Solved | Cannot Pin Documents Folder to Quick Access on Win

Cannot Pin Documents Folder to Quick Access

Quick Access is a small feature in Windows that allows you to quickly access frequently used or recently opened folders. In addition, you can manually pin any target folder to Quick Access to save time navigating to it. However, sometimes certain folders like Documents may fail to pin to Quick Access, even after restarting the computer and trying multiple times.

“Cannot pin the Documents folder to quick access. It is as simple as that. I try to pin it and it just does not work. I tried right-clicking and selecting pin to quick start, but it did not work. Then I tried to drag it to quick start and it did not work either. Any Help? Does not matter if it is advanced.”answers.microsoft.com

If you cannot pin Documents folder to Quick Access on Windows, try the following troubleshooting methods.

Fixed: Windows 11 File Explorer Address Bar Dropdown Sticking

Are you encountering the File Explorer address bar dropdown sticking issue on Windows 11? Use the solutions in this guide to resolve it.

Read More

How to Fix if Documents Folder Not Showing in Quick Access

Fix 1. Untick “Show All Folders”

According to some user feedback, the problem of “pin to Quick Access not working” has been resolved after deselecting the “Show all folders” option. So, you can give it a try.

In File Explorer, scroll down the left menu bar, right-click on the blank area, and untick the Show all folders option.

Fix 2. Untick “Show Recommended Section”

If you are using Windows 11, unticking the Show recommended section option can also fix the problem. Follow the steps below to untick that option.

Step 1. Open File Explorer, click the three-dot icon on the toolbar, and select Options from the drop-down menu.  

Step 2. In the new window, untick Show recommended section under Privacy.

Step 3. Click Apply and OK sequentially to save this change.

Alternatively, you can click Restore Defaults to restore the current folder settings to the system’s initial default state.

Fix 3. Clear Recent Items History

If the issue is caused by corrupted cache or configuration files related to Quick Access, clearing the associated cache data can help resolve the problem.

Step 1. In File Explorer, copy and paste the following location in the address bar and press Enter:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

Step 2. Press the Ctrl + A key combination to select all the files in the folder, right-click them, and choose Delete to remove them.

Step 3. Navigate to the following location and delete all the files in the folder:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations

Alternatively, you can execute the command lines to clear the cache data:

Step 1. In the Windows search box, type cmd. When Command Prompt shows up, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.

Step 2. Input del /F /Q %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\* and press Enter.

Step 3. Next, input del /F /Q %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\* and press Enter.

File Explorer Jumps to Top of Folder on Windows? Best Fixes Here!

If File Explorer jumps to top of folder automatically and frequently, you can try the solutions listed in this post to fix it.

Read More

Fix 4. Update Windows

When you can’t pin folder to Quick Access due to corrupted system components, installing the latest system updates can help replace or repair them. Also, keeping the system up to date is crucial to ensure stability, security, and compatibility with Windows features like File Explorer.

To update Windows, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update to check for and install the available updates.

Kind Reminder:

Before installing any Windows updates, it is necessary to back up your files, folders, or even the system in case of any unexpected situations that cause system corruption or file loss. MiniTool ShadowMaker, free Windows backup software, can help you create a file backup or system image.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Wrapping Things Up

To sum up, if you cannot pin Documents folder to Quick Access, you can fix it by changing the folder options, clearing cache files, or updating Windows.