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Actions

Actions are commands that you can perform on items, such as files, folders, images, etc. The Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) will show you a list of available actions for the selected item(s), along with their key bindings.

Customizing Actions

You can customize the key bindings for actions from the Actions page in Settings (Files > Settings > Actions).

Modifying existing key bindings

The default key bindings in Files are largely based on the common shortcuts that users have come to expect from a file manager. To modify a key binding, follow these steps:

1. Click the edit button next to the action you wish to modify (eg. Help).
2. Input the new key binding using the keyboard (e. F3).
3. Click the save button and test out the new key binding.

In addition to modifying key bindings, you can also delete them and free up the keys for other actions. Please note, deleting an action is immediate and no confirmation is displayed.

Adding additional key bindings

Files has a growing list of actions and as the list continues grows, not all actions come with a default key binding. To assign a key binding, follow these steps:

1. Click the “Add command” button.
2. Select an action from the list (eg. “Pin to start menu”).
3. Input the key binding (eg. ctrl + shift + s)
4. Click the save button test out the key binding by selecting a file and using the ctrl + shift + s shortcut.

Restoring defaults

If you wish to restore the default key key bindings, click the “Restore defaults” button and click on “Yes” to confirm.

Actions

This section provides the complete list of actions and their descriptions. The actions are grouped by categories for easier reference.

Global

Help

Opens the online documentation in the web browser

Action name: Help

Default bindings:

"F1"

Toggle FullScreen

Toggles FullScreen mode

Action name: ToggleFullScreen

Default bindings:

"F11"

Enter compact overlay

Enters compact overlay

Action name: EnterCompactOverlay

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Alt+Up" 

Exit compact overlay

Exits compact overlay

Action name: ExitCompactOverlay

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Alt+Down"

Toggle compact overlay

Toggles compact overlay

Action name: ToggleCompactOverlay

Default bindings:

"F12"

Search

Focuses the search box

Action name: Search

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+F"
"F3"

Redo

Redoes the last file operation

Action name: Redo

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Y"

Undo

Undoes the last file operation

Action name: Undo

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Z"

Edit path

Focuses the path bar

Action name: EditPath

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+L"
"Alt+D"

Show

Toggle hidden items

Toggles whether to show hidden items

Action name: ToggleShowHiddenItems

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+H"

Toggle dot files

Toggles the setting that controls whether dot files are displayed

Action name: ToggleDotFilesSetting

Toggle file extensions

Toggles whether to show file extensions

Action name: ToggleShowFileExtensions

Toggle Preview Pane

Toggles the Preview Pane

Action name: TogglePreviewPane

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Alt+P"

Toggle Details Pane

Toggles the Details Pane

Action name: ToggleDetailsPane

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Alt+D"

Toggle Info Pane

Toggles the Info Pane

Action name: ToggleInfoPane

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Alt+I"

Toggle Toolbar

Toggles the Toolbar visibility

Action name: ToggleToolbar

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+B"

File System

Copy item

Copy selected items to the clipboard

Action name: CopyItem

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+C"

Copy item path

Copy paths of the selected items to the clipboard

Action name: CopyItemPath

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+C"

Copy item path with quotes

Copy paths of the selected items with quotes to the clipboard

Action name: CopyItemPathWithQuotes

Default bindings:

"Alt+Ctrl+C"

Copy path

Copy path of the current directory to the clipboard

Action name: CopyPath

Copy path with quotes

Copy path of the current directory with quotes to the clipboard

Action name: CopyPathWithQuotes

Cut item

Cut selected items to the clipboard

Action name: Cut

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+X"

Paste item

Pastes items from clipboard to current directory

Action name: PasteItem

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+V"

Paste item to selected folder

Pastes items from clipboard to the selected folder

Action name: PasteItemToSelection

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+V"

Paste item as shortcut

Pastes items from clipboard to current directory as shortcuts

Action name: PasteItemAsShortcutAction

Delete item

Deletes selected items

Action name: DeleteItem

Default bindings:

"Delete"
"Ctrl+D"

