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v1.22.122

Taskbar how-to

Quick Launch on Windows 11

Quick Launch was the row of small one-click icons next to the Start button in Windows 98 to Vista. Windows 7 and 10 still let you add it back as a toolbar; Windows 11's taskbar has no toolbars at all. RetroBar brings back a real Quick Launch, and it is on by default.

Checked against RetroBar 1.22.122Updated Tested on real Windows2 min read
On this page 4 sections
  1. What Windows 11 offers instead
  2. RetroBar's Quick Launch
  3. In every theme
  4. Questions

Short answer

How do I get Quick Launch on Windows 11?

Windows 11 cannot show it: its taskbar has no toolbars, so the Windows 10 method (right-click › Toolbars › New toolbar) is gone. Install RetroBar instead: Quick Launch is on by default and already shows the apps you pinned to the Windows taskbar. Drag programs onto it to add more.

RetroBar's Quick Launch, between the Start button and the task buttons (Windows 95-98 theme).
Real screenshot · RetroBar 1.22.122 · Windows Server 2025 build 26100.33650RetroBar's Quick Launch, between the Start button and the task buttons (Windows 95-98 theme).

What Windows 11 offers instead

Windows 11's answer is pinning: right-click an app › Pin to taskbar. Pinned apps sit on the taskbar as icons, mixed with your open windows. There is no separate Quick Launch area and no way to add a folder of shortcuts as a toolbar. Microsoft's Windows 11 specifications also say that “Apps can no longer customize areas of the Taskbar.”

RetroBar's Quick Launch

  • On by default (Properties › Taskbar › Show Quick Launch).
  • Already filled: it shows the folder Windows keeps your taskbar pins in, %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar, so your pinned apps appear there.
  • Add a program by dragging it, or its shortcut, onto Quick Launch.
  • Reorder icons by dragging; RetroBar remembers the order.
  • Use any folder: Properties › Taskbar › Select location…. Point it at the old Windows Quick Launch folder, %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch, for the classic set of shortcuts, or at a folder of your own.

  1. Install RetroBar

    See how to install RetroBar.

  2. Check Quick Launch is on

    Right-click the taskbar › Properties › Taskbar › Show Quick Launch.

  3. Add your programs

    Drag them from the Start menu or the desktop onto Quick Launch.

In every theme

Quick Launch in Windows XP Blue.
Real screenshot · RetroBar 1.22.122 · Windows Server 2025 build 26100.33650Quick Launch in Windows XP Blue.
Quick Launch in Windows Vista Aero.
Real screenshot · RetroBar 1.22.122 · Windows Server 2025 build 26100.33650Quick Launch in Windows Vista Aero.

To hide it, untick Show Quick Launch; RetroBar's Windows 95-98 theme then looks like the original Windows 95, which had no Quick Launch.

Questions

Where is the Quick Launch folder?

The classic one is %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch. RetroBar starts with its User Pinned\TaskBar subfolder, where Windows keeps taskbar pins.

Can Quick Launch show the desktop?

Windows XP had a Show Desktop icon in Quick Launch. In RetroBar, turn on the Show Desktop button instead (Properties › Notification area › “Add the Show Desktop button”). It sits at the end of the notification area.

Can I make the Quick Launch icons bigger?

They follow the theme and RetroBar's Taskbar scale (Properties › Taskbar); there is no separate icon size for Quick Launch in 1.22.122.

Keep going

How to useYour first ten minutes: theme, position, Quick Launch, autostart.Settings referenceEvery setting, what it does, and its settings.json key.Windows 11Hiding the Windows 11 taskbar, tray icons and the 2026 changes.

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