How to Add the Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 10

Microsoft added the quick launch toolbar in Windows XP to provide an easy way to access common apps from your taskbar, but it disappeared with the introduction of Windows 7. If you miss the quick launch toolbar and pinning apps to the taskbar isn’t good enough, it’s pretty easy to add a quick launch toolbar yourself. Here’s how to add a quick launch toolbar to the taskbar in Windows 10:

Why Was the Quick Launch Toolbar Removed?

While the Quick Launch toolbar was quite helpful, and many people liked it, the ability to pin apps to the taskbar took its place in the default Windows design. If you don’t already take advantage of app pinning, it’s pretty useful in its own right. You can right-click any app on your taskbar and choose to pin it to either the start menu or taskbar for easy access. If you have a set of apps that you use regularly but don’t necessarily want them to run on startup, consider pinning them to the taskbar. The quick launch menu is better if you have more than a handful of apps you want easy access to, but pinning is convenient for a handful of your most commonly used apps.