Using Quick Launch to Access Files, Apps, Folders Quickly
Looking for a way to access your application, files, folder and drives quickly? Use Quick Launch.
Quick Launch is a feature built into the Windows Task bar. It allows you to create icons on the task bar for one-click access. You may have used Quick Launch and not even have realized it. In the image below, I have put an orange square around the Quick Launch portion of the task bar.
The Task Bar with Quick Launch highlighted in orange.
Accessing Quick Launch : Quick Launch is usually turned on by default when you buy your computer. If, for some reason it is not on, right click on the Task Bar and select Toolbars from the pop-up menu. After selecting Toolbars click on Quick Launch (see image below).
Right-Click on the task bar, select toolbars and then click on Quick Launch
Now that Quick Launch is on, you will see icons for the applications that are set by default.
Add / Remove Icons : Any application, file, folder or drive can be added to or deleted from Quick Launch. To add a file to Quick Launch, drag the file from its location to the Quick Launch area. You can drag files from the desktop, the start menu and your hard drive to the Quick Launch area. To remove icons from the Quick Launch are, right click on the icon and select Delete from the pop-up menu (see image below). You will then be asked whether or not you really want to delete the item. Select Yes.
Right click on an item and select delete to remove it from the quick launch
note - some items, especially drives (like the CD-ROM drive) will say that an item cannot be copied here and will ask if you want to create a shortcut here. In those cases select yes and it will function the same.
Using Quick Launch allows for quick access to all of your important files.
It is also a way to clean up your desktop. As you can see below, I have added a couple of frequently used applications, a network drive, a folder, a file and my CD-ROM drive to the Quick Launch.