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Brian Borg's answer at technet explains how to Pin a batch file to the Taskbar in Windows 7. I was able to do that in Windows 7 and it worked fine.

But I'm unable to make it work in Windows 8. The explanation doesn't make the syntax clear for adding the path and filename of the batch file. It's been several years since I did it in Windows 7 so I may not have done this part right, but I have tried every combination I can think of.

Here are a few examples I've tried:

"C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" "/C" C:\Users\[username]\winbats\dogbones.bat
"C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" "/C" "C:\Users\[username]\winbats\dogbones.bat"
"C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /C C:\Users\[username]\winbats\dogbones.bat
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C C:\Users\[username]\winbats\dogbones.bat
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C "C:\Users\[username]\winbats\dogbones.bat"

They all open a command prompt, but none executed the batch file.

Does anyone know the correct syntax or another way to pin a batch file to the taskbar in Windows 8?

2
  • Not a duplicate since this question is for Windows 8
    – TomEus
    Oct 9, 2013 at 18:18
  • This is not a duplicate. How do we get it unmarked as a duplicate? Mar 25, 2015 at 11:20

1 Answer 1

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PIN to home screen (Start):

  1. Navigate to %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
  2. Create a shortcut to your .bat script and rename it to how you want it to appear on start screen, i.e. My Script
  3. Optional - change shortcut icon if you wish
  4. Go to the Start Screen and search for the name you gave to your shortcut in step 2
  5. Select My Script and click on Pin to Start or Pin to taskbar

And this will allow both home screen (Start) and taskbar:

  1. Right click on your Desktop and choose New > Shortcut
  2. In the Type the location of the item field enter: cmd.exe /c "path\to\script.bat"
  3. Replace path\to\script.bat with actual path to your .bat file.
  4. Click Next, name the shortcut and click Finish.

The pinning:

  • To Pin the .bat file to the Start home screen, right click the new shortcut and choose Pin to Start.
  • To Pin the .bat file to the taskbar, simply drag the shortcut to your Windows taskbar, or right click the new shortcut and choose Pin to Taskbar.
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  • Important to note if you just launch the new shortcut, and right click it's icon on the taskbar and then click 'pin to taskbar' it won't work. You have to choose the 'pin to taskbar' option available by right clicking on the shortcut itself.
    – EoghanM
    Aug 22, 2017 at 8:27

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