Rename files make cursor position move left instead of to start

manintan · 30 Jan 2020

I have noticed in Windows 10 in file explorer if I highlight then hit F2 then press the left arrow key the cursor shoots to the start of the file name.

In Windows 7 in file explorer if I highlight a file and hit F2 then press the left arrow key, the cursor moves over one position from the end of the file name.

This has made renaming files very difficult and was much easier before.

1. Is this a windows 10 only issue?
2. Is there anyway to enable the behavior in Windows 7 when renaming files?
3. Is there a way to use a win 7 file explorer in windows 10 and if so does it use the cursor behavior when renaming like in windows 7 or win10?

dalchina · 30 Jan 2020

Hi, if you select the name you want to modify by left clicking 3 times, left arrow will move back 1 space.
or
If you select the name you want to modify by left clicking once, then F2, then left click again, left arrow will move back 1 space.
or
If you select the name you want to modify by left clicking once, then F2, then SHIFT + left arrow will move back 1 space.
or
If you select the name you want to modify by left clicking once, then F2, then RIGHT arrow - this removes the selection WITHOUT changing cursor position, so then left arrow does what you want.

(Curiously SHIFT + up or down arrow moves 1 char left or right).

And FYI CTRL + left arrow moves to beginning of word (if any present) i.e. the character ahead of white space

XYplorer and FreeCommander appear to behave similarly.

manintan · 30 Jan 2020

Thanks for the reply and very interesting, seems they put alot of thought into the renaming of files in File Explorer.

Since my goal is not to use a mouse so I can type, I suppose so far using the left and right arrow trick works, but that adds the extra step.

Not sure if anyone has looked into if this can be modified but if the behavior can be modified, it would be nice to have the system used in Windows 7.

cDreamDancer · 30 Jan 2020

You can also hit the END key to begin with and it will start at the end if the line.

dalchina · 30 Jan 2020

- which has a somewhat different significance depending on whether you have extensions visible or not- if you do, the cursor is set after the end of the extension- if not, after the file name. (Same as CTRL -> )

Ztruker · 30 Jan 2020

Use the right arrow key.

dalchina · 31 Jan 2020

Yep, in post #2

Ztruker · 31 Jan 2020

dalchina said:

Yep, in post #2

Sorry, missed that.

manintan · 02 Mar 2020

Guess win10 has defeated me in that aspect. Pressing the right arrow key everytime is now an extra step I do not welcome.

Also before if I pressed left instead of it moving to the front it moved left one space which is no longer the case in Win10.
Checking on win7 this behavior is present but not sure if or how that behavior for renaming could be migrated to Win10, if it is a feature I would like to turn it off, or some module, I would like to unload it.

dalchina · 02 Mar 2020

What I typically do if manually renaming files is left click, wait, left click. The cursor is then to the right of the last character of the file name.

Rename files make cursor position move left instead of to start-1.png

1 more click to remove the dark blue selection (which indicates what you'll change or move to), and positions the cursor, and left arrow moves 1 char left