Web Tech Daily

It’s not easy to modify the list of folders that appear in the left side bar of File/Open and File/Save or SaveAs dialogs, until now. PlacesBar Editor is a free program that lets you add your own folders to the Places Bar. Works in both XP and Vista.

If you considering using the above program, we recommend that you instead go for Direct Folders. It provides quick access to your favorite folders and recent documents. Direct Folders  automatically resizes every standard file dialog, so you can see a larger number of files.

After the installation (the free version is good enough), there are several ways to access Direct Folders. One of the easiest is to simply double click in the empty area of the desktop, Explorer or File Open/Save dialog box, which brings up a menu. You can also set a hotkey like Win+Q to bring up this menu.

How to add a folder to the list of favorites in Direct Folders:

You can simply navigate to one of your frequently accessed folders, bring up Direct Folders menu and add the existing folder to your favorite folders’ list.

How to navigate to your desired folder in the DF list:

Select a favorite or recent folder from the DF menu and the file dialog immediately jumps to that folder. If you activate this menu from the Desktop or tray icon, this folder will be opened in Windows Explorer or another file manager.