The Navigation pane is a special area on the left of File Explorer which shows the folders and system places like This PC, Network, Libraries and so on. For faster access, you can add your user profile folder there. Under your user name, you will get all your personal folders listed and accessible with one click.
The Navigation pane is a special area on the left of File Explorer which shows the folders and system places like This PC, Network, Libraries and so on. The user is not allowed to customize the Navigation Pane because the user interface lacks the required options, but this is possible with a hack. See this article:
Add custom folders or Control Panel applets to Navigation Pane in File Explorer
In my previous article, How to add Recycle Bin icon to navigation pane in Windows 10 File Explorer, we saw how to quickly add a system folder to the navigation pane of File Explorer. Let's apply the same tweak to the user profile folder and get in visible on the left.
To add the User Profile folder to Navigation Pane in Windows 10, do the following.
- Open Registry Editor.
- Go to the following Registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}
Tip: See how to jump to the desired Registry key with one click.
If you don't have such a key, then create it. - Create a new 32-bit DWORD value System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree and set its value data to 1.
- If you are running a 64-bit operating system, repeat the steps above for the following Registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432node\CLSID\{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}
- Re-open the File Explorer app. The User Profile icon will appear in the navigation pane in Windows 10 File Explorer.
That's it. To remove the User Profile folder from the navigation pane, delete the System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree DWORD value that you created.
To save your time, you can use the following ready-to-use Registry files.
The undo tweak is included.
Alternatively, you can use Winaero Tweaker to do the same.
Go to Navigation Pane - Custom Items, click on the Add shell location button and select the UsersFIles item in the list.
That's it.
Related articles:
- How to Disable Navigation Pane in Windows 10
- Add Navigation Pane Context Menu in Windows 10
- Add custom folders or Control Panel applets to Navigation Pane in File Explorer
- How to add Recent Folders and Recent Items to the navigation pane in Windows 10
- How to re-add Favorites to navigation pane of Windows 10 Explorer
- How to hide removable drives from the Navigation Pane in Windows 10
- Enable Libraries in File Explorer navigation pane in Windows 10
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