How to Use File Explorer in Windows 11, 10, or 7

To open File Explorer in Windows 11, press Windows key + E or select the folder icon on the taskbar. Use the left pane to jump between Home, your main folders, and your drives, and the toolbar at the top to create, cut, copy, paste, rename, share, and delete files.

The Parts of File Explorer

• Address bar: shows where you are. Select a folder name in it to jump back up a level, or type a path like C:\.
• Search box: at the top right. It searches the folder you’re in and everything inside it.
• Toolbar: buttons for New, Cut, Copy, Paste, Rename, Share, and Delete, plus Sort and View menus. The three-dot See more button holds extra options.
• Left pane: Home, Gallery, pinned folders, OneDrive, This PC, drives, and Network.
• Tabs: like a web browser, you can keep several folders open in one window.

Microsoft has an overview of these parts in its File Explorer help.

Everyday Tasks

Create a new folder

1. Go to the location you want.
2. Select New in the toolbar, then Folder. You can also press Ctrl + Shift + N.
3. Type a name and press Enter.

Copy or move files

1. Select the files. Hold Ctrl to select several, or Ctrl + A to select everything.
2. Press Ctrl + C to copy or Ctrl + X to cut.
3. Open the destination folder and press Ctrl + V.

Rename a file

1. Select the file.
2. Press F2.
3. Type the new name and press Enter.

Delete a file

Locate the file, select it, and press Delete, or use the toolbar trash-can button. Ordinary local-drive deletion usually goes to Recycle Bin; USB drives, network locations, oversized files, and cloud-only items can behave differently. Read the confirmation before proceeding. Open Recycle Bin and use Restore for a recoverable local item. OneDrive deletion also syncs online, so check the cloud recycle bin separately. See how to find deleted files on Windows 11.

To deliberately bypass the local Recycle Bin, verify the selected file and backup, press Shift + Delete, and read the permanent-deletion confirmation before accepting. Emptying the bin also removes its normal restore option. These actions are not secure drive erasure and do not guarantee that specialist recovery is impossible.

Use tabs

Press Ctrl + T to open a new tab and Ctrl + W to close the current one. To open a folder in a new tab, right-click it and select Open in new tab.

Zip and Unzip Files

1. To zip, right-click the files or folder and select Compress to > ZIP File (or Show more options > Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder).
2. To unzip, right-click the archive and select Extract All, then follow the prompts.
3. To grab just one file, open the archive and drag that file out.

Microsoft says Windows 11 version 24H2 supports ZIP, RAR, 7z, and TAR archives, but not password-protected ones. See Zip and unzip files.

Change How Files Look

• Select View to switch between icons, List, Details, and more. Details shows dates and sizes.
• Select View > Show > File name extensions to see extensions like .docx or .jpg.
• Select View > Show > Hidden items to see hidden files and folders, such as the AppData folder.
• Select View > Details pane or Preview pane for more information about the selected file.
• Select Sort to order files by name, date, type, or size.

For a folder that stays hidden, our guide to unhiding folders in Windows 11 explains the difference between showing Hidden items and removing a personal folder’s Hidden attribute.

Choose a Default Folder View and Remove Grouping

Open an ordinary folder, choose View > Details or your preferred layout, then choose Sort > Group by > (None) to remove grouped headings. Set your sort order separately. Open See more (…) > Options > View, select Apply to Folders, confirm Yes, and select OK. Reopen another folder of the same type to check the result.

Apply to Folders affects folders of that type, such as Pictures or Documents; it does not guarantee one universal view for every folder or an app’s file-picker dialog. Repeat for another folder type if needed. If the button is unavailable, try an ordinary folder rather than Home or a library. A Microsoft-hosted support discussion records the menu route and folder-type limitation. These steps do not require registry deletion.

Reset File Explorer Folder Options

To undo custom folder views, open an ordinary folder and select See more (…) > Options > View > Reset Folders. Read the confirmation and accept it if you want to restore views for that folder type. To restore other options, use Restore Defaults on the relevant General or View tab, then Apply and OK. Note any settings you want to keep first.

Reopen the folder and check its view. This resets preferences, rather than deleting your files or reinstalling Windows. Microsoft’s support answer about folder options distinguishes Reset Folders from Restore Defaults. For an unresponsive Explorer window, use the Task Manager restart steps below; restarting Explorer is a separate operation.

