Customise Windows 10 Pro File Explorer Quick Access Your Way

When you first open File Explorer in Windows 10 Pro, the Quick Access panel greets you with a list of folders and recently used files. For many users in Melbourne and Sydney, this is the first thing they see when they boot up their PC at home, but it rarely matches what they actually need. The defaults are designed to be helpful for newcomers, yet seasoned users often find them cluttered or distracting.

Quick Access serves as the central hub for jumping into your most important directories without navigating through a long tree of drives. It can save you dozens of clicks every week, particularly if you work across multiple projects, photo libraries, or business documents. Once you understand how the feature functions behind the scenes, you can reshape it to suit your own habits and routine.

Microsoft built Quick Access as a combination of two elements: pinned folders that always remain at the top, and a dynamic block that updates based on files you have recently opened. This dual design gives you flexibility, but it also means you need to actively manage both parts to keep the view clean. Many Australians juggling work from a home office in Brisbane or Perth find that customising these two layers is one of the easiest productivity wins in the operating system.

This guide walks you through the practical steps for tailoring Quick Access to your needs, from pinning the folders that matter most to you, to clearing history, adjusting default behaviours, and sorting out issues that can crop up when settings get tangled. Along the way, you will also find tips that pair nicely with broader Windows 10 apps that depend on Quick Access to function smoothly.

Understanding Quick Access and why it matters

Quick Access is essentially a curated view that lives in the left-hand pane of File Explorer, sitting just above "This PC" and the rest of your drives. Rather than asking you to remember obscure folder paths, it surfaces the locations you visit most often so you can open them with a single click. For Australians who frequently switch between a personal laptop and a work device, this kind of shortcut is invaluable for keeping momentum throughout the day.

The panel pulls data from a couple of sources. The first is a list of folders you have explicitly pinned, which behave like bookmarks regardless of how often you actually use them. The second is a recent files history that Windows builds automatically by tracking what you have opened, saved, or modified. This combination is designed to feel intuitive, yet it can quickly become messy if you never prune the recent items.

From a workflow standpoint, Quick Access matters because it shapes how fast you can start any task. Whether you are pulling up an invoice for a client in Adelaide, opening a recipe PDF before heading out to grab groceries from Woolworths, or launching a project folder before joining a Teams call, shaving even a few seconds off each navigation compounds over time. A tidy Quick Access view is one of those small adjustments that pays off every single day.

There is also a privacy angle worth mentioning. Because Quick Access displays recent files by default, anyone with access to your computer can see what you have been working on. If you share your PC with family members or work in a shared home office, trimming this list or hiding it altogether can keep your activity more private. This is one of the most overlooked reasons to take ten minutes and customise the feature properly.

Pinning your most used folders to Quick Access

The most direct way to shape the panel is by pinning folders you actually want to keep visible. To pin a folder, open File Explorer, browse to the directory you want, then drag it into the Quick Access area on the left. Windows will hold onto it regardless of how often you open it, which is perfect for things like "Tax 2024-25", "Client Invoices", or your photo library synced from OneDrive.

You can also pin folders using the ribbon. Select the folder, head to the "Home" tab, and click "Pin to Quick Access" in the toolbar. This method works well when dragging is inconvenient, such as when you are working on a Surface device in portrait mode and find drag-and-drop finicky. Users across Australia who travel between offices often appreciate having multiple ways to perform the same task, especially when working on hybrid hardware that doubles as a tablet.

When choosing which folders to pin, think about frequency and predictability. Pinned folders should be the ones you open almost daily, not the ones you occasionally visit. A good rule is to keep around five to eight pinned folders; beyond that, the panel begins to feel as cluttered as the default view it was meant to replace. Many tradies running small businesses from home pin folders for quotes, supplier invoices, vehicle logs, and customer photos.

If you ever want to remove a pinned folder, right-click it in Quick Access and select "Unpin from Quick Access". The folder itself remains untouched on your drive, so there is no risk of losing files. This is helpful when projects end, such as when a renovation is finished and the related folder stored with Bunnings receipts no longer needs to be front and centre.

Removing default folders you don't need

Out of the box, Quick Access shows folders like Desktop, Downloads, Documents, and Pictures. These are useful starting points, but they are not always what every user wants at the top of File Explorer. If you prefer a cleaner view, you can remove any of these by right-clicking them and choosing "Unpin from Quick Access", which leaves the original folder on your drive but removes the shortcut.

Some users in Brisbane and regional areas find that the default folders add visual noise, particularly if their workflow revolves around custom directories on a secondary drive. For instance, video editors often want quick access to project folders on an external SSD rather than to the standard user libraries. Removing the defaults makes room for those specialised paths without scrolling through items that never get used.

It is worth noting that unpinning a folder does not delete the original folder from your system. Windows simply removes the link from the Quick Access panel. You can still reach the folder by browsing through "This PC" or by typing its path in the address bar. This separation between the shortcut and the source is what makes Quick Access so flexible for users who like to experiment with layouts.

If you want to restore a default at any point, you can navigate to the folder in File Explorer, then pin it again through the ribbon or by right-clicking and selecting the relevant option. The process is reversible, so feel free to try different combinations until you find the layout that matches the way you actually work. Many Australians keep several pinned paths active during tax season, then pare them back afterwards to keep the panel lean.

