How to Pin Documents to the Taskbar and Declutter a Desktop

This article shows how to pin items such as documents and applications to the taskbar in Windows 10, 8/8.1, and 7.

How to Pin Documents to the Taskbar

To pin a document or application to the taskbar, follow the instructions below.

1. Select and drag the application to the taskbar. To pin a document to an application shortcut on the taskbar, select and drag the file to the respective program icon.

2. A small tip will indicate the item will be pinned to the application you selected. So, if you want to pin an Excel document, drag it to the Excel icon on your taskbar.

3. Now right-click the program icon in the taskbar and look for the Pinned section in the jump list.

4. Once pinned, you can access your favorite files right from your desktop.

Now, Organize

All that's left to do is sort out those documents sitting on your desktop. Don't pin a program to your taskbar for every possible document you need to sort out. Instead, look for the most commonly required programs or the most essential (depending on the types of documents you have). Then, sort each file to an appropriate folder on your system before pinning your essential files to their respective programs on the taskbar.

If you don't sort your files first, they will still be on your desktop looking as cluttered as ever. You'll just have an improved way to access them.

Once your desktop is cleared, keep it that way. It may seem easier to just dump everything on the desktop, but that gets confusing fast. A better solution is to funnel all your various downloaded files into appropriate folders on your system. Then, at the end of every week (or every day, if you have the bandwidth) dump anything on your desktop into the recycle bin.