Add OneDrive to File Explorer

Search Start for OneDrive and open it. If it is missing, get the sync app through Microsoft’s OneDrive setup instructions. Enter the intended Microsoft or work/school account, choose Sign in, review the OneDrive folder location, and finish setup. Press Windows + E and open the OneDrive entry in the left pane. For another account, use the cloud icon > Settings > Account > Add an account.

Check that the expected folders appear and that a sample file opens. Some files are online-only; use Always keep on this device for an available offline copy when needed. Deleting a synced file can also delete its cloud copy. Installing or connecting OneDrive is different from removing its navigation entry, and a work administrator can restrict setup.

Add Google Drive to File Explorer

Use Google’s Drive for desktop instructions to download the Windows installer from Google. Open GoogleDriveSetup.exe and complete setup. Launch Drive for desktop, choose Get started and Sign in, and sign into the intended Google account in the browser. Press Windows + E and open Google Drive, then My Drive. You can also use the folder icon in the Drive app to reach the synced files.

In Drive’s Settings > Preferences > Folders from Drive, review Stream files versus Mirror files. Streaming uses a virtual drive and generally requires the app and internet access unless files are available offline; mirroring keeps a local My Drive copy and uses more disk space. Check sync status and open a sample file. Google explains these choices in its streaming and mirroring guide. Changes synchronize across devices, so do not delete a sync folder just to hide it.

Add Dropbox to File Explorer

Download the desktop app using Dropbox’s official installation instructions, run its installer, and sign into the intended Dropbox account. Finish the folder and sync choices, then press Windows + E and open the Dropbox folder. The desktop-app overview explains that installation adds the folder and taskbar icon.

If you cannot find it, use the Dropbox taskbar icon to open the folder, or inspect the app’s Preferences for its location. Open a sample file and check sync status. Dropbox’s folder-location guide covers a moved folder. Online-only files may need downloading before offline use. Deleting files inside a syncing folder can propagate the deletion to Dropbox and other devices.

Choose the Opening Folder for a Windows 7 Shortcut

For the historical Windows 7 taskbar shortcut, first open the desired folder and copy its full path from the address bar. Hold Shift, right-click the pinned Windows Explorer shortcut and choose Properties > Shortcut. Record its original Target so you can restore it. Set Target to %windir%\explorer.exe "C:\ActualFolder", replacing C:\ActualFolder with that existing folder’s actual full path and keeping the quotation marks. Click Apply > OK, close the Explorer windows and click that shortcut to check which folder opens. This changes that shortcut’s starting folder; it does not change every Explorer window or the Win+E shortcut. Restore the recorded Target if the result is unsuitable. Current Windows 11 opening-location choices are covered separately below.

Turn On Your PC and Open This PC

If the computer is off, connect its intended power supply or ensure the laptop has a charge, press its power button briefly and wait for Windows. Avoid holding the button to force a shutdown. On the sign-in screen, select your account and use its password or an already configured Windows Hello method. Once the desktop appears, press Windows+E and select This PC in File Explorer’s left pane to see Devices and drives. This PC is the name used for the older My Computer view; starting the physical computer and opening that file view are separate steps. Open the intended drive and check its folders. The opening-folder setting below can make future Explorer windows start at This PC. If Windows never reaches sign-in, that is a startup problem rather than a missing Explorer shortcut.

Make File Explorer Open to This PC

1. Select See more (the three dots) on the toolbar, then Options.
2. On the General tab, set Open File Explorer to to This PC.
3. Select OK.

This PC shows your drives right away. See how to find the C drive on Windows 11 for more.

Useful Shortcuts

• Windows key + E: open File Explorer.
• Alt + Up arrow: go up one folder.
• Alt + Left arrow: go back.
• Ctrl + F or Ctrl + E: jump to the search box.
• Alt + Enter: open Properties for the selected file.

If File Explorer Is Slow or Not Responding

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Right-click Windows Explorer and select Restart.
3. If it keeps happening, open See more > Options and select Clear next to Clear File Explorer history. Our guide on how to clear recent files in Windows 11 covers what that button removes.
4. Install waiting updates in Settings > Windows Update.

Open an External Drive

Connect the drive, allow Windows to recognize it, press Windows key + E, and select This PC. Find the external drive under Devices and drives and double-click it to browse its folders. Check the name and capacity if several drives are connected. If Windows asks to format a drive containing needed files, cancel; formatting is not a routine way to open those files. Check the cable, power and another USB port before seeking drive-specific help.

