With Windows 7, Microsoft introduced the most radical overhaul of the taskbar since it’s inception clear back in Windows 95. Live thumbnail previews, while first seen in Vista, were experienced by most for the first time in 7. Jump lists provided a contextually and functionality aware commands depending on each application in question. Lastly, the mixture of active and non-executing programs in the same context and space was an intelligent expansion of the quick-launch toolbar option in from previous Windows releases. It’s rather clear to me that the Start Menu is slowly and deliberately being faded into obscurity.

You are already familiar on how to pin applications to the taskbar as well as how to pin folders to the Start Menu – but what about folders on the taskbar? In a questionable limitation, Microsoft doesn’t make this conveinent at all; to the point that the method of circumvention almost seems like a quasi bug-based loophole rather than some clever registry hack to unmask otherwise unknown options.

Here’s what I mean:

Create a new text document but change it’s file extension from .txt to .exe – an executable file.

As it is an application to Windows, you can now drag and drop the .exe onto the task bar.

Shift+Right-click on the newly created task bar item and choose Properties.

Looking at the Shortcut tab, locate the Target field and adjust the path to point towards the folder location you wish to access from the task bar. For a bit more visual style, you can change the icon to something more appropriate in this menu as well.

OK out of the dialogs to apply all the changes. You can now delete the .exe file you created on step 1 and access the folder location with a single left-click on the task  bar item.