Where are Quick Access links stored?

Question

I have Windows 10 1803 on my desktop, and the Quick Access shortcuts are stored in my User... Links folder.

I just built a new desktop for a client and loaded 1809.

Yes - I am showing Hidden Files and Folders.

I pinned a few locations to Quick Access, except I messed one up.

I looked in the User...Links folder, but the added shortcuts are not there.

Searching the net I found articles saying the shortcuts were stored in a file in C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent folder, but there is no Recent folder, only an empty Recent Items folder.

I searched C:\ for that named file AutomaticDestinations, but it is nowhere to be found, nor is it listed in the registry.

So - where are those links in 1809?

Also posted to Feedback

Answer 1

The folder whose file system name is 'Recent' displays as 'Recent Items' in Explorer. The 'AutomaticDestinations' and 'CustomDestinations' folders are subfolders but don't display in 'Recent Items'.

To view the contents of these folders, copy and paste the lines below (one at a time) into the Address bar of Explorer:

shell:recent\AutomaticDestinations

shell:recent\CustomDestinations

Keith

Answer 2

Hi Keith,

Thanks for that.  It fixed the one user Quick Access, but I have a different issue with the other used.  Because I am using the following system File arrangement on my data drive and relocating the system files from the User folder on the system drive to them I wanted to change an icon.

D:\All Files

D:\All Files\Documents

D:\All Files\Downloads

D:\All Files\Music

D:\All Files\Pictures

D:\All Files\Videos

In the registry, in Local and Local WOW... Explorer\Folder Descriptions, Shell Folders, and User Shell Folders, I was able to disconnect the Personal from Documents where Personal is now the D:\All Files system folder and Documents is D:\All Files\Documents.

The problem is the icon for both is the same so I changed the icon for D:\All Files, and in File Explorer on my production desktop, one of the users on the new desktop the icon in Quick Access is the new one, but in the other user the icon for D:\All Files remains as the original one for Documents.  I tried deleting AutomaticDestinations for that user and rebuilding the Quick Access list, and I tried unpinning from QA the D:\All Files entry, restarting the computer and then pinning D:\All Files to QA, but no joy as the icon remains the one for Documents.  It is these little things that drive me up the wall.  Works on 2 out of three Win 10 Pro user accounts, but not the third.

I also tried a icon reset routine I found long ago, but no joy with it either.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Robert

Answer 3

Are you saying that under:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

the value for 'Personal' is 'D:\All FIles'?

If so, you can assign a custom icon by creating the following registry key:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}\DefaultIcon

and setting its (Default) value to something like:

C:\windows\System32\imageres.dll,-109

Examining the 'Desktop.ini' file found in 'D:\All Files' will give you the path & index of your chosen custom icon.

As a side note, you can assign a display name different than the target name by setting the (Default) value for the '{A8CD...}' key. 

Keith

Answer 4

Thanks again Keith - good to know.

I was able to successfully change the icon for D:\All Files in all the users, but when I pinned D:\All Files to Quick Access in one, it retained the old Documents icon in the QA list.

I ended up deleting that user, then recreating that user, and now the new icon pins to QA correctly.

Thanks again for your help.

Answer 5

Hi Keith,

Is there a place I can get the icons with numbers list?

I finally got back to this part.

However, I am not sure what you mean by and how to change "assign a display name different than the target name by setting the (Default) value for the '{A8CD...}' key. "

Are you referring to how after updates the system changes the All Files name displayed in File Explorer back to Documents?  If so, yes that is a nag I would like to see go away, but idiot me is not seeing the how to "Set the default value for the {A8CD...} key".

And one more thing.  I found that I could edit the corresponding icon entry in FolderDescriptions to apply the change globally instead of only for the current user.  I also removed in Local & Local WOW...Personal\PropertyBag the BasicFolderID pointing back to the Documents entry.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions{FDD39AD0-238F-46AF-ADB4-6C85480369C7}

PropertyBag

The Local Documents Entry is now

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions{f42ee2d3-909f-4907-8871-4c22fc0bf756}

PropertyBag

Thanks again for your help,

Robert