Unable To Rearrange Folders in Quick Access

[jfranco809]

I've pinned several folders to quick access. But when I try to arrange them how I want them (typically alphabetical order) windows won't allow me to move them around. See attached screen shot of my quick access. When I move a file close to the other where I want it , the only option it gives me is to copy the file into the other file. I had a chat session with a microsoft customer support and they logged onto my computer remotely. I didn't really understand what they said but the only thing I could deduce is they wanted me to unpin everything because they thought the order in which I had pinned files was preventing me from being able to arrange them properly. I unpinned everything and started over and I'm still having the same problem. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[RogerOver]

Your "quick access shortcut" folder is probably corrupted !

This is a "super-hidden" folder in Windows Explorer, you can't acces it the normal way.
Open Windows Explorer and go to C:\ (I mean to the drive directly, not to a subfolder).
Then click on an empty space within the search box above in WIN Explorer to ascertain that only C:\ is at the beginning of the path in the search box and copy the following path and insert it behind the C:\ in the search box: %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

This will open the folder where the quick access shortcuts are stored. Delete everything that is in there. If a few files are recalcitrant (i.e. you cannot delete them), leave them alone.

There is also another folder called: %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations. You might also want to delete everything that is in there.

You then need to restore your custom quick access shortcuts one by one ! The automatic destinations will come back on their own !

 

[Bighorn]

My Win11 computers don't have Quick Access but now have Home which is not expandable in the left Navigation pane, shows folders on the right. I can pin a folder on the right but not move it.

 

[RogerOver]

My Win11 computers don't have Quick Access but now have Home

Yeah, you're right. It's as you like now: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/add-o...ion-pane-of-file-explorer-in-windows-11.2449/

Like everything today !

 

[jfranco809]

This did not work to resolve the issue.

 

[jfranco809]

I mean you shouldn't have to be doing all of this to just be able to move folders around in quick access. Microsoft has completely botched quick access and made it very difficult to customize and move folders around to where you want them on the far left. Sucks. Windows 10 was much better for it. This needs to be fixed.

 

[Bighorn]

Sucks. Windows 10 was much better for it. This needs to be fixed.

Since it's by design it may not actually be broken, just different. One thing for sure, since I started building computers running MS-DOS with Windows 3.1 and helping clients in '94 there has always been change within Operating Systems. Following the OpenSource Linux community shows if wanting an OS as desired they create their own version.

 

[RogerOver]

This did not work to resolve the issue.

I mean you shouldn't have to be doing all of this to just be able to move folders around

Hi JeanFranco,

does it now work or not. I have absolutely no problem to move my folders in Quick access. If cleaning the folders (my first proposal, not the second link) does not work, then there is a problem with your installation. Did you restart your computer after cleaning the two folders I mentioned ?

Otherwise you could search for the cmd prompt (in the search box on the taskbar: type "cmd"; it will find the cmd-prompt; see screenshot). Then on the right side of the window that opens click on "run as administrator"; see in yellow). When the black window opens type the following command "sfc /SCANNOW" (without quotation marks, but with a distance between sfc and the slash) and hit enter. It will take some time, but it will repair your system.

 

[RogerOver]

Since it's by design

My opinion on this is Microsoft should stop to constantly modify things in the system.

There are people who work with - different - insider versions, others with the most recent normal version, again others with elder versions of WIN 11.
How do you want to communicate if "everyone has it's own horizon " ? It like the story on the "tower of Babylon" in the bible !

And Microsoft itself is only communicating with the "insiders". These are computer-specialists (a kind of "elites"), who have their own interests. "Normal" people are never listened to !

 

[Bighorn]

It's called the Feedback Hub and on the All apps menu. I'm pretty sure the suggestions are read and do impact the direction things are going with the OS but since there's so many Users we may not directly see the results right away, it's part of the Insider Preview [originally called Technical Preview when I got in it].

 

[davehc]

Just my view. Ignore and tear up.

I have never quite seen the real purpose of the Quick access facility.

Anything I use frequently is in a folder, or standalone, on my desktop or taskbar. No need to jump through other hoops.

 

[RogerOver]

I agree, it's a facility.

[It's like with "knowing at any time, where you are". I don't know why, but I have this "inside me".
Where is the North, South, East, West at every moment in your live ?
I think that is something you need to train every day. When I was young, I knew that, when I left the house, I went ot the east, because the door was to the East. When I turned right, I went to the South, when I then turned agian right, I went to the West. If you do this all the time, it's an automatism. You don't even think about.
In big cities I am sometimes lost (never in the countryside, even at night). So I look at the sun and at my watch. ... No problem. ... At night, if there are clouds and thus no stars, I automatically - i.e. without thinking - watch where the sun went down.

In French there is an expression "Il ne perd jamais le Nord" ! (sorry, I didn't want to appear arrogant, ... but my wife never ever knows where she is. ... So you need a GPS for orientation, ... but you do not know how to use the GPS, ... and so on and so on !)

Solution: go outside of the 4 walls of your house/appartement, lean against one of the walls. Take your hands behind your back, touch the wall with your palms, look for the sun and remember (both the wall and the sun and perhaps ... smell) ! The house is fixed on the ground, ... in former times it was much more difficult for the sailors) !

I don't know, ... but somethings seems wrong] !

 

[dragnwispr]

I'm running into the same issues. Doing as RogerOver suggested didn't help anything, and thank goodness CtrlZ works and I was able to get everything back the way it was!! All I want to do is sort what I have in Quick Access in a specific order. Now when I try to move one of the folders it just wants to copy to another folder in the quick access list. Why would they take something like that away ever?

 

[EirikH]

Try disabling "Compact view" in the view tab in file explorer options. If it is already off, try enabling it

 

[Bighorn]

Looking back at my reply in #3 https://www.windows11forums.com/threads/unable-to-rearrange-folders-in-quick-access.1617/post-6272 I didn't mention that the icons for the defaults in Home, Quick Access are actually shortcuts to the actual folders in C:\Users\USERNAMEHERE, notable on the Right-click of each and Properties. Other shortcuts can be pinned there.

 

[dragnwispr]

Try disabling "Compact view" in the view tab in file explorer options. If it is already off, try enabling it
View attachment 1117

I tried this, and it did not allow me to sort the folders, only copy one folder to another.

 

[RogerOver]

only copy one folder to another

This reminded me something !
Click on an empty space (at the bottom) in the left pane of Explorer. You will see several options. Remove the tick in front of "Show all folders". Then you should be able to sort the Quick Access folders. You can put the tick back afterwards, if you want to see all folders.

 

[jfranco809]

After searching and troubleshooting this for months I finally figured out how to fix it by reading another forum. This has been a known issue for many people.

Here is the fix : Open Folder options in File Explorer, go to Tab "View", scroll down to object group "Navigation pane".
There: uncheck the box "Show all folders"
That's all it takes, now I am fully able to arrange/rearrange/order my Quick Access objects. Still haven't found any negative bi-effects of it

 

[jfranco809]

But now I'm having a new issue. I can't rearrange folders in explorer in a file. Not talking about quick access. But folders within a file.

 

[Bighorn]

A bit of misconception, files don't contain Folders but can be like a text file that shows a directory/list of folders. Folders contain files and subFolders. For arranging the listing in the right panel of File Explorer in Details view one can click any column heading to change the line-up, e.g. with Name can be A to Z or Z to A, dates can be latest/newest or oldest first. The other View choices such as Icons don't offer that. Adding a number to a file name can allow changing the line up such as 1 for the first desired in the list, however if there's a large number of similar filenames may have to use 01, 02, etc.