Safely Eject an External Drive

Finish transfers and close files or apps using the drive. In the taskbar notification area, open hidden icons if needed, right-click Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media, and choose Eject for the correct device. Wait for Windows to confirm safe removal before unplugging it. If it reports the drive is in use, close the relevant app and retry. Microsoft’s safe-removal guide explains the device icon and confirmation.

Find a File in Windows 10

Select Start or the taskbar search box and type part of the filename, then choose the matching document result rather than opening an unrelated app or web result. For a folder search, press Windows + E, open the likely folder or drive and type the name in its upper-right search box; press Enter and let the search finish. Use This PC when you do not know the drive, accepting that a wider search can take longer. Microsoft’s Windows 10 search guide distinguishes Start search from File Explorer.

Switch the results to View > Details and inspect Name, Type, Date modified and Size to distinguish similar files. Use the Search tab’s Kind, Size or Date modified refinements where offered. Open the intended result and check its contents and folder location. A missing search result does not prove the file was deleted: check the correct drive, cloud folder and search scope before using recovery tools.

Restore the File Explorer Icon to the Taskbar

In Windows 11 or 10, press Windows + E to open File Explorer. Right-click its running folder icon on the taskbar and choose Pin to taskbar. Close the window and check that the icon remains; select it to reopen Explorer. To undo the pin, right-click it and choose Unpin from taskbar. Microsoft’s taskbar guide explains pinning a running app.

For an older Windows 7 PC, open Start, search for Windows Explorer, right-click that application result and choose Pin to Taskbar. You can also find it under Start > All Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer. Verify the folder icon remains and opens Explorer. Pinning the application differs from pinning an individual folder inside Explorer. The modern toolbar and tabs described elsewhere in this guide do not apply to Windows 7, and these legacy instructions do not extend its support lifecycle.

Change a Folder’s View in Windows 7

For an older Windows 7 PC, open the folder in Windows Explorer, right-click an empty area inside it and choose View. Select Extra large icons, Large icons, List, Details or another offered layout. Right-clicking a file instead opens that item’s menu, so use blank space. Windows 11’s modern View > Show toolbar and tabs described above do not apply to this legacy screen.

Choose larger icons when visual previews help, or Details to compare names, file sizes and modification dates. Verify that the folder changes to the selected layout; choose another View option to undo the change. This changes how files are displayed, rather than renaming or modifying them. A missing thumbnail can reflect preview settings or the file type, so a larger icon is not a guarantee of a preview for every file.

Find a PC Game’s Installation Files

For an installed Steam game, open your Steam Library, right-click the game and choose Manage > Browse local files. File Explorer opens that game’s installation folder. Steam’s soundtrack guide documents this folder-opening command. Use the actual folder the launcher opens: games can be installed on different drives or in different Steam libraries, so C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common is an example rather than a universal location.

For another launcher, use its installation-folder or browse-files control when available. For a traditional desktop game shortcut, right-click it and use Open file location; if this shows another shortcut, check Properties > Shortcut > Target or use the executable-location method. In Windows 11, select View > Show > File name extensions to see file types. Browsing a folder does not require changing the executable, DLLs or asset files. Store-packaged games can use protected folders; use the game’s supported tools rather than taking ownership of those folders.

Saved games and settings may live outside the installation folder, including Documents, AppData or a launcher’s user-data folder. Follow the specific game publisher’s instructions to identify and back up them. Steam’s backup guide notes that third-party save locations vary. An unfamiliar .pak or other asset file is not necessarily an ordinary ZIP archive, and an archive utility cannot universally unlock encrypted game files. Make a separate verified backup before any supported modification, keep the original, and use the publisher’s repair or launcher verification feature for damaged files.

Select Several Files Before Copying or Moving Them

In Windows 11 or Windows 10 File Explorer, open the folder containing the files. For separate files, hold Ctrl and click each item; Ctrl-click a selected item again to remove it from the selection. For a consecutive range in the current sort order, click the first item, hold Shift, and click the last. Every item between them is included, so check the highlighted names before continuing.

To select everything in the current folder view, click inside the file list and press Ctrl + A. In a view with enough empty space, you can also press and drag from a blank area to draw a selection rectangle around items; starting on a file can drag that file instead. Keyboard users can use Shift with the arrow keys to extend a selection, as documented in Microsoft’s Windows shortcut reference. Selection alone does not copy, move, or delete anything. Check the selected items and count before choosing an action.

