[Tip] Create a Portable Quick Launch Toolbar for Windows Taskbar

This article will help you in creating or adding a portable Quick Launch toolbar to Windows taskbar which will allow you to launch your favorite programs quickly and easily using a single mouse click on the Taskbar. We are using the word “Portable” because the toolbar can be fully restored with all programs shortcuts even after you format and clean install Windows operating system in your computer. You can also copy and move the toolbar to other computer systems easily.

Quick Launch toolbar was available in older versions of Windows such as Windows XP and Vista. It helped users in quickly opening apps and programs right from the Taskbar. But with the release of Windows 7, Microsoft removed Quick Launch toolbar from the Taskbar.

Newer versions of Windows such as Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 and Windows 11 do not come with Quick Launch toolbar present on the Taskbar but the functionality still remains in the shell code.

I’m using Quick Launch toolbar since the good old days of Windows XP. Adding Quick Launch toolbar back to newer Windows version is very easy. We posted several tutorials about the Quick Launch toolbar long time back which can be found at following links:

Has Microsoft Removed Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 7 and Later?

How to Get the Good Old Quick Launch Toolbar Back in Windows 7 and Later?

How to Show Large Icons in Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows Taskbar?

Today in this article, I’m going to share a very useful tip related to the addition of Quick Launch toolbar. After following this tip, you’ll be able to bring back Quick Launch toolbar to Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 with an additional benefit which is the ability to restore the complete Quick Launch toolbar setup with all favorite program shortcuts present even after you clean install Windows operating system.

If you follow previous articles on this site or other websites, they utilize creating new toolbar on Taskbar for the default Quick Launch folder present on the system drive i.e. C: drive. You can then copy or create new program shortcuts in the folder to show them on Taskbar but if you format and perform fresh installation of Windows, all the programs shortcuts will be lost and if you add the Quick Launch toolbar again in new Windows installation, you’ll need to copy the same program shortcuts again to Quick Launch toolbar folder. It wastes lots of time.

In this exclusive tip, we’ll use a different folder on a different drive to store all favorite programs shortcuts so that the folder is not deleted by Windows when you reinstall the operating system.

If you also want a portable Quick Launch toolbar on your Windows Taskbar which will contain all your favorite programs shortcuts and which will be available for addition even after clean installing Windows, following steps will help you:

STEP 1:

First of all create a new folder on a different partition such as D:, E: or any other drive. Do not create the folder on Desktop, documents folder or C: drive.

You can give any name to the folder. For example, we are creating a new folder with the name “My Programs Toolbar” in E: drive.

STEP 2:

Now copy all desired programs shortcuts to “My Programs Toolbar” folder in E: drive. For example, you can copy web browser shortcuts such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge and other apps shortcuts which you frequently use such as Adobe Photoshop, Calculator, Mail client, Notepad, Office apps, etc. You can also create shortcuts to other folders and paste them inside this folder.

BONUS TIP:

As you can see in the above screenshot, I have added numbers in shortcuts names. I use numbers to arrange shortcuts in desired order. For example, I want to place QuiteRSS icon at first place in the toolbar, so I have put 01 in its shortcut name. You can also use numbers in shortcuts names to set their order. Alternatively, once the toolbar is added to Taskbar, you can drag-n-drop icons to change their order but you’ll always need to rearrange them if you add the toolbar in future again.

Now you can add Quick Launch toolbar for the new folder created in above mentioned steps with the help of following steps:

STEP 3:

Now right-click on empty area on Taskbar and select “Toolbars -> New toolbar” option. It’ll open browse window.

Navigate to the drive where you created the toolbar folder, select the folder and then click on “Select Folder” button. In our example, we’ll select “My Programs Toolbar” present in E: drive and then click on “Select Folder” button.

It’ll add a new toolbar for our selected folder at the right-side of the Taskbar near to notification area or system tray. But only the name of the folder will be visible and you’ll not see program shortcuts icons in the toolbar as shown in following screenshot:

We’ll need to customize the new toolbar to make it easier to use.

STEP 4:

Right-click on Taskbar and uncheck “Lock the taskbar” option to unlock Taskbar.

Move mouse cursor near new toolbar and you’ll see a drag handle (looks like 2 vertical lines) showing just before toolbar title text i.e. folder name. Click on the drag handle and hold your mouse button and drag the toolbar to the extreme left side of the Taskbar near Start button. It’ll move the toolbar near Start button and you’ll be able to see shortcuts icons in the toolbar.

Now right-click on the toolbar text and uncheck “Show Text” and “Show title” options. It’ll hide the folder name as well as shortcuts names from the toolbar.

Again right-click on the toolbar text and select “View large icons” option. It’ll make the program shortcuts icons larger similar to pinned items on Taskbar.

Now move mouse cursor near programs button area on Taskbar (where other opened programs buttons appear) and you’ll again see a drag handle to move the buttons toolbar. Click on the drag handle and hold your mouse button and move the toolbar next to our newly added Quick Launch toolbar.

Once you finish adjusting toolbars position, right-click on the Taskbar and select “Lock the taskbar” option to lock the Taskbar.

That’s it. Your new Quick Launch toolbar is ready to use.

Since we are storing the toolbar folder and all shortcuts on a different drive, it’ll remain untouched even if we format and clean install Windows on C: drive. After clean installation, you can follow above mentioned steps again to add the Quick Launch toolbar back with all programs shortcuts intact.

I’m using this trick since many years. It saves lots of time and helps in launching programs quickly without any need to opening Start Menu or going to Desktop.

PS: You can also use a docking utility to store favorite programs shortcuts. We posted an exclusive tutorial to create portable version of popular RocketDock tool at following link:

How to Create Portable Version of “RocketDock” for USB Drives?

Also Check:

[Tip] How to Get Centered Taskbar Buttons in Windows 10