How to include custom non-system folder under This PC in Windows 8.1?

I've recently upgraded from Windows 8 to 8.1 and noticed the restructured This PC folder, formerly Computer.

What I want to achieve is to include custom folder under "This PC".

This PC

What I've found after googling is that what is displayed under "This PC" is stored in registries under

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

However those folders (such as Desktop, Documents, etc) are referenced via CLSID and the folder I want to include in the list does not have CLSID.

laika

Posted 2013-10-27T17:47:31.517

Reputation: 1 663

Answers

Take a look at the tools FolderTweak for Win8.1

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or This PC Tweaker

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Both tools can add new items. Maybe they help you.

magicandre1981

Posted 2013-10-27T17:47:31.517

Reputation: 86 560

You can also add folders by right clicking and selecting "Add Network Location." You can use a network path like \\computername\users\me\whatever to point to a folder on your local machine.

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Then

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palmsey

Posted 2013-10-27T17:47:31.517

Reputation: 219

1Downvote care to comment? – palmsey – 2014-12-19T22:39:41.980

Its not exactly the most detailed answer. – Ramhound – 2015-01-07T13:32:48.843

1I'm not sure what more detail I could offer, it's a pretty simple solution. Can you give me an example of something that would help, or something that's not clear in the answer? I thought it was helpful to find a way to do this without installing third party software. – palmsey – 2015-01-07T17:33:24.670

How a visual guide on how to do it. A picture is worth a thousand words. – Ramhound – 2015-01-07T20:15:51.747

2Not as nice as the other solutions but does seem to work, I needed to add the drive letter-dollar sign, e.g. //computer-name/C$/users/nicks/Blah – Nick Spacek – 2015-07-27T16:24:53.317

Backslash works for me: \\computer-name\c$\Users\john-doe\some-folder. Thanks for the simple solution. – Danijel – 2016-10-05T12:52:06.877

I recently figured out how to do this manually and have added the answer to this question: https://superuser.com/a/914701/422795 - "How can I create a new system folder to show up in “This PC” in Windows 8.1 without additional tools?".

It is not for the faint hearted though as it involves a lot of registry editing. However, if you're in a situation where you cannot download a 3rd party app (e.g. at work) and desperately want to add your own custom folder, it might be of help.

mccdyl001

Posted 2013-10-27T17:47:31.517

Reputation: 221

1Definitely not for the faint hearted... :-) – Danijel – 2016-10-05T12:53:35.173

For windows 10, I used Winaero Tweaker. Under File Explorer-> Customize This PC Folder you can change the folders that are shown.

I'm not sure if this backports to windows 8 or not.

horta

Posted 2013-10-27T17:47:31.517

Reputation: 359