Changing what Quick Access opens to by default

By default, File Explorer opens to the Quick Access view every time you launch it. Some users prefer this because it gives them instant access to recent files, but others find it disorienting and would rather land directly on "This PC" to see their drives. Both options are valid, and Windows 10 Pro makes it easy to switch between them.

To adjust the default landing view, open File Explorer, click the "View" tab on the ribbon, then select "Options" on the far right. In the Folder Options window that appears, find the drop-down labelled "Open File Explorer to" and choose either "Quick Access" or "This PC". Click "Apply" followed by "OK" to save the change. The next time you open File Explorer, it will respect your new preference.

Users who manage large media libraries, such as photographers archiving work from trips to the Great Ocean Road or photographers in Perth capturing the coastline, often prefer "This PC" because it gives them an immediate view of drive capacity. Office workers who jump between a handful of documents each morning usually find Quick Access more efficient. There is no right answer, only the one that fits your routine.

Another useful setting in the same window is "Show recently used files in Quick Access" and "Show frequently used folders in Quick Access". Disabling both turns Quick Access into a static set of pinned items, which behaves more like a traditional favourites bar. Enabling them adds the dynamic element that helps when your work changes from week to week.

Adjusting Quick Access view settings

Beyond what appears in the panel, you can also adjust the layout of File Explorer itself to suit your preferences. The "View" tab in the ribbon lets you switch between large icons, details, list, and other layouts, and your choice can be applied specifically to Quick Access. Right-click anywhere in the empty area of Quick Access, choose "View" from the context menu, and pick the layout you prefer.

This small tweak is particularly helpful for users who prefer text-heavy layouts. The "Details" view shows file size, type, and other metadata at a glance, which can speed up tasks like sorting photos by date when reviewing shots from a weekend at Bondi Beach or a hike in the Blue Mountains. The default "Large icons" view is friendlier for casual browsing but hides useful information.

You can also change whether Quick Access expands or collapses by default. Some users like to keep it open so they can always see their pinned folders, while others prefer to collapse it for a tidier left pane. Click the small arrow next to "Quick Access" at the top of the navigation bar to toggle it. The setting persists between sessions, so you only need to choose it once.

For those who want extra polish, the "Navigation pane" button on the View tab lets you choose what appears in the left sidebar. You can show or hide items like the network locations, OneDrive, and the entire Quick Access panel itself. Hiding the panel is a more drastic move, but it works well if you have built your own custom folder structure and no longer need the shortcut.

Clearing recent file history in Quick Access

If your Quick Access view has become cluttered with old files you no longer care about, you can clear the recent history without affecting pinned folders. Open the Folder Options window from the View tab, then click the "Clear" button next to "Clear File Explorer history". This wipes the recent files list and resets the dynamic part of Quick Access while leaving your pins intact.

This is a routine worth performing occasionally, particularly for users who share their PC or work on sensitive projects. Many professionals in the legal and financial sectors across Sydney and Melbourne clear their history at the end of each workday as a habit. The process takes just a few seconds and provides peace of mind.

If you want a more permanent solution, return to the Folder Options window and uncheck both "Show recently used files in Quick Access" and "Show frequently used folders in Quick Access". From that point on, Quick Access will only display folders you have explicitly pinned, giving you complete control over what appears. This is the cleanest approach for users who value predictability over discovery.

For those who like a middle ground, you can keep the recent files view but limit what gets tracked by adjusting your privacy settings under "Settings > Privacy > Activity history". Disabling "Let Windows collect my activities from this PC" stops some of the tracking that feeds Quick Access, although it affects more than just File Explorer. Choose the level of tracking that aligns with your comfort.

Troubleshooting common Quick Access issues

Sometimes Quick Access stops refreshing or fails to display the folders you expect. A common culprit is a broken link to a folder that has been moved, renamed, or stored on a drive that is no longer connected. Right-click the offending entry and choose "Remove from Quick Access", then re-add it from its new location. This usually resolves the issue within seconds.

Another frequent problem is Quick Access opening slowly or freezing, particularly on machines with older hard drives. If you have pinned dozens of folders, the panel can take time to scan each path. Trimming the list to a handful of essential items often speeds things up, especially on hardware that has been in use for several years. Adding more RAM or switching to an SSD, available at most retailers across Australia, will also make File Explorer feel snappier overall.

If Quick Access fails to open at all, you can reset it through the Folder Options window. Open it from the View tab, click "Restore Defaults", then "Apply". This resets every setting in the window, including the Quick Access preferences, so you may need to re-pin your favourite folders afterwards. It is a useful reset button when settings have become tangled through experimentation.

Finally, if Quick Access keeps showing files you have already deleted, try clearing the File Explorer history as described earlier, then restart your computer. Cached entries can linger briefly after deletion, and a restart clears the cache completely. With these fixes in place, Quick Access should return to the predictable, useful feature it was always meant to be.

Take a few minutes today to open File Explorer and shape Quick Access into the tool that actually supports the way you work. Pin the folders you reach for every day, prune the ones you never touch, and decide whether you prefer a dynamic or static view. The result is a leaner, faster starting point every time you open your PC, and once you experience the difference, you will wonder how you ever managed with the defaults.