Best practice to Add a custom folder to the Explorer Navigation Pane?


starbuck

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I'm migrating from Dropbox to SynologyDrive and one of the features that is very helpful with Dropbox is that it adds itself as folder to the Explorer Navigation Pane so that you can easily have the folder tree accessible/expanded from an Explorer window. I can't figure out how to add a custom folder to this part of the navigation pane. I don't want to pin it to Quick Access as that doesn't give you an expandable tree inside the navigation pane.

I think Win Aero Tweaker could do this in Windows 10, but I haven't tested in Windows 11. Also, I always prefer to do things manually without adding another utility to my system if I can avoid it.

Anyone else doing this and, if so, what's best practice to achieve it that will also persist through regular Windows updates?
 
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Windows 11 Pro 22H2 build 22621.2215

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That gives you a link in the Navigation Pane, but it doesn't give you an expandable file tree like Dropbox does.
 

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Windows 11 Pro 23H2Intel Core i5-12600KDDR4-3603 / PC4-28800 DDR4 SDRAM UDIMMEVGA RTX 2060 Super XC Ultra Gaming (08G-P4-3...
OS
Windows 11 Pro 23H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom Build
CPU
Intel Core i5-12600K
Motherboard
ASUS TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4
Memory
DDR4-3603 / PC4-28800 DDR4 SDRAM UDIMM
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EVGA RTX 2060 Super XC Ultra Gaming (08G-P4-3163)
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Samsung SSD 980 EVO 1TB
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Post your question in the Synology Community Forum, you will have better luck there then here
 

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PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Gigabyte Z390 UD
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Intel Core i7 9700K 3.60
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Gigabyte Z390 UD
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nVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
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onboard
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3840 x 2160
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M.2 NVME SSD, 500 GB; Two 2TB Mechanical HDD's
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Backlit Cyberpower gaming keyboard
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Windows Security
Post your question in the Synology Community Forum, you will have better luck there then here
That doesn't seem appropriate as this is really a windows issue. Let's forget synology, what if I want to add a custom folder to the navigate pane so that it has an expandable file tree....Dropbox clearly has figured out a way to do it as Dropbox is not installed as a 'drive'
 

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Windows 11 Pro 23H2Intel Core i5-12600KDDR4-3603 / PC4-28800 DDR4 SDRAM UDIMMEVGA RTX 2060 Super XC Ultra Gaming (08G-P4-3...
OS
Windows 11 Pro 23H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom Build
CPU
Intel Core i5-12600K
Motherboard
ASUS TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4
Memory
DDR4-3603 / PC4-28800 DDR4 SDRAM UDIMM
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA RTX 2060 Super XC Ultra Gaming (08G-P4-3163)
Hard Drives
Samsung SSD 980 EVO 1TB
PSU
Corsair 750W Gold
Case
Corsair
Cooling
Corsair
Internet Speed
Fibre 1gbps
I'm migrating from Dropbox to SynologyDrive and one of the features that is very helpful with Dropbox is that it adds itself as folder to the Explorer Navigation Pane so that you can easily have the folder tree accessible/expanded from an Explorer window. I can't figure out how to add a custom folder to this part of the navigation pane. I don't want to pin it to Quick Access as that doesn't give you an expandable tree inside the navigation pane.

I think Win Aero Tweaker could do this in Windows 10, but I haven't tested in Windows 11. Also, I always prefer to do things manually without adding another utility to my system if I can avoid it.
I'd hate to do it manually, but you can try as others have done:
Anyone else doing this
Yes
and, if so, what's best practice to achieve it that will also persist through regular Windows updates?
That depends on what exactly it is that you mean when you say "regular Windows updates". With these kinds of registry tweaks there's always going to be a good chance that it will be broken one day, like, after a Windows Cumulative Update is installed. When dealing with Windows, always remember to replenish the stockroom where your duct tape is stored:

Magazijnautomatisering-copy.jpg
 

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