Windows 10: Remove Quick access from Navigation Pane in Windows 10

How to: Remove Quick access from Navigation Pane in Windows 10

How to Add or Remove Quick access in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10


Windows 10 replaced Favorites from previous Windows with Quick access. The Quick access page is the shortest route to files you've been working on and folders you often use. These are your frequent folders and recent files.

In Windows 10, File Explorer opens to Quick access by default which shows your Frequent folders and Recent files.

• Frequent folders = Displays up to ten folders that you frequently opened on the system.
• Recent files = Displays up to twenty files that you most recently opened.

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Quick access in the navigation pane of File Explorer for all users in Windows 10.

*Warning You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to add or remove Quick access in the navigation pane.

*note Removing Quick access from the navigation pane will not clear the history of your frequent folders and recent files.


EXAMPLE: Add or Remove "Quick access" in navigation pane








Here's How:

*note The downloadable .reg files below will add and modify the DWORD value in the registry key below.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

HubMode DWORD

0 = Add
1 = Remove



1. Do step 2 (add) or step 3 (remove) below for what you would like to do.


2. To Add Quick access to Navigation Pane
*note This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Add_Quick_access_to_navigation_pane.reg

Download

3. To Remove Quick access from Navigation Pane
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Remove_Quick_access_from_navigation_pane.reg

Download
4. Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6. When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7. If File Explorer is open, then close and reopen it to apply.

8. You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Open File Explorer to 'This PC' or 'Quick access' by Default in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Favorites from Quick Access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Frequent folders from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Recent files from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Pin or Unpin Locations from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove 'Pin to Quick access' on Context Menu in Windows 10
• How to Hide a Specific File or Folder from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Show or Hide Navigation Pane in File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Navigation Pane 'Show all folders' in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Drives in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Dropbox in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Favorites in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Google Drive in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Homegroup in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Libraries in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Network in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove OneDrive in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Recycle Bin in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove This PC in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove User Folder in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Change Quick Access Icon in File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Reset Navigation Pane Expanded State in Windows 10 File Explorer

:)

 

Windows 10 and OneDrive integration

@AjdinAlibegovic: Perhaps you can try
removing OneDrive from the navigation pane and then adding it back? Or while in the registry check if there are duplicate entries somehow.

 

Explorer Displaying External HDD Twice

Hi James,

Both require editing the registry.

See the post here by BMTripp for removing the duplicate drives in the nav pane.

duplicate usb drives in windows 10 file explorer - Microsoft Community

duplicate usb drives in windows 10 file explorer

There is a registry edit to remove Quick Access *but* it also removes drag-drop functionality in the navigation pane.

How to remove Quick access from File Explorer in Windows 10 | Windows Central

How to remove Quick access from File Explorer in Windows 10

I’ve noticed that instead of a0600000, if you set it 88000 (0x00088000), you can hide Quick access and at the same time, preserve the drag-drop functionality in the navigation pane. The Quick access icon (the blue star) isn’t removed though, but it appears
dimmed or ghosted and not as prominent as before.

http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/remove-quick-access-other-shell-folders-file-explorer/

 

Thank you Edwin. *Smile

 

Wow, this took a bit of working through, Shawn, making sure all the permissions were changed etc.

Then when I got to Step 8 and linked to the tutorial to set File Explorer to open up to This PC instead of Quick Access I realized I'd achieved what I wanted to do in this one step. Quick Access is still in the navigation pane, but only opens if I want it to, so it's no longer irritating me. So I stopped there.

Does it matter that I left the ownership set to Administrators and gave this group full control or should I go back and change it again? I'm not sure I can remember the original ownership setting.

 

Hey Maggi,

I'm happy that you got it set how you wanted.

Nar, it won't hurt anything to leave the owner and permissions for the Administrators group. *Smile

 

I tried this process and nothing changed. See Attached:




Has this procedure Changed?

 

Good. What turned out to be the problem?

*Thumbs

 

Well I was under the impression that all of the marked items in the image below would be gone.

 

You have "This PC" open in your screenshot instead of "Quick access".

Did you restart the PC afterwards to no longer see Quick access?

 

In that case, go ahead and export the two registry keys below, and upload them here. I'll be happy to take a look at them to see what may be wrong. *Smile

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6}\ShellFolder

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6}\ShellFolder

 

Here you go, I hope this is what you want:

Root.rar

wow64.rar

 

Ok. Found the problem. You need to repeat steps 1 to 8, then restart the computer afterwards. It was still set to show. *Smile

 

I did not do that because I saw this:

 

That is for to do step 10 if you have a 64-bit Windows 10. If you have a 32-bit Windows 10 installed, then you wouldn't do step 10.

However, you would need to do step 8 on both 32-bit or 64-bit to remove Quick access.