Solved Pinning 'Computer' to Windows Explorer Jump List

[123fakestreet]

Hi, so I am familiar with the intrecacies of the Windows Explorer Jump List, I think.

I know that you need to pin folders from 'Recent'.

Problem is, nothing shows up in 'Recent' for me unless I have actually manipulated a file within that folder.

And so, trying to pin 'Computer' on the Jump List seems impossible, as it never shows in 'Recent' because (as far as I can tell) there are no files within 'Computer'.

On my last install, somehow I got it working, but I just formatted and can't get it back.

What could it possibly be?
Thank you much.

 

[Brink]

Hello fakestreet, and welcome to Seven Forums.

It's not the jump list, but you could use the tutorial below to pin "Computer" to the taskbar if you like.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/6916-computer-pin-taskbar.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[123fakestreet]

So do you know what I mean, though? Is there any other way to manipulate the 'Recent' items? Is there a folder or a registry entry or something that tracks these? Why does it populate in such an esoteric way? Strange.

 

[seavixen32]

Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties and look under Privacy at the two check boxes, which you can alter to your liking.

 

[123fakestreet]

Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties and look under Privacy at the two check boxes, which you can alter to your liking.

right. the problem is that 'Computer' never (as far as I can tell) will show up in as 'Recent', and thus cannot be "pinned" to the Jump List. the reason for this I am not positive.

 

[Brink]

So do you know what I mean, though? Is there any other way to manipulate the 'Recent' items? Is there a folder or a registry entry or something that tracks these? Why does it populate in such an esoteric way? Strange.

You might see if you may be able to add Computer to the jump list using this.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/14067-jumplist-launcher-create-custom-jump-lists.html

 

[James Colbert]

Welcome, fakestreet .

My attempt to place Computer in the jumplist was successful (and simple):

1. Open an instance of Windows Explorer
2. In the left pane, scroll so that Computer is visible.
3. With the left mouse button (or right, for that matter) drag Computer to the Explorer icon on the Taskbar
4. Release mouse button. It should now show up in the jumplist.

If the explorer icon is not on the Taskbar: Start\All Programs\Accessories - Right click on Windows Explorer and choose 'Pin to Taskbar' (not 'Pin to Start Menu', which is an additional option), then follow the procedure above.

If the Taskbar is set to Auto-Hide, when you drag my computer to the Taskbar, bring it to where the Start orb is first. This will cause raise the Taskbar so that you can drop Computer onto the Explorer icon.

Also, you are not restricted to pinning items from the Recent list. You can pin them from many places, including the start menu, Windows Explorer, etc. It just has to be a 'pinnable' item, such as an exe file. There is, however, a method to pin any file on the taskbar.

Here is a link to a Jumplist tutorial on these forums published by Brink (thanks, Shawn!). Be sure to check out the links list in that tutorial. It has many other links to relevant tutorials:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3227-jump-lists.html

Here also is a link to a tut on how to enable the quicklaunch bar (also published by Brink), which you may find helpful (it's where I keep my Computer icon):

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/888-quick-launch-enable-disable.html

 

[Brink]

Hello James,

Ah, I just didn't even think about that. Good idea.

 

[James Colbert]

Hi Shawn. Thanks . I'm an efficiency nut.

 

[123fakestreet]

thanks for the help.

still doesn't work for me, though.

when I hold the 'Computer' icon hovered over the Task Bar, an Info Box appears that says "Pin to Windows Explorer," but when I open the Jump List, it's not there (either in the 'Pinned' or 'Recent' items.

 

[James Colbert]

Are there any items in the Explorer jumplist?

 

[123fakestreet]

yes. I have several 'Pinned' items and several 'Recent'.

perhaps the problem is that I've changed the target path of the Explorer icon so that it opens a folder on a secondary HDD.

do you know the default path for Explorer?

 

[Brink]

Strange. It should pin "Computer" to whatever explorer icon you have to the farthest left on the taskbar.

What happens when you drag the Computer icon on a empty area on the taskbar itself until you see the "Pin to Windows Explorer" message, and drop/release it?

The default path for Windows Explorer is below.

%windir%\explorer.exe

 

[123fakestreet]

dragging it around creates a translucent 'Computer' icon, which will create shortcut if I drop it on the desktop, has a crossed-out sign when hovering above other items on the Task Bar, etc.

 

[Brink]

If it's not letting you pin it to the taskbar like below, then you might see if changing the Windows Explorer icon's target location back to the default one to see if that may help.

Do you have any problems pinning anything else either on the Start Menu, taskbar, or jump list?

 

[123fakestreet]

hah! that did it. crazy. well, guess someone should write this down, because that's one odd quirk.

thanks for talking me through it (though I think I came up with the solution on my own). thanks again.

 

[123fakestreet]

I should also note that I was able to change the target location of 'Explorer' back to my prefered path and the 'Computer' icon remains pinned. thanks!

 

[Brink]

That's great news. I'm happy to hear that you got it pinned.