Visual Subst

Having to navigate through the same deep folders structure repeatedly can be counted among the most tedious and frustrating things you can do on a computer, which is why Windows lets us create shortcuts. A better way to reach your folders is to use Visual Subst. Rather than overcrowding your desktop with new shortcuts, this handy utility displays your folders as virtual drives in Windows Explorer, so you only need to open a window and you will be able to jump directly to your folder, no matter how deep it is.

Visual Subst is free to try with some limitations. It's compatible with all modern Windows systems, and it works straight out of the box. This means that you don't have to install any prerequisite tools or services before running it. Furthermore, the hardware requirements are modest, so you won't notice any impact on your computer's performance.

The software's functionality is pretty cut-and-dry. It presents your virtual drives in a list, on a compact user interface, along with options for creating new ones. All you have to do is pick a drive letter, name the new drive and point it at a folder on your hard drive through a standard browsing option. When everything is ready, you only need to click a button and the software will mount your new drive right away.

As previously mentioned, the folders you target in Visual Subst appear as separate drives in Windows Explorer. This makes accessing them much easier, especially if they are located in a deep folders structure. Instead of navigating through a thick layer of folders or cluttering your desktop with new shortcuts, you can just open an Explorer window and jump to your folder instantly.

You can remove individual drives at any time with a single click if you don't need them anymore. Alternatively, if you need to have them up at all times, you can save your drives selection and set Visual Subst to run automatically at startup. This way, you will always have a handy shortcut to your favorites folder ready to go, without overloading your desktop with icons.

It's hard to think about a more efficient way of setting up folder shortcuts after using Visual Subst.