Switched from Mac?

The macOS Stacks feature, on the Windows taskbar

FanFolder is not a dock or start menu clone. It is the part of the macOS dock that saves time: your recent files and folders, one click from the taskbar. Free, native C++, 1.4 MB, no .NET runtime.

Stacks, fan view

Click a stack on the macOS dock and the files fan out in an arc. Click the FanFolder icon and your recent files fan out from the Windows taskbar. Same gesture, same arc.

Recent files, like Finder's Recents

On macOS, dock icons list recent files on right-click. FanFolder reads the same kind of data on Windows: Jump Lists, Explorer's Recent files, and recent Office/M365 documents.

Your Downloads stack, anywhere

Point FanFolder at Downloads, Documents, or a project folder and it becomes your stack. One click and it fans open, no digging through Explorer.

Features

Built to put your files right where you need them

Open recent documents from Windows Jump Lists, or choose any folder available on your PC.

Recent documents or any folder you choose.

By default, FanFolder shows recent documents collected from Windows Jump Lists. You can also point it at Downloads, Documents, OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or any other folder available on your PC.

Downloads

OneDrive

Dropbox

Google Drive

Documents

Any custom path

Five animation styles

Pick whichever vibe fits your desktop — each one is tuned to feel snappy and alive.

Fanarc in

Glidedrift up

Springbouncy

Fadesoft

Noneinstant

Full shell integration

Right-click any file for the real Windows context menu. Drag files straight into other apps with a ghost preview.

Instant open

Icons are pre-loaded in the background so the fan opens the moment you click — zero wait.

Filter & sort

Sort by date modified, created, or name. Regex filter so you only see what you want.

Follows your language

The UI adapts automatically to your Windows display language — no setup needed.

Native and lightweight

FanFolder is a small native Win32 application with x64 and ARM64 builds. It has no .NET runtime dependency.

Download

Install FanFolder for Windows

Choose the Microsoft Store, WinGet, or a direct download. Releases are built automatically from source.

Official Store app

Microsoft Store Recommended

Install FanFolder through the Microsoft Store. The Store handles updates and installation for you.

Available for Windows 10 and 11

Command line install

WinGet

Install FanFolder from the Windows Package Manager with one command. No administrator rights required.

Run in Windows Terminal or PowerShell

winget install OleBhartvigsen.FanFolder

GitHub release

Direct download

Download the latest GitHub build and run the per-user installer. No administrator rights required.

Latest release, x64 and ARM64 Download latest build

Guides

Windows taskbar questions, answered honestly

FanFolder is one option in each guide. The other options are real alternatives, with their trade-offs stated plainly.

How to get the Quick Launch bar and taskbar toolbars back in Windows 11

Windows 11 removed taskbar toolbars, including Quick Launch. No setting brings them back. ExplorerPatcher restores the Windows 10 style taskbar with toolbars, and StartAllBack or Start11 do something similar. All of them patch explorer.exe, so a Windows update can break them until the next fix arrives.

If what you actually want is one folder, or your recent files, within a click, FanFolder covers that part without touching the shell. Click the tray icon and the folder or recent documents fan out from the taskbar. No patching, nothing for an update to break.

Windows 11 recent files not showing, or the list is empty

The main control lives in Settings, Personalization, Start: "Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer". On a company managed PC it can be forced off by policy, and no local toggle overrides that. If the toggle is on but the list stays empty, the recent cache may be stale. Clear the folders under %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent and restart Explorer.

FanFolder reads the same recent-document data Windows records in Jump Lists, and shows it in the fan. It works even when the built-in list is empty or disabled by policy, because it does not depend on those settings.

Windows 11 Jump Lists missing or not working

Jump Lists only appear for apps that write them. Portable apps and some older programs never write them, and the "Show recently opened items" toggle or a policy can hide them system-wide.

If right-clicking a taskbar icon shows no recent files section, toggle that Start setting off and on, then restart the PC. If an app still shows nothing, that app simply does not write entries, no setting will fix that. FanFolder collects recent documents from Windows Jump Lists and from Explorer's recent files into one fan, so a broken or empty per-app Jump List does not stop you from reaching your files.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about this Windows taskbar file launcher.

What is FanFolder?

FanFolder is a free Windows 10/11 taskbar utility that shows recent documents collected from Windows Jump Lists, or files and folders from a location you select. Click the FanFolder icon in the taskbar to open items quickly.

How do I install FanFolder with winget?

Open Windows Terminal or PowerShell and run winget install OleBhartvigsen.FanFolder. The Windows Package Manager installs the current version for your user.

Does FanFolder require administrator rights?

No. FanFolder installs per user and does not require administrator privileges or elevation.

Which versions of Windows does FanFolder support?

FanFolder supports Windows 10 version 1809 and later, and Windows 11. Release packages are available for both x64 and ARM64 computers.

Can FanFolder show OneDrive or Dropbox files?

Yes. Point FanFolder at any folder that is available on your computer, including locally synchronised OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive folders.

Can FanFolder show recent documents instead of a folder?

By default FanFolder shows recent documents collected from Windows Jump Lists. The tray-icon Folder submenu also offers Recent files (the Windows Jump List recent list) and Recent Office 365 documents (recent Office/Microsoft 365 files ordered by last-opened time) as one-click choices. A third recent-docs source, ::RecentFiles:: (Explorer's own Recent list), is registry-only — set FolderPath to that value with regedit or PowerShell's Set-ItemProperty.

Are there settings that aren't in the tray menu?

Yes. The tray menu covers folder, sort order, item count, showing folders, and file extensions. Two options are only available in the registry under HKCU\SOFTWARE\FanFolder: FilterRegex (a case-insensitive regular expression matched against filenames — for example \.(pdf|docx?)$ shows only PDF and Word files; leave it empty to show everything) and AnimationStyle (Spring, Fan, Glide, Fade, or None). Edit them with regedit or PowerShell's Set-ItemProperty. See the README on GitHub for the full list of registry settings and PowerShell examples.

Does FanFolder send any telemetry?

Once, after a successful install, FanFolder sends a single anonymous app_installed event to the FanFolder Aptabase project in the EU. It carries only a random per-user id, the app version, CPU architecture, and the platform "Windows" — never filenames, folder paths, or account details. It is sent in the background with a short timeout and is ignored when offline. To opt out before launching, set HKCU\SOFTWARE\FanFolder\TelemetryEnabled (DWORD) to 0. See the Privacy page for full details.

Is FanFolder free?

Yes. FanFolder is free for personal and commercial use forever. Optional support is appreciated but never required.

Your recent files,
one click away on the Windows taskbar.