10 Best Windows File Explorer Tips and Tricks To Make It More Useful

Windows File Explorer is a file manager which has been a part of Windows since Windows 95 launch. It provides a graphical interface for accessing the file systems. All the Windows users have been using the File Explorer to access files and documents, but did you know, there is more to it? There are still many tricks that you don’t know about your favorite file explorer.

In this article, we will share the best tips and tricks of File Explorer to make it easier and faster to use it.

1. Delete Recent File Browsing History Is Good:

File Explorer keeps a record of all the recent files that you have opened and recent searches.It is quite a good feature, if you want to quickly return to a file or a folder but it is always better to clear the history or if you want file explorer to record your searches, then you turn off this feature.

• Open File Explorer and click File > Change folder and search options. (Windows 10)
• On the General tab and beneath the Privacy section, click Clear to remove all your File Explorer history.
• If you don’t want file explorer to collect the recent searches, you can uncheck the boxes in front of Show recent used files in Quick access and Show frequently used folders in Quick Access and now click on Ok.

2. Rename Multiple Files At Once

Whenever you copy or create a file or a document, you always rename the file with a relevant name to identify it later. But, did you know that you can rename more than one file at a time?

Follow these steps to do so:

• Open Windows Explorer (Press Windows and E together to open it).
• Press Ctrl key along with the left-click to select specific files or you can also press Ctrl + A to select all in the folder.
• Now right-click the file you want first in the sequence and click Rename.
• Rename the file and press Enter.
• Rest of the files will be renamed with the same name along with a sequential number to the end of the file.

3. Open File Explorer on This PC

Whenever you access File Explorer, you will get Quick Access page by default. If you want to change it to This PC.

Open File Explorer and go to File > Change folder and search options. On the Open File Explorer to dropdown, change this to This PC. Then click OK.

4. Disable Advertisements

If you are equally irritated with the ads popping up anywhere or everywhere then this is for you. Microsoft has recently started displaying ads on File Explorer for its own product like Ms Office.

• If you want to get rid of these adverts, either you can close them one by one
• Open File Explorer and click File > Change folder and search options.
• Go to the View tab.
• Scroll down and uncheck the box beside Show sync provider notifications.
• Now click OK.

5. Display Recycle Bin and Control Panel In Left Side Pane

When you open File Explorer, a navigation panel appears on the left-hand side of File Explorer and lets you move between Quick Access and This PC. You can also add things like the Recycle Bin or Control Panel for quick access very easily.

Simply right-click an empty space on the navigation pane and click Show all folders.

Now you will get the Recycle Bin and Control Panel  on the quick access list.

6. Add File Types to New Item Menu

You can add a file within File Explorer from anywhere. Follow these steps:

• Make a Right-click on an empty space, hover New and then select the file type that you want to create.
• This list would have certain file types. If you want to add your own to this list, open Notepad and paste this:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

“NullFile”=””

• Now replace .XXX with a file extension that you want to add. For example, .doc, .psd or .png. Now save the notepad file as filetype.reg on your computer.
• Navigate to the file and open it.
• A message will come up asking if you want to edit the registry.
• Click Yes to proceed.
• Once you reopen File Explorer, your file type will now be available on the New context menu.

7. Remove Cloud Services From Left-side Pane:

Among with the other items on the list, you will also see that  cloud service that you have installed  will appear here. It is great as it makes easy to access the files and folders but if you want, you can remove it.

• Go to Start menu and type regedit.
• It will open the Registry Editor.
• Go to Edit > Find and input IsPinned.
• Click Find Next. This will take you to the first result.
• On the right-hand panel, look for the item with a Name of (Default) and Type of REG_SZ. Note: The value in the Data column will be text.
• Look for the Data value that contains the name of the cloud service you want to remove from the navigation panel. If you don’t see it, press F3 to move to the next entry.
• When you do find one, double click System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree, change the Value data to 0 and click OK.

This will then remove the Cloud Services from your navigation pane.

Note:  If you  want to bring it back, repeat the above steps and set the Value data as 1.

8. Rotate Pictures Fastly:

Sometimes the pictures stored  are not in the right angle. If you want to rotate them, you can do it inside Fire Explorer.

Note: This works on individual pictures or in bulk, so either left-click the picture or select the specific range.

Locate  Manage and click either Rotate left or Rotate right.

Now that you know all the tricks and tips, you must feel like you have mastered File Explorer. Try them and use them daily to make your work easy.

9. Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Aware Of:

To make your work easier and quicker, it is good to know Keyboard shortcuts. So, here are the useful shortcuts to make your work easy.

• Windows key + E opens File Explorer
• Ctrl + N opens a new File Explorer window of the same folder.
• Ctrl + W closes the window.
• Ctrl + D selects the address bar.
• Ctrl + F selects the search box.
• Ctrl + Shift + N creates a folder.
• Alt + Up goes up a folder level.
• Alt + Right/Left, it will take you forward or back.

Note: If you press Alt, you will see highlighted elements with letters. Press those letters to perform those actions.

10. Fix A Slow File Explorer:

Ever experienced working with a slow File Explorer, where you had a hard time opening files or transferring files, or worse your File Explorer just refused to respond? If yes, here is a simple thing that you can do, click ctrl + shift + esc, locate Windows Explorer and click on Restart.

Wrapping Up

The Windows File Explorer is such an important part of your operating system and trust us some, some Windows File Explorer tips and tricks up your sleeve will help you in times of emergency. That was it for this post, for more such tech content, keep reading WeTheGeek.