General Rearrange Quick Access Folders in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 11


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This tutorial will show you how rearrange quick access folders to any order you want in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.

Quick access is part of Home in File Explorer (Win+E).

Quick access allows you to quickly access and view your pinned folders and frequent folders from within Home in File Explorer, and from the navigation pane of File Explorer when Show all folders is turned off.

File Explorer allows you to rearrange quick access folders to any order you like in the navigation pane. The order you rearrange Quick access folders to will show in both the navigation pane and Quick access group in Home.


Here's How:

1 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Turn off Show all folders.

3 Drag and drop folders within the Quick access section of the navigation pane to the order you want them in. (see screenshot below)

When you drag a folder, make sure the line is where you want it (ex: under "Desktop" folder) before dropping it there.

You will not be able to drag and drop anything above the top folder. As a workaround, you'll have to drag and drop a folder you want at the top below the current top folder and then drag and drop the top folder below the other one.


Be careful not to drop the folder into another folder causing a shortcut of the dragged folder to be created in the other folder.


rearrange_quick_access_folders_in_navigation_pane.png



That's it,
Shawn Brink



Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
Hello Mr @Brink ,

I have been waiting for it for a long time! But it does not work in the current build. Is it for a specific build version?

g1.gif


s2.png


"Favorites" is always in "Expanded" mode. Can we get rid of this forever? I collapsed it and closed the Explorer, and opened it. It works for the current session, but after reboot, it gets expanded!

s1.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    CPU
    i7
    Hard Drives
    SSD
Hello @atinfo, :alien:

This is on the latest public build 22621.1928.

Normally, you would see the "Pin to Quick access" pop-up under the dragged folder with the line when it's safe to drop it. I noticed you don't have the "This PC" section under the "Quick access" section in the navigation pane. It's possible that may have caused them unable to rearrange.

Unfortunately, the "Favorites" group in "Home" cannot be completely removed or stay collapsed.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 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 (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Brink said:
I noticed you don't have the "This PC" section under the "Quick access" section in the navigation pane. It's possible that may have caused them unable to rearrange.
Click to expand...
Thanks :thumbsup:.
Yes, it was! I have disabled "This PC" in WinaeroTweaker:

s4.png

g2.gif



Brink said:
Unfortunately, the "Favorites" group in "Home" cannot be completely removed or stay collapsed.
Click to expand...
Microsoft :nope: ...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    CPU
    i7
    Hard Drives
    SSD
atinfo said:
Thanks :thumbsup:.
Yes, it was! I have disabled "This PC" in WinaeroTweaker:
Click to expand...

If you like, you can use an option below to remove the "This PC" section from the navigation pane, and still be able to rearrange the folders in the "Quick access" section.

www.elevenforum.com

Add or Remove This PC in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove This PC in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11. Windows 11 shows the This PC icon in the navigation pane of File Explorer by default. This makes it easy to browse your Devices and drives and Network locations in...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 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 (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I can't rearrange QA items in the Nav Pane either...

000753.png


... but, I can do it from within Explorer Jump List...

000754.png


Re-opening Explorer shows it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
Brink said:
If you like, you can use an option below to remove the "This PC" section from the navigation pane, and still be able to rearrange the folders in the "Quick access" section.

www.elevenforum.com

Add or Remove This PC in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove This PC in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11. Windows 11 shows the This PC icon in the navigation pane of File Explorer by default. This makes it easy to browse your Devices and drives and Network locations in...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
Click to expand...
I am wondering why options 1 and 2 don't work! Option three worked (removes This PC) but also disableed dragging items!!! It doesn't work for dragging the items.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    CPU
    i7
    Hard Drives
    SSD
atinfo said:
I am wondering why options 1 and 2 don't work! Option three worked (removes This PC) but also disableed dragging items!!! It doesn't work for dragging the items.
Click to expand...
I can only think Winaero may have affected it??
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 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 (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Yes! I did "Reset":

s9.png


But another headache! Why do options 1 and 2 not work again? :think: Option 3 works (the registry removes This PC and enables dragging the items), but"Networks" is also there!

s10.png


I think there should always be an item there (pinned)! It can't be empty and "item-drag" enabled (!) at the same time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    CPU
    i7
    Hard Drives
    SSD
Discovery! By removing all items under "Quick Access", dragging QA items would be disabled! :woozy:

g5.gif


Registry hacks:
www.elevenforum.com

Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 11 Tutorial

Windows 11 shows the Network icon in the navigation pane of File Explorer by default. This makes it easy to browse your local network. If you prefer not to have Network show in the navigation pane of File Explorer, you can remove it. This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Network in...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
www.elevenforum.com

Add or Remove This PC in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove This PC in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11. Windows 11 shows the This PC icon in the navigation pane of File Explorer by default. This makes it easy to browse your Devices and drives and Network locations in...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    CPU
    i7
    Hard Drives
    SSD
I'm using a W7 Explorer shell, I only have Quick Access in the Nav Pane...

000755.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
I want to have just QA in NP (Navigation Pane) and QA-Items-drag enabled. But I can't have these two at the same time! You have to enable at least one item under QA (like This PC, Networks, Library) otherwise, the drag action doesn't work!

Can you apply this registry key (and restart Explorer) to see what happens? See if DnD (drag and drop the items) works!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    CPU
    i7
    Hard Drives
    SSD
Another alternative is to Unpin them all and re-pin them in the order you desire.

000758.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Enterprise
    Computer type
    Laptop
    CPU
    i7
    Hard Drives
    SSD
atinfo said:
Hello Mr @Brink ,

I have been waiting for it for a long time! But it does not work in the current build. Is it for a specific build version?

View attachment 64264

View attachment 64265

"Favorites" is always in "Expanded" mode. Can we get rid of this forever? I collapsed it and closed the Explorer, and opened it. It works for the current session, but after reboot, it gets expanded!

View attachment 64266
Click to expand...


Its a really weird system they setup. You have to reorder using the top two folders only. So if you want for example the last one to be the fifth one then you have to drag the last one up to the 2nd slot and keep reordering them till you got your preference, its very tedious smh. Its really dumb the way they set it up.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
Doonie said:
Its a really weird system they setup. You have to reorder using the top two folders only. So if you want for example the last one to be the fifth one then you have to drag the last one up to the 2nd slot and keep reordering them till you got your preference, its very tedious smh. Its really dumb the way they set it up.
Click to expand...

Somehow while using that method I made it glitch or something and now I can reorder in a normal way.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 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 (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I could not rearrange the folder in Quick Access either. For some reason I disabled show all folders. Hey presto now I can rearrange the folders in Quick Access. The new order persists when show all folders is re-enabled. :rolleyes:
(11pro 24H2 26100.2605)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows11 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 3600
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 UNIFY
    Memory
    g.skill 4x16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super
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