only want to see your frequently used files, deselect the box beside Show frequently used folders in Quick Access.

3. Select Apply and OK.

   Even if you disable frequently used folders, you can still add folders to the list by pinning them or dragging the file under Quick Access in File Explorer.

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:

1. Open File Explorer and select the File tab, then select Change folder and search options.

2. Select Clear next to Clear File Explorer history to erase your previous usage history and start anew.

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.

Thanks for letting us know!

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

Tell us why!

Windows 10 Quick Access is a convenient feature that allows you to quick access to the common-used locations on your computer. If Windows 10 Quick Access not working or slow to open, do you know how to fix it? In this post, MiniTool Software will show you some effective solutions.

Windows 10 Quick Access is a customizable area in Windows 10 where you can pin folders from anywhere on your computer. With it, you can create the folder structure in that area according to your own requirements. Then, you can quickly access those folders without only one click.

When you get used to this feature, you will find that your operation to access the commonly used folders will be easier. It enables you to quickly access the locations which you usually used and the ones that you recently used.

Tip: If the files or folders in Quick Access are missing, you can use data recovery software, MiniTool Power Data Recovery, to get them back.

What if Windows 10 Quick Access Not Working/Slow?

At times, you may find that Windows 10 Quick Access not working or is broken or slow. To help you solve this issue, we try two methods that are said to be effective. These two methods are:

• Re-enable Windows 10 Quick Access
• Clear the Recent App Data in two folders
• Reset Windows 10 Quick Access with Registry.

If you are bothered by Windows 10 Quick Access slow or Windows 10 Quick Access not working, you can try these two methods one by one to help you out.

Solution 1: Re-enable Windows 10 Quick Access

This is a very simple method. You can follow these steps to re-enable Windows 10 Quick Access:

1. Go to File Explorer > View > Options.

2. Under the General tab, you need to make sure the following two options are unchecked:

• Show recently used files in Quick Access
• Show frequently used folders in Quick Access

3. Click Apply and OK to keep the changes.

4. Go to Folder Options again to check the above two options and then keep the changes.

After re-enabling Windows 10 Quick Access, you can check whether it can work normally. If not, continue to try the next solution.

Solution 2: Delete Recent App Data in Two Folders

To clear recent App data in two folders, you can follow these steps:

1. Open File Explorer.

2. Copy and paste the following folder path to the address bar and press Enter:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

3. Select all files in that folder and then delete them.

4. Use the same method to delete all files in the following folder:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations

At last, you still need to reboot your computer to see whether the Windows 10 Quick Access not working or slow issue is fixed.

If this issue still persists, you need to try the next solution.

Solution 3: Reset Windows 10 Quick Access with Registry

How to reset Windows 10 Quick Access with Registry, you need to use these steps:

1. Press the Windows button and the R button at the same time to open Run.

2. Type regedit into the Run box and press Enter to open Registry Editor.

3. Go to the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Ribbon

4. Find QatItems at the left panel and delete it.

Then, you can quit Registry Editor to see whether the Windows 10 Quick Access can work normally.