Windows 11 File Explorer Cheat Sheet

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Operating Systems · Windows 11 File Explorer Cheat Sheet

Configuration, display options and shortcuts for File Explorer in Windows 11, starting with the two things people most often want to switch off: the Today / Yesterday / Earlier this week grouping and the preview pane. The menu paths were first checked against published guides, then against screenshots taken on this machine (Windows 11 Pro, build 26300), and the wording below follows the screenshots, which are at the end. Items that were not visible in a screenshot are marked as such. Menu wording and the layout of the View menu change a little between Windows 11 builds.

Stop the Date Grouping (Today, Yesterday, Earlier this week)

Why it happensThe folder is grouped by Date modified. Downloads usually comes this way by default, and any folder can be set to it
Right-click methodRight-click an empty area of the folder > Group by > (None)
Toolbar methodCommand bar > Sort > Group by > (None). The Group by list is Name, Status, Date modified, Type, Size and (None), then Ascending / Descending and More... (screenshots 2 and 3)
Collapse a groupIn Details view, click the arrow beside a heading such as Earlier this month to fold it away, without removing the grouping (screenshot 9)
Keep newest firstThen Sort > Date modified and Descending, so ungrouped files still list the newest at the top
Per folderThe setting belongs to the folder you changed. Repeat it for every folder that groups, or copy the view with Apply to Folders (see Folder Memory)
Group by something elseName, Type, Size and others are in the same Group by menu. Each has Ascending / Descending
If it keeps coming backReports say Downloads has been unreliable at remembering this, and that newer Windows 11 builds are better. Update Windows, then try again

The Preview Pane: Turn It Off

Alt+PToggle the preview pane on or off from the keyboard
View menuCommand bar > View > Preview pane: a dot beside it means on, click it again to turn it off. On this build it sits on the View menu itself, below the layouts, not under Show (screenshot 5)
Preview buttonThe Preview button at the far right of the command bar toggles the same pane (screenshot 1)
Empty paneWith no file selected the pane shows Select a file to preview; it stays open until you turn it off
Drag the dividerThe pane can be dragged narrower, but only the toggle removes it
Alt+Shift+PThe Details pane, a different pane: properties of the selected file, not its contents
Switch off previews entirelyFolder Options > View tab > untick Show preview handlers in preview pane. The pane then has nothing to show (this option is further down the list than the screenshot shows, so I have not seen it on this machine)

Where Explorer Starts, and Home

Folder OptionsCommand bar > the three dots (See more) > Options
Open File Explorer toGeneral tab, a drop-down at the top (set to This PC on this machine; Home is the other usual choice). Then Apply / OK (screenshot 6)
HomeThe landing page called Quick access in Windows 10: pinned folders, favourites and recent files
Browse foldersGeneral tab: Open each folder in the same window or in its own window
Click items as followsGeneral tab: single-click or double-click to open an item
Privacy (General tab)Four ticks: Show recently used files, Show frequently used folders, Show recommended section and Include account-based insights, recent, favourite and recommended files
Clear historyThe Clear button beside Clear File Explorer history, on the same tab
Pin a folderRight-click it > Pin to Quick access, or use the same item in the three-dots menu (screenshot 10)
Network drivesOne guide warns that opening to This PC can be slow when a mapped network drive is unreachable

The View Menu: Layout and Show

LayoutExtra large, Large, Medium and Small icons, List, Details, Tiles, Content
DetailsThe usual choice for working with files: columns for name, date, type and size
Details pane / Preview paneOn the View menu itself, below the layouts. The Details pane shows properties of the selected item (Alt+Shift+P)
Show >A submenu at the bottom of View, listing Navigation pane, Compact view, Item check boxes, File name extensions and Hidden items (screenshot 5)
Show > Navigation paneThe folder tree on the left
Show > Compact viewReduces the spacing between rows
Show > Item check boxesTick boxes beside files, handy for selecting with a touch screen or without Ctrl
Show > File name extensionsShows .txt, .docx and so on after names
Show > Hidden itemsShows hidden files and folders, faded

Sort, Group and Columns

SortCommand bar > Sort: Name, Status, Date modified, then More for Type, Size and the rest, with Ascending / Descending and Group by at the foot (screenshot 3). Status is the OneDrive sync status
Click a column headingIn Details view, click to sort; click again to reverse
Right-click a headingTick the columns you want, or choose More for the full list
Drag a headingReorder columns; drag the edge between headings to resize
Size all columns to fitView > Size all columns to fit (or Ctrl and the plus key on the number pad)
Group bySort > Group by. (None) removes grouping; see the first card

Folder Options: the View Tab

Hidden files and foldersChoose Show hidden files, folders and drives (the View menu does the same, under Show)
Hide extensions for known file typesUntick to show extensions
Decrease space between items (compact view)The same as Show > Compact view
Display the full path in the title barShows the whole path in the window title
Enable window preloading for faster launch timesKeeps Explorer ready in the background so it opens faster
Display file size information in folder tipsThe tooltip on a folder shows its size
Hide empty drivesCard readers and drives with no media are not listed
Launch folder windows in a separate processEach Explorer window runs on its own, so one crash does not close the rest
Use check boxes to select itemsThe same as the View menu item
Show status barThe item count and selection size along the bottom
Always show icons, never thumbnailsFaster in big picture folders, but no thumbnails
Restore previous folder windows at logonReopens the Explorer windows you had open
Show preview handlers in preview paneAllows the preview pane to display file contents

