The Quick Access Toolbar was introduced to File Explorer in Windows 8 along with the Ribbon UI. Now it is part of Windows 10 too. That toolbar is the only way to add custom File Explorer button without hacks or third-party tools. The Quick Access toolbar is actually very handy for mouse users because it allows you to access your frequently used commands with one click! In this tutorial, we will learn how to add any Ribbon command to the Quick Access toolbar in Windows 10.
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- Open File Explorer and go to the desired Ribbon tab. For example, we will look at the View tab.
- Right click the command you want to add to the Quick Access toolbar, and click again on the Add to Quick Access Toolbar menu item.
For instance, let's add one very useful command "Size all columns to fit" so we can perform this operation with one click when we are in Details view:
- After you did right click and add it, the command appears on the Quick Access toolbar instantly:
- Repeat this action for every command you would like to see on the Quick Access toolbar.
Here are some tips.
You can add commands which are hidden in drop down menus as well! For example, you can add the Permanently delete command, which is hidden inside the "Delete" drop down.
Also, you can add commands located in the "File" menu. Click the File item on the Ribbon and right click any item you like. For example, you can add the command "Open command prompt as administrator" to access it with one click from any folder! See the following screenshot: 
When you click the button, an elevated command prompt instance will be opened with its path set to the currently opened folder in File Explorer. This will save you a lot of time.
You can right click the button of your favorite Explorer view and add it. Or a button to sort items in a folder by the order which you use the most.
Using these simple tricks, you can make File Explorer more useful. The same can be done in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
The only downside to the Quick Access Toolbar is that it is not touch-friendly and the buttons do not scale on high DPI screens either. But for mouse usage, it can really boost your productivity.
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i wish i want try it out but i don’t have windows 10
you can try this in windows 8 too :)
oops! i didn’t see that! :D
i don’t have windows 8.1 but i will try it out someday
Also, if you want more buttons to show, click the arrow at the end (after the last button) and click Show Below The Ribbon. This will expose more buttons. When it’s Above the Ribbon, it only shows so many up to a point. But then I believe the more you add, then they will all show regardless of being on top or bottom.
I want to know how to customize the ribbons itself, how to add items NOT TO THE QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR! please.
the ribbon is hardcoded to the explorerframe.dll file. it is hard to customize it.