12 Keyboard Shortcuts For Windows File Explorer You Didn't Know You Needed
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, John shares 12 essential keyboard shortcuts for Windows File Explorer, applicable to both Windows 10 and 11. He demonstrates how to open File Explorer, navigate quickly with Shift+Tab, create and rename folders using Ctrl+Shift+N and F2, and switch between views with Ctrl+Shift combinations. Additional tips include using the address bar with Ctrl+L or Alt+D, searching with Ctrl+F, and accessing the right-click menu with the Menu key or Shift+F10. The video encourages viewers to share their favorite shortcuts and provides a free Excel Pro Tips eBook for further learning.
Takeaways
- 💡 The video introduces 12 favorite keyboard shortcuts for Windows File Explorer that work in both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
- 🔑 The first shortcut is to open File Explorer using the 'Windows key + E'.
- 🗺 To focus on the navigation pane and Quick Access, use 'Shift + Tab'.
- 📁 To open a new window with the same folder, use 'Control + N'.
- ❌ To close a File Explorer window, use 'Control + W' or 'Alt + F4'.
- 📁 Creating a new folder can be done with 'Ctrl + Shift + N'.
- 🔄 To navigate back to the previous folder, use the 'Backspace' key.
- 🔄 'Alt + Left Arrow' and 'Alt + Right Arrow' are shortcuts for navigating back and forward.
- 🔄 'Alt + Up Arrow' is used to navigate up to the parent folder.
- 📝 Renaming files and folders can be done using 'F2', and for multiple files, 'F2' followed by 'Tab'.
- 🔍 Selecting the address bar in File Explorer is done with 'Ctrl + L' or 'Alt + D'.
- 🔎 The search feature in File Explorer is activated with 'Ctrl + F'.
- 🖼️ Changing the view in File Explorer can be done using 'Ctrl + Shift + [number]' with different numbers for different views.
- 📋 The right-click menu can be opened with the 'Menu key' or 'Shift + F10'.
Q & A
What is the purpose of the video?
-The purpose of the video is to share 12 favorite keyboard shortcuts for Windows File Explorer that work in both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
What is the keyboard shortcut to open File Explorer?
-The keyboard shortcut to open File Explorer is by holding down the Windows key and pressing the letter 'E'.
How can you quickly navigate to the Quick Access section in File Explorer after it's opened?
-You can quickly navigate to the Quick Access section by holding Shift and pressing Tab.
What is the keyboard shortcut to open a new window with the same folder in File Explorer?
-The keyboard shortcut to open a new window with the same folder is Control + N.
How can you close a File Explorer window using a keyboard shortcut?
-You can close a File Explorer window using the keyboard shortcuts Control + W or Alt + F4.
What is the keyboard shortcut to create a new folder in File Explorer?
-The keyboard shortcut to create a new folder is Ctrl + Shift + N.
How can you go back to the previous folder in File Explorer using a keyboard shortcut?
-You can go back to the previous folder by pressing the Backspace key on the keyboard.
What keyboard shortcuts can be used to navigate forward and backward in File Explorer?
-Alt + Left Arrow can be used to go back, and Alt + Right Arrow can be used to go forward in File Explorer.
How do you rename a file or folder using keyboard shortcuts in File Explorer?
-You can rename a file or folder by selecting it and pressing F2 to enter edit mode, then typing the new name and pressing Enter to confirm.
What is the keyboard shortcut to select the address bar in File Explorer?
-The keyboard shortcut to select the address bar is Ctrl + L or Alt + D.
How can you search for a file or folder in File Explorer using a keyboard shortcut?
-You can search for a file or folder by pressing Ctrl + F to set focus to the search bar.
What keyboard shortcuts are available to change the view in File Explorer?
-Keyboard shortcuts to change the view in File Explorer include Ctrl + Shift + 1 for extra large icons, Ctrl + Shift + 2 for large icons, and Ctrl + Shift + 6 for details view.
How can you open the right-click context menu in File Explorer using a keyboard shortcut?
-You can open the right-click context menu by pressing the Menu key or Shift + F10.
What additional tip is provided for using keyboard shortcuts in a web browser?
-The additional tip is that the shortcuts Ctrl + L or Alt + D to select the address bar and Ctrl + F for search also work in a web browser.
What is the website mentioned in the video for further resources?
-The website mentioned in the video for further resources is excelcampus.com.
How can viewers get a free Excel Pro Tips ebook?
-Viewers can get a free Excel Pro Tips ebook by visiting excelcampus.com.