Folder Memory: Apply and Reset

Apply to FoldersFolder Options > View > copies the current folder's layout to all folders of the same type. It is greyed out in This PC and libraries
Reset FoldersSame tab: returns every folder to the default view, after a confirmation
Restore DefaultsResets the Advanced settings list on the same tab to their defaults
Folder typeRight-click a folder > Properties > Customise tab > Optimise this folder for: General items, Documents, Pictures, Music or Videos, with Also apply this template to all subfolders below it (screenshot 8). The template sets the default columns and view, but a folder can be grouped by hand whatever its template: the folder in the screenshots is General items and was still grouped by date
Odd behaviourCommunity reports say the subfolder option is unreliable in Windows 11 and that Downloads may ignore this setting. Treat as unverified
Open / Save dialogsThese keep their own views and are often not changed by Apply to Folders

Moving Around

Win+EOpen File Explorer
Alt+Left / Alt+RightBack / forward
Alt+UpUp one level
Alt+D / Ctrl+LSelect the address bar; type or paste a path and press Enter
F4Open the address bar's list of recent paths
BackspaceBack (as in older Windows versions; behaviour can differ by build)
Ctrl+Shift+EExpand the navigation pane to the current folder
F5Refresh

Tabs and Windows

Ctrl+TNew tab
Ctrl+WClose the current tab
Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+TabNext / previous tab
Ctrl+1 … 9Go to that tab (as with browsers; not tested here)
Ctrl+NNew window
Middle-click a folderOpen it in a new tab
Drag a tab outTurns it into its own window

Files and Selection

Ctrl+Shift+NNew folder
F2Rename the selected item
Ctrl+A / Ctrl+click / Shift+clickSelect all / add or remove one / select a range
Alt+EnterProperties
Shift+DeleteDelete permanently, skipping the Recycle Bin (it asks first)
Ctrl+C / X / VCopy / cut / paste
Ctrl+Shift+CCopy the selected item's full path (newer builds; otherwise right-click > Copy as path)
Shift+right-clickOpen the full classic menu directly, without Show more options (or press Shift+F10)
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+YUndo / redo the last file operation
Three-dots menuCommand bar > See more (the three dots): Undo, Pin to Quick access, Select all, Select none, Invert selection and Options (screenshot 10)

Search

Ctrl+E / Ctrl+F / F3Go to the search box (searches the current folder and below)
Search tabFilters appear when you search: kind, size, date modified and so on
kind:kind:document or kind:picture limits the search to a type
datemodified:datemodified:last week or a date range
size:size:>10MB finds large files
ext:ext:pdf matches an extension
IndexingFolders outside the search index are searched slowly; add one under Indexing Options

The Registry Behind the Options (Read-only)

WhereHKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
HideFileExt0 shows extensions, 1 hides them
Hidden1 shows hidden files, 2 hides them
LaunchToThe Open File Explorer to choice (value meanings are not listed here)
ShowStatusBarThe status bar
SeparateProcessLaunch folder windows in a separate process
AutoCheckSelectItem check boxes
VerifiedThese names exist on this machine; the meanings of 0 and 1 for the first two are from my own knowledge. Use the settings, not the registry, to change them
Group by (None) is per folder
Turning grouping off in Downloads does not turn it off in your other folders, and a newly created or newly visited folder starts from its template. If the date groups return, check which folder you are in and what Optimize this folder for is set to before changing anything else.
A file that "is open in another program"
The preview pane may hold on to the file you have selected, which can stop a delete, rename or move. If Windows says a file is in use, press Alt+P to close the preview pane (or select another file) and try again. This is a commonly reported cause and I have not reproduced it here.

Screenshots (this machine, Windows 11 build 26300)

1. A folder grouped by Date modified: the headings are Earlier this month, Last month and Earlier this year. The Preview button is at the far right of the command bar, and the pane is open with nothing selected.
1. A folder grouped by Date modified: the headings are Earlier this month, Last month and Earlier this year. The Preview button is at the far right of the command bar, and the pane is open with nothing selected.
2. Right-click an empty area, then Group by: the choices are Name, Status, Date modified, Type, Size and (None). The dot shows the current grouping.
2. Right-click an empty area, then Group by: the choices are Name, Status, Date modified, Type, Size and (None). The dot shows the current grouping.
3. The Sort button's menu: Name, Status, Date modified, More, Ascending / Descending, and Group by at the bottom.
3. The Sort button's menu: Name, Status, Date modified, More, Ascending / Descending, and Group by at the bottom.
4. The preview pane on, showing the first page of the selected PDF.
4. The preview pane on, showing the first page of the selected PDF.
5. The View menu: layouts, then Details pane and Preview pane (the dot marks Preview pane as on), then the Show submenu with Navigation pane, Compact view, Item check boxes, File name extensions and Hidden items.
5. The View menu: layouts, then Details pane and Preview pane (the dot marks Preview pane as on), then the Show submenu with Navigation pane, Compact view, Item check boxes, File name extensions and Hidden items.
6. Folder Options, General tab: Open File Explorer to, Browse folders, Click items, and the Privacy ticks.
6. Folder Options, General tab: Open File Explorer to, Browse folders, Click items, and the Privacy ticks.
7. Folder Options, View tab: Apply to Folders and Reset Folders, and the top of the Advanced settings list.
7. Folder Options, View tab: Apply to Folders and Reset Folders, and the top of the Advanced settings list.
8. A folder's Properties, Customise tab: Optimise this folder for.
8. A folder's Properties, Customise tab: Optimise this folder for.
9. Details view with the date groups expanded, and the Status, Date modified, Type and Size columns.
9. Details view with the date groups expanded, and the Status, Date modified, Type and Size columns.
10. The command bar's three-dots menu (See more): Undo, Pin to Quick access, Select all, Select none, Invert selection and Options.
10. The command bar's three-dots menu (See more): Undo, Pin to Quick access, Select all, Select none, Invert selection and Options.