How do I navigate Windows File Explorer with keyboard?
To browse the contents, use the Down and Up arrow keys. To open the selected file or folder, press Enter. To go back to the previous view, press Alt+Left arrow key. To go forward to the view you returned from, press Alt+Right arrow key.
Keyboard shortcut
You can also move files using keyboard shortcuts by following the steps below. Highlight the files you want to move. Press the keyboard shortcut Command + C . Move to the location you want to move the files and press Option + Command + V to move the files.
To go to the first or last file in a directory, press the Home or End keys. To go “Up” a directory, press Alt+Up arrow. To go Back and Forward, press Alt+Left arrow and Alt+Right arrow.
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To turn on Mouse Keys
- Open Ease of Access Center by clicking the Start button. ...
- Click Make the mouse easier to use.
In File Explorer, you can use a combination of the Tab key and the arrow keys to navigate. Tab moves you between sections of File Explorer, and the arrow keys move up, down, left, or right in each section. Once you've located and selected the program you want to run, press the Enter key.
You can move a file or folder from one folder to another by dragging it from its current location and dropping it into the destination folder, just as you would with a file on your desktop. Folder Tree: Right-click the file or folder you want, and from the menu that displays click Move or Copy.
In Windows, dragging and dropping a file will perform the default task—usually moving. However, holding down a certain key will perform different actions: Ctrl+Drag will copy the file. Shift+Drag will move the file (in situations where copy is the default—like when you're dragging a file between two different drives)
| Press this key | To do this |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Left arrow | Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word. |
| Ctrl + Down arrow | Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph. |
| Ctrl + Up arrow | Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph. |
- Click on a folder if it's listed in the Navigation pane.
- Click on a folder in the Address bar to display its subfolders.
- Double-click on a folder in the file and folder listing to display any subfolders.
| Press this key | To do this |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Open a new window. |
| Ctrl + T | Open a new tab and switch to it. |
| Ctrl + W | Closes the active tab. Closes the window if there's only one tab open. |
| Ctrl + Tab | Move to the next tab. |
How do I select files without a mouse?
- Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer.
- Press Tab until you're in the section of the window containing the files or folders you want to select.
- Use the arrow keys to move to the file or folder you want to select.
Navigating through a website with a keyboard uses the TAB key to move forward and the SHIFT+TAB combination to move backwards. These keys move you only between elements of the page that are focusable. Focusable elements are links, input fields, and buttons.
