CyberNotes: Creating A Sidebar/Toolbar For Your Folders
Time Saving Tuesday
If you’re anything like me then there are are just a few folders on your Windows computer that you are always accessing. I used to temporarily store things on my desktop because that was the easiest thing to do. Well, after a little while your desktop can quickly get cluttered and it is nearly impossible to find anything that you are looking for.
It’s time to clean up your desktop with the help of a sidebar that contains your most used folders. This is only for Windows users and the best part is that there is no software that you need to download in order to use the feature. Actually, it is one of the simplest things that you could ever do on your PC (it’s right up there with being able to use a mouse 
).
The first thing you have to do is find the folder that you want in the sidebar…for me I chose the “My Documents” folder because that is where I store my downloads, music, pictures and just about everything else. As you can see in the screenshot the sidebar on my laptop is placed on the right-side of the screen. Alright, take a deep breath because we’re about to begin.
Instructions (I know, they’re long and tedious):
- Find the folder that you want to put in the sidebar and drag it as far to the side of the screen as you can. When you let go of the mouse it will create the sidebar.
- That’s all…did you expect more?
There are a few things to note that you may find useful. You can actually drag a folder to any side of the screen and make sure you checkout the right-click properties:
- Show Text - Display the name of the folders.
- Show Title - Display the name of the sidebar folder.
- Always on Top - Show on top of all the windows. If this is unchecked it will only be visible when other windows aren’t covering it.
- Auto-Hide - Minimize the sidebar when not being used so that it isn’t as obtrusive.
- Close Toolbar - The easy way to get rid of a toolbar that you just created.
Here are what all of the right-click options look like:
This is a really simple concept but many people I have talked with don’t realize that you can do this in Windows. Technically these are considered toolbars but they serve the purpose of a sidebar for me which is why I call them that. I especially love being able to auto-hide them because then they are only there when I need them. Yay for simplicity!
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Tags: CyberNotes, Software, Windows
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object dock is a good idea aswell as yahoo widgets which has a folder type holder … object dock is quite good due to the options and ease in changing icons etc…..
Rocket Dock is better and free.
Thanks for that tip, very helpful.
Great tip!
I just bought Object Dock a couple of weeks ago. This will complement it nicely.
Right-click the taskbar add any folder as a toolbar. Its contents are shown as a drop down menu. What’s more, sub-folders become sub-menus. Quick and non-intrusive.
I use RocketDock in addition to this, but I don’t want to clutter up RocketDock with all of these folders. I like using it primarily for application shortcuts.
I used to do that but on my laptop my Taskbar doesn’t have much room so I like to keep it free of as many things as I can. I only use 2 Quick Launch shortcuts for that same reason. My Taskbar space is primarily for my open windows.
OBJECT DOCK IS FREE !!!!! (well the half of it is)