File Explorer keyboard shortcuts
Folders, tabs, panes, renaming, and navigation in the Windows file manager.
30 shortcuts Windows checked September 14, 2026
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This app has a Windows catalog in Shortivo. No other operating system is published for it yet.
8 actions and 8 key variants match.
- File Explorer Documented
| Action | Keys | Row actions |
|---|---|---|
| Select the address bar File Explorer | Windows AltD | Source |
| Show properties for the selected item Item selected | Windows AltEnter | Source |
| Send the selected item to the Recycle Bin Item selected | Windows CtrlD | Source |
| Rename the selected item Item selected | Windows F2 | Source |
| Collapse the selected folder Navigation pane | Windows Left arrow | Source |
| Expand the selected folder Navigation pane | Windows Right arrow | Source |
| Delete an item without using the Recycle Bin Item selected | Windows ShiftDelete | Source |
| Open the context menu for the selection Item selected | Windows ShiftF10 | Source |
About File Explorer and its shortcuts
File Explorer is where Windows users spend more time than they think, and its keyboard covers navigation between folders and panes, selecting, renaming, creating, and switching the view. The commands that move focus between the address bar, the tree and the file list are what make it usable without a mouse.
Windows 11 rebuilt Explorer, adding tabs and moving parts of the interface, so older guidance can disagree. Some commands are handled by Windows itself rather than Explorer, which is why they also work elsewhere.
Where the File Explorer keys came from
Read from 1 documentation page published by the makers of File Explorer. Report a key that is wrong
To see how one action is done in other apps as well as File Explorer, browse the shortcuts by task. Shortcuts by task