Rename a Folder in File Explorer

Press Windows+E and browse to the folder’s parent location. Select the one intended folder, press F2, type its new name and press Enter. Microsoft’s File Explorer shortcuts identify F2 as Rename. You can also use the selected folder’s Rename control in its context menu. Check the saved name and open the folder to confirm its contents remain. Use a valid, distinct name; do not rename Windows or application folders to reorganize a PC, because saved paths can break. If permission or an in-use error appears, resolve that cause rather than taking ownership of a protected folder. Renaming changes its path; it does not copy the folder or rewrite shortcuts that point to the old path.

Batch-Rename Several Files in File Explorer

Keep a copy of important files before renaming a group. Open their folder in File Explorer, select just the intended files with Ctrl-click for separate items or Shift-click for a consecutive range, and check the selection. Press F2, type the shared base name and press Enter. File Explorer gives the selected files that name with numbered suffixes, such as Holiday (1) and Holiday (2), while retaining their file types. Microsoft lists F2 as the rename shortcut. Inspect all resulting names and any collision or permission message; numbering is not a reliable way to prescribe a particular chronological order. Press Ctrl+Z immediately if you need to undo that rename, then check the restored names. This changes names rather than combining file contents. Do not type a new extension to convert a format or rename files an app depends on.

Compare Two Folders With WinMerge

For a contents comparison, install WinMerge from its official download page. In Edit > Options > Compare > Folder, set Compare method to Full Contents and choose OK; the comparison options explain this setting. Then open File > Open and browse to the two folders in the Left and Right fields. Check both paths, choose whether to Include subfolders, and use a contents comparison method rather than relying only on size and date. Start Compare. WinMerge’s folder comparison manual describes the recursive selection and results.

Wait for completion and inspect identical, different, left-only and right-only results. Check filters, hidden result categories, errors and skipped files before treating the list as complete. Double-click a differing file to inspect it where supported. Matching is based on relative paths, so renamed files can appear unique even when their contents match. Comparing does not require copying or deleting either folder: leave the merge, copy and delete commands alone unless you intend those separate changes and have backups. A folder’s file count or total size alone is not proof of equal contents.

Use a Colored Icon for an Individual Folder

Windows 11 does not provide a general folder-fill color picker. To make an ordinary personal folder visually distinct, right-click it and open Properties > Customize > Change Icon when available. Choose an offered icon, or use Browse to choose a suitable local .ico file with the color you want. Confirm OK, then Apply and OK, and reopen or refresh the parent folder to check the result. Keep the icon file in its original location. This assigns an icon; it does not recolor every folder, change the files inside, or convert a PNG into an ICO by renaming it. Microsoft describes the underlying folder-icon customization mechanism.

Record the original choice and use the same dialog’s Restore Defaults to reverse the change. Some special or managed folders lack these controls. Microsoft’s June 2026 update notice also explains that untrusted desktop.ini customization can be ignored. Keep the protection in place rather than broadly unblocking downloaded customization files. If a folder cannot be customized, use a clearly named folder or a separately customized shortcut. An arbitrary third-party recoloring download is not required for this local-icon method.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I search for files in Windows 11?

Open the folder or drive you want to search, such as This PC to search everything, then type in the search box at the top right. To search from anywhere, press the Windows key and start typing. For photos specifically, see how to find all photos on your computer.

How do I pin folders?

Right-click a folder and select Pin to Quick access. See how to use Quick access in Windows 11.

Where did the old context menu go?

Windows 11 shows a shorter right-click menu. Select Show more options at the bottom, or press Shift + F10, to see the full menu.

How do I show more details about my files?

Switch to View > Details, then right-click a column heading to add columns like Size or Date created. See how to add another column in File Explorer.

Open a File or Program’s Folder Location

In Windows 11 or 10, search Start for the intended file or desktop program. Right-click the matching result and choose Open file location when offered. Check the selected item and address bar in File Explorer. A program result can lead to its Start Menu shortcut; to reach the program itself, right-click that shortcut and choose Open file location again when available, or inspect Properties > Shortcut > Target. Finding a shortcut is different from finding the executable.

For an already running desktop program, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Find the intended process under Processes or Details, right-click it and choose Open file location when available. Inspect the selected executable and folder without moving or deleting program files. Protected processes, packaged Store apps and organization policies can limit this option; do not take ownership of a protected app folder just to make it appear. If you already know a document’s folder, browse there normally using the steps above.