How to pin an executable jar to start in Windows 10?

The first thing I did was make sure I had the latest Java SE and that the .JAR file association was with Java and not something else (like WinRAR)

I had to do something similar to get another application to pin to taskbar I use so I knew it had something to do with targets, and after researching a bit the same method for Windows 7 works here.

Create a shortcut for your .JAR, then right click and go to properties Edit the target to match this format:

%SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe /C "path to jar"

Source (except he recommends making a shortcut of cmd, I actually ran into issues for some reason)

Finally, pin your new shortcut to the taskbar by dragging it there. The icon will be the same as CMD but you can easily change it:

Hope this helps!

Create a shortcut. Move the shortcut into C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. Then click on the start menu and drag and drop your newly added icon wherever you like. Works on my copy of Windows 10 and avoids the CMD Window.

Create a shortcut of the jar. Add 'explorer' to the beginning of the target:

"C:\Users\joe\Documents\netbeans kalendar\dist\kalendar.jar"
becomes:
explorer "C:\Users\joe\Documents\netbeans kalendar\dist\kalendar.jar"

The shortcut executes without a cmd window appearing (it uses the explorer instead.) You can pin this to the taskbar, and change it's icon.

I know this is an old question, but I just found a better solution:

You can execute Java directly, passing it the JAR as an argument. Set your shortcut to the following path:

javaw -jar C:\Path\To\My\Program.jar

Additionally, specify the Start in path to C:\Path\To\My if your Java program uses relative paths to reference external files.

Using javaw here instead of java prevents an empty command window from being spawned.