Make Explorer open Libraries instead of Quick Access in Windows 10

Many users are asking me how to make File Explorer open Libraries by default instead of Quick Access or This PC in Windows 10. Windows 10 does not come with any such option but there is a Registry hack I would like to share with you which will allow you to open Libraries by default.

The main idea behind the hack is that we add the Libraries folder directly to the Quick Access folder. Since Quick Access is the location that opens by default, you will see all your Libraries in Quick Access. This can be done with a simple Registry tweak. After that, you can make File Explorer open Libraries instead of Quick Access.

Before we proceed, make sure you have Quick Access set to open by default in File Explorer settings. To check this, do the following:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Switch to the View Ribbon tab and click the Folder Options icon:
3. Under the General tab in Folder Options, select Quick Access for the "Open File Explorer to:" drop down list:

Now, let's apply a simple Registry tweak.

1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Go to the following Registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HomeFolderDesktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

   Tip: See how to jump to the desired Registry key with one click.

3. Create here a new subkey and name it {031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5} as shown below:
4. If you are running 64-bit Windows 10 (see how to determine if you are running 32-bit Windows or 64-bit), create the same subkey here in addition to the one you created earlier:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow64Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HomeFolderDesktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

Now, close and re-open File Explorer. Your Libraries will be in Quick Access:

It looks and works almost the same as the Libraries folder. This is the only way to open Libraries when File Explorer starts in Windows 10.

If you are not using the other folder groups in Quick Access, you can unpin all the pinned folders and remove Frequent Folders and Recent Files. Then you will get something like this:

Read the following articles for further reference:

• How to remove recent files from Quick Access in Windows 10.
• How to remove frequent folders from Quick Access in Windows 10.
• Pin any folder or location to Quick Access in Windows 10.

That's it.