Open Files by Drag and Dropping them on the Windows 7 Taskbar
Article by George Norman
On 09 Sep 2009
The simplest way to open a file is to double click the file or by selecting it and then pressing the Enter key on your keyboard – whatever software application is set up to open that file type will then launch. Alternatively you could select a file and then drag and drop it onto the Quick Launch bar – this way the file will be opened by the software application from the Quick Launch bar, not the software app that is set up by default to open that file type.

With Windows 7 the option to select a file and then drag and drop it onto the taskbar is no longer available. It used to be available in Vista, but it is gone in Windows 7. If you try to drag and drop a file onto the Windows 7 taskbar, the operating system will automatically pin it to that location instead of opening it. Luckily for the windows user that grew accustomed to opening apps by dragging and dropping them, there is a simple workaround that you can employ.

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Here is what you have to do to open files by drag and dropping them on the Windows 7 taskbar:

Step 1. Select the file you want to open.

Step 2. While dragging the file to the taskbar button, press and hold down the Shift key.

Step 3. Drop the file onto the taskbar button and you will be presented with the message Open with ApplicationName instead of Pin to ApplicationName.

I know it’s nothing too complicated, but you will agree it is a piece of information that will come in handy at times.

Tips and warnings
You might want to check out these Windows 7 related tutorials as well:
How To Make the Windows 7 Taskbar Work Like Vista
How To Increase the Speed of Taskbar Item Preview in Windows 7
How To Minimize Windows Live Messenger to the System Tray in Windows 7
How To Use Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts



Tags: Microsoft, Windows 7, Taskbar
About the author: George Norman
George is a news editor.
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