Windows Explorer Favorites Sidebar: Add Custom Links in Windows 7

Adding Custom Links to Your Favorites Sidebar in Windows 7

Windows 7’s Explorer sidebar has a Favorites section above Libraries, and you can pin your own shortcuts into it — handy for jumping straight to a frequently-used folder, network share, or even a single file, without digging through the folder tree every time.

How to add a link:

1. Open %userprofile%Links (type that directly into the Explorer address bar).
2. Right-click inside the folder and choose New > Shortcut.
3. Point it at the folder, network share, or file you want quick access to, and give it a name.

The new shortcut appears in the Favorites section of every Explorer window’s sidebar immediately — no restart or sign-out needed. You can reorder, rename, or delete entries at any time simply by managing the shortcuts inside that same Links folder.

Resources