Outlines
🖥️ Windows File Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
In this segment, John introduces a series of keyboard shortcuts for Windows File Explorer that are compatible with both Windows 10 and Windows 11. He begins by teaching the shortcut to open File Explorer using the Windows key plus 'E'. John then explains how to navigate using the Shift + Tab combination to focus on the navigation pane and Quick Access, and how to select and open pinned items with arrow keys. He also covers the shortcuts for opening a new window with the same folder (Ctrl + N), closing a window (Ctrl + W or Alt + F4), and creating a new folder (Ctrl + Shift + N). Additionally, he invites viewers to share their favorite shortcuts and encourages interaction in the comments section.
🔄 Navigating and Manipulating Files in File Explorer
This paragraph delves into navigation and file manipulation shortcuts within File Explorer. John demonstrates how to use the Backspace key to go back to the previous folder, and how Alt + Left Arrow and Alt + Right Arrow can be used as alternatives for forward and backward navigation. He also explains the shortcut for accessing the parent folder (Alt + Up Arrow) and moves on to renaming files and folders, highlighting the use of F2 for single file renaming and a combination of F2, Tab, and Enter for batch renaming. The paragraph concludes with a look at selecting the address bar using Ctrl + L or Alt + D, and a bonus tip that these shortcuts work in web browsers as well. John also introduces the search feature shortcut (Ctrl + F) and how to use it to find files and folders.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Keyboard Shortcuts
💡File Explorer
💡Quick Access
💡Navigation Pane
💡New Window
💡Close Window
💡Create New Folder
💡Rename
💡Address Bar
💡Search Feature
💡View
💡Right-Click Menu
Highlights
Opening File Explorer with the Windows key plus E shortcut.
Using Shift Tab to focus on the navigation pane and Quick Access.
Navigating through pinned items in Quick Access with arrow keys.
Tab key to switch focus between navigation pane and main window.
Opening a new File Explorer window with the same folder using Ctrl N.
Closing File Explorer windows with Ctrl W or Alt F4.
Creating a new folder with the Ctrl Shift N shortcut.
Renaming files and folders using the F2 key.
Renaming multiple files sequentially with F2 and Tab.
Selecting the address bar with Ctrl L or Alt D.
Using Ctrl F to activate the search feature in File Explorer.
Changing view modes with Ctrl Shift 1 through 6.
Opening the right-click menu with the Menu key or Shift F10.
Navigating back to the previous folder with the Backspace key.
Using Alt left and right arrows for forward and back navigation.
Going up to the parent folder with Alt Up Arrow.
Invitation for viewers to share their favorite shortcuts in the comments.
The video includes a bonus tip on using shortcuts in web browsers.
Explanation of the condensed right-click menu in Windows 11 and using Shift F10 to open the full menu.
Encouragement to like, subscribe, and visit excelcampus.com for free resources.
Transcripts
hey there my name is john and in this
video i'm going to share 12 of my
favorite keyboard shortcuts for windows
file explorer and this will work in both
windows 10 and windows 11. so let's jump
right into it the first keyboard
shortcut is opening file explorer and
that shortcut is
key plus e so hold down the windows key
on your computer press the letter e and
that will open the file explorer window
now if you're like me and you like the
navigation pane over here and the quick
access with some of these pinned items
to get to this right away after you open
file explorer you can hold shift and
press tab so shift tab will set focus
over here you can see the quick access
is now blue and now you can use the up
and down arrows on the keyboard to
select items over here that you have
pinned so if i want to select one of
these items i'll just hit enter and now
i can see the contents of that folder
and to get back to the main window over
here we can just hit the tab key so i'll
hit tab again that'll set focus over
here on the main window and then again i
can use up and down arrows to scroll and
hit enter to either open a file or open
a folder
next i'll look at the shortcut to open a
new window with the same folder and the
shortcut for that is control n so here i
am in file explorer i'm going to hit
control n that's going to open a new
window here and navigate to the exact
same folder that i was in in the
previous window and this is great when
you're copying or moving files between
folders because now you can just
navigate to one of these folders here
and then drag it over to another folder
over here and you don't have to spend
extra time navigating to your folder in
this window over here then when you're
done with that new window or done with
any file explorer window keyboard
shortcut to close the window is control
w so hold ctrl and press w or
alternatively you can use alt f4
the shortcut to create a new folder is
ctrl shift n so hold ctrl shift and
press n and that will create a new
folder and of course prompt you to
rename it we have a new course on
powerautomate so i'll quickly rename it
that and hit enter to confirm the change
now i also want to mention as you're
watching this video if you find one of
these shortcuts to be your new favorite
leave a comment below and let us know
which one it is or if you're watching
the video and you're saying hey john you
completely forgot my favorite shortcut
i'll leave a comment below as well we'd
love to learn that from you
all right so now let's talk about
navigation if i want to go back to the
previous folder i can just hit the
backspace key on the keyboard that will
take me back to the previous folder it's
the same as hitting the back button up
here in the toolbar and just a little
side note there that will also work in
your web browser if you want to go back
in your web browser now as you can see
