[Windows Tip] Pin Batch (.BAT) Files to Taskbar and Start Menu

We know that we can pin applications, program shortcuts, etc to Windows Taskbar and Start Menu for quick and easy access but there are some limitations with this method. Windows doesn’t allow users to pin a few selected file formats such as .BAT, .CMD, etc. If you right-click on a batch (.BAT) file or .CMD file, you’ll not get pin to Taskbar or pin to Start Menu options.

Recently an AskVG reader “Karbi” contacted us regarding similar problem. He wanted to pin a shortcut of batch script to Taskbar but he was not able to pin it as he was not getting pin to Taskbar option in context menu.

So in this tutorial, we are going to share an easy workaround to pin batch files to Windows Taskbar and Start Menu. After following this tutorial, you’ll be able to get pin to Taskbar and pin to Start Menu options in batch file shortcut’s context menu.

So if you also want to pin a batch script file to Taskbar or Start Menu in Windows OS, check out following simple steps:

1. First of all create a shortcut of the batch (.BAT) file or .CMD file. Right-click on the batch file and select “Create shortcut” option. It’ll create a new shortcut of the batch file.

2. Rename the shortcut to your desired name if you want.

3. Now right-click on the shortcut and select Properties option.

4. In “Target:” field add cmd /c in the beginning of the given string.

For example, if the Target field contains “E:\Downloads\Batch\Reset.bat” string, then add cmd /c before it so that the final string becomes cmd /c “E:\Downloads\Batch\Reset.bat”

5. Now apply changes and right-click on the shortcut and you’ll get Pin to Taskbar and Pin to Start Menu options.

NOTE: By adding cmd /c parameter to the target field, we are converting the batch file shortcut into a command prompt shortcut and the /c parameter is forcing command prompt window to close after executing the associated batch script.

Also Check:

• How to Pin Any File, Folder or Program Shortcut to Start Screen in Windows 8 and Later?
• How to Pin a Folder or Drive Directly to Taskbar in Windows 7 and Later?