The default behavior when clicking on the File Explorer shortcut in the Windows task bar is to open with the libraries view shown as default. If you are like me (in other words, fussy), I prefer to see My Computer when clicking on the shortcut. Luckily you can easily modify this behavior by following the quick steps as outlined below. As a side note to this article, be sure to see the comment left by Shawn Keene below in the update. Visit Shawn’s blog for more excellent content.
Your shortcut is located on your Windows task-bar as indicated by the screenshot below.
If I click on the shortcut in the task-bar, I see my Libraries which is the default option. This is what I want to change.
To change this behavior, right click the shortcut.
From the context menu, right click the “File Explorer” item and select Properties from the context menu.
In the Properties window, replace the Target with the following string:
%SystemRoot%explorer.exe ,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Apply this change and the next time you click on your shortcut in the task-bar, it will open in My Computer. How cool is that?
File Explorer Update
Shawn Keene also commented:
Shorter more human-readable version, put this into the Target box: explorer shell:mycomputerfolder
Having My Computer displayed when I click on the shortcut gives me (personally) more control over my desktop experience. This allows me to navigate to certain sections of my PC faster. While I know that others use Libraries extensively, and in doing so provide fast navigation between computer locations, for me My Computer is preferred. Thanks for the great feedback Shawn!