when we hover over the button here alt
left arrow will also go back so you can
use that as an alternative to backspace
and if you hover over the forward button
we'll see that alt right arrow will go
forward so alt left and right can also
be easy ways to navigate now you also
notice over here we have up and alt up
arrow is the shortcut for that now we'll
take you up to the parent folder so
let's say we go to a completely
different folder over here and we want
to go up and see the parent folder of
this we can just hit alt up arrow and
that'll take us to the parent folder
next we'll look at some shortcuts for
renaming files and folders so here i
have some excel files in this folder and
let's say i want to rename these with
this first file selected i'm going to
hit f2 on the keyboard and that will
jump me into edit mode where i can
rename the file if you're using a laptop
keyboard you might need to hold down the
fn or function key when you press f2 as
you can see here it just selects the
file name so i can just start typing
right here the file name i'm just going
to call this one and it does not select
the extension so that's nice it won't
change the extension you can just start
typing the file name and then of course
hit enter to confirm your change now if
you want to rename multiple files or
folders there's an additional shortcut
for that so i'm going to hit the down
arrow key here and then i'm going to hit
f2 to edit this file i'm going to just
rename it to 2 for right now and instead
of hitting enter i'm going to hit tab
and when i hit tab that's going to
confirm the change and jump me down to
the next file or folder and put it in
edit mode so i can rename that file so
for now i'm just gonna rename this one
to three hit tab rename this one to four
and that's the last one i'll hit enter
and that will allow me to quickly rename
multiple files and folders using f2 plus
tab next we'll look at selecting the
address bar this is the address bar up
here in file explorer and to select it
you can press ctrl l and that will
select the text in the address bar from
this point you can copy that text and
paste it somewhere else or if you have a
folder path copied you can paste it
right here and hit enter and that will
navigate to that folder now an alternate
shortcut for this is alt d so hold alt
and press d and that will select the
address bar as well and that might be a
little easier as a more of a one-handed
operation where control l is a
two-handed operation now a little bonus
tip here is that those both of those
shortcuts will also work in your web
browser to select the address bar in the
web browser
next we'll look at using the search
feature here in file explorer and the
keyboard shortcut for that is ctrl f so
that'll set focus to search let's say
we're looking for a logo here i can just
type that in and hit enter and that will
show me all the results for the files
and folders within the folder that i was
in of course now you can use the up and
down arrows to select here
if you want to go back and not select
any of these items just hit backspace
and that will take you back to the
folder you were in
next we'll look at changing the view so
i'm in a folder here with a lot of image
files and let's say i want to switch the
view to large thumbnail the keyboard
shortcut for that is control shift 2. so
that'll change the view here to view the
large thumbnails if i want to go back to
the details view keyboard shortcut for
that is ctrl shift six and that'll take
me back to details now if you're
wondering why it's ctrl shift 2 and ctrl
shift 6 well there's actually other
shortcuts here so if you go up to the
view menu you can see all of these
shortcuts here and essentially ctrl
shift 1 is extra large icons ctrl shift
two which we just looked at is large
icons all the way down to control shift
six is details and you can use all of
these going all the way down to content
now another way to remember this is down
here in the bottom right corner you can
also hover over these two buttons here
and if we hover over this button you'll
see that control shift six will take us
to details view and this is a large
thumbnail control shift two
and finally we'll take a look at opening
the right-click menu the shortcut to do
this is either the menu key or shift f10
so i'm just going to hit the menu key on
my keyboard now not all keyboards have a
menu key if yours does have it it'll be
between the control and alt keys on the
right side of the keyboard my favorite
logitech keyboard does have a menu key
and i'll put a link in the description
below this video to an article that
explains more about that keyboard
if you're on a laptop most laptops
unless you're using a microsoft laptop
also do not have a menu key so in that
case press shift f10 and that will open
up the right-click menu here now one
other note here if you're using windows
11 and you right-click an item with the
mouse you'll notice that it has this
condensed right-click menu or this
condensed context menu with a limited
number of items and then you can press
show more options down here to open up
the full menu and as you'll notice right
here it says that shift f10 is the
shortcut to open that menu and that's
the same as the menu key so instead of
doing that two-click operation to
right-click and then click show more
options here you can just select any
item and either hit the menu key or
shift f10 and that will open up that
full right-click menu
alright so i hope these shortcuts for
file explorer save some time out of your
day again if you have a new favorite
leave a comment below and let us know
what that is or if we missed one let us
know in the comments below as well if
you enjoyed this video hit the like
button if you're new to excel campus hit
the subscribe button and then head over
to excelcampus.com
free to grab our free excel pro tips
ebook thanks again for watching have a
great day and i'll see you in the next
video
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