The Ultimate List of Every Known File Explorer Keyboard Shortcut

By Timothy Tibbetts

on 07/21/2023

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Computer geeks love our keyboard shortcuts. To most of us, they are time-saving second nature habits we've acquired over time. In this article, we look at all of the known shortcuts for File Explorer to get you started, or just as a refresher. Many of these commands also work for Windows Explorer before becoming File Explorer on Windows 10.

Alt + D - Select the address bar
Alt + P - Display the preview pane
Alt + Fn4 - Close application
Alt + Enter - Open the Properties dialog box for the selected item
Alt + Left arrow - View the previous folder
Alt + Right arrow - View the next folder
Alt + Up arrow - View the folder that the folder was in

Ctrl + D - Delete File / Folder
Ctrl + E - Select the search box
Ctrl + F - Select the search box
Ctrl + N - Open a new window
Ctrl + W - Close the current window
Ctrl+ Fn4 - Close Window
Ctrl + Alt + Number from 1 to 8 - Switch between folder views
Ctrl + Shift + E - Display all folders above the selected folder
Ctrl + Shift + N - Create a new folder
Ctrl + mouse scroll wheel - Change the size and appearance of file and folder icons

Num Lock + asterisk - Display all subfolders under the selected folder
Num Lock + minus - Collapse the selected folder
Num Lock + plus - Display the contents of the selected folder

Backspace - View the previous folder
Left arrow - Collapse the current selection if expanded
Right arrow - Display the current selection if collapsed
End - Display the bottom of the active window
ESC - Undo or ignore the last command
Home - Display the top of the active window
F2 - Rename File / Folder
F11 - Maximize or minimize the active window

Did we miss one? Let us know in the comments below!

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