A windows application that gives the user the ability to access files, folders, and programs from the system tray.
Download installer from samver.ca
Download installer from GitHub in the latest release
http://github.com/samuelSVD/TrayDir/releases/latest
It is very easy to get started with TrayDir. Make use of Files, Folders, and Virtual Folders easily by dragging in files from the Windows File Explorer.
| Description | GIF |
|---|---|
| File use in TrayDir |  |
| Folder use in TrayDir |  |
| Virtual Folder use in TrayDir |  |
Currently TrayDir is only tested on Windows 10, but also works on Windows 11.
When you first open up TrayDir you are greeted with the default new instance. At the top you will find five buttons corresponding with the following functions:
- New File: Inserts a new file menu item
- New Folder: Inserts a new folder menu item
- New Plugin: Inserts a new plugin menu item
- New Virtual Folder: Inserts a new virtual folder menu item
- New Separator: Inserts a separator item that displays as a horizontal bar
The system tray is the list of items at the bottom right of your windows task bar. In most cases, this is where the time, date, Wi-Fi connection, and other settings are displayed.
You can start modifying TrayDir by clicking on the New File button at the top to add a new file link. This will result in a new file item being added to the list of items, and begins browsing for a file in your file system. When you select a file and apply the changes, this file will appear in the right-click menu of TrayDir in the System Tray
If you right click on the TrayDir icon in the system tray, you will be greeted by the Tray Menu, containing the file item that you added to the list. When clicked, this file will be opened as if you had selected it directly through a File Explorer window.
An instance refers to one specific configuration of links. Each instance has its own icon in the system tray, with a unique corresponding menu.
In case you want a new icon in the system tray for a separate set of items, either click on the + beside the New Instance name or click on the menu Instance > New. From here you should be able to select the new instance in a new named tab near the top of the form, and see the new icon in the system tray.
If you hover over the TrayDir icon in the system tray, you will notice that it is named New Instance. This name can be modified by clicking on the top menu, Instance > Edit Name.
The icon used in the System Tray can also be modified by clicking the Options button at the bottom right, then clicking Browse under the image. You can select any file and TrayDir will use that file's icon for itself.
Want a different icon for your instance? One option is to create an image file (I recommend .png), then run it through convertico.com to convert it to a valid icon file (.ico). From there, download the file and browse to the file location through the instance's icon browse button. A good resource for images you could use is flaticon.com
Below we have an example of an instance named My Games.
| Description | Image |
|---|---|
| It contains a link to a folder, and a virtual folder with two file links inside. |  My Games - Folder Structure |
This My Games instance is configured with a yellow G as the icon to use in the system tray. |
 My Games - Instance Options |
When we hover the cursor over the icon in the system menu, you can see the instance name, My Games. Notice there is another icon in the system tray for the Work instance. |
 My Games - Name & Icon |
| When you right-click the tray menu, the same item structure appears as it appeared in the main window. Clicking on the items here will open the files. |  My Games - System Tray Menu |
| The folders can also be expanded, so if you add a folder item TrayDir will automatically expand them for you to have quick access. All subfolders will be accessible, since they keep on expanding further as required. |
 My Games - System Tray Menu (Folder) |
Do you want to point TrayDir to a folder containing a lot of files you don't care about? You can add a RegEx pattern to ignore certain files or folders from being included in the tray menu.
Every new line is treated as a new pattern.
| Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
$(?<=\.(gif|png|jpg)) |
This pattern will ignore all files ending with .gif, .png, or .jpg |
For more information on RegEx and creating your own filters see Regular Expressions
Plugins work as a way to run external programs and make use of their command-line interface, also known as its CLI. They may also be written as custom command-line scripts. You can add a plugin to TrayDir through the Plugin Manager, and configure the plugin accordingly.
Program plugins are a link to a program. These plugins make use of its CLI. Using the Plugin Manager, create a new plugin and navigate to the program or executable that you want to run. Each plugin can be configured to have multiple parameters that can then each be configured to have an optional name, or be considered a flag, as well as some other options.
For example, Window's Internet Explorer could be configured as a plugin. Looking through its CLI we can see that it accepts several parameters, but we will set up two parameters. The first will be URL, and the second will be the Private Browsing parameter. This is to demonstrate the function of the flag parameter setting.
| Description | Image |
|---|---|
| Configuring the plugin |  |
| Configuring the URL parameter |  |
| Configuring the Private Browsing parameter |  |
| Using the plugin in a menu item. Note that the parameters are displayed in the order they are configured in the plugin. |  |
Script plugins are configured as a set of command-line commands that the PC will interpret and apply the input parameters.
As an example we are going to make the Windows copy command accessible to easily copy a file from one destination to another.
| Description | Image |
|---|---|
| Configuring the plugin |  |
Configuring the Copy From parameter |
 |
Configuring the Copy To parameter |
 |
| Using the plugin in a menu item. When we run this script item, the contents of test1.py are copied to test2.py |  |