Permanently delete item

Permanently deletes selected items

Action name: DeleteItemPermanently

Default bindings:

"Shift+Delete"

Create folder

Creates new folder

Action name: CreateFolder

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+N"

Create folder with selection

Creates new folder with the selected items

Action name: CreateFolderWithSelection

Create item

Creates new item

Action name: AddItem

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+I"

Create shortcut

Creates shortcut targeting the selected item

Action name: CreateShortcut

Create shortcut from dialog

Creates shortcut targeting any item

Action name: CreateShortcutFromDialog

Open item

Opens selected items

Action name: OpenItem

Default bindings:

"Enter"

Open item with application picker

Opens items with the selected application

Action name: OpenItemWithApplicationPicker

Open parent folder

Opens parent folder of searched item

Action name: OpenParentFolder

Open file location

Opens location of the selected item

Action name: OpenFileLocation

Refresh items

Refreshes the items of the current directory

Action name: RefreshItems

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+R"
"F5" 

Rename item

Renames selected item

Action name: Rename

Default bindings:

"F2"

Selection

Select all

Selects all items

Action name: SelectAll

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+A"

Invert selection

Inverts the selected items

Action name: InvertSelection

Clear selection

Clears the selected items

Action name: ClearSelection

Toggle selection

Toggles item selection

Action name: ToggleSelect

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Space"

Share

Share item

Shares selected items

Action name: ShareItem

Start

Pin to start

Pins selected items to the Start Menu

Action name: PinToStart

Unpin from start

Unpins selected items from the Start Menu

Action name: UnpinFromStart

Sidebar

Pin to sidebar

Pins selected folders to sidebar

Action name: PinFolderToSidebar

Unpin from Sidebar

Unpins selected folders from Sidebar

Action name: UnpinFolderFromSidebar

Backgrounds

Set as desktop background

Sets selected picture as the desktop background

Action name: SetAsWallpaperBackground

Set as desktop slideshow

Sets selected pictures as the desktop slideshow

Action name: SetAsSlideshowBackground

Set as lockscreen slideshow

Sets selected picture as the lockscreen background

Action name: SetAsLockscreenBackground

Set as app background

Sets selected picture as the app background

Action name: SetAsAppBackground

Install

Install font

Installs selected fonts

Action name: InstallFont

Install Inf

Installs selected Inf files

Action name: InstallInfDriver

Install certificate

Installs selected certificates

Action name: InstallCertificate

Run

Run as admin

Runs selected items as admin

Action name: RunAsAdmin

Run as another user

Runs selected items as another user

Action name: RunAsAnotherUser

Run with Powershell

Runs selected scripts with Powershell

Action name: RunWithPowershell

Preview popups

View preview popup

Opens preview popup when QuickLook or SeerPro is installed

Action name: LaunchPreviewPopup

Default bindings:

"Space"

Archives

Create archive

Prompts to create archive from selected items

Action name: CompressIntoArchive

Create 7z archive

Creates 7z archive with selected items

Action name: CompressIntoSevenZip

Create zip archive

Creates zip archive with selected items

Action name: CompressIntoZip

Extract archive

Prompts to extract items from selected archive

Action name: DecompressArchive

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+E"

Extract archive here

Extracts items from selected archive to current folder

Action name: DecompressArchiveHere

Extract archive to new folder

Extracts items from selected archive to a new folder

Action name: DecompressArchiveToChildFolder

Smart extract

Automatically chooses extraction mode based on the selected archives contents

Action name: DecompressArchiveHereSmart

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+E"

Image Manipulation

Rotate left

Rotates selected images left

Action name: RotateLeft

Rotate right

Rotates selected images right

Action name: RotateRight

Open

Open in Visual Studio

Opens current folder in Visual Studio

Action name: OpenInVS

Open in Visual Studio Code

Opens current folder in Visual Studio Code

Action name: OpenInVSCode

Open properties

Opens properties window

Action name: OpenProperties

Default bindings:

"Alt+Enter"

Open Release Notes

Opens the Release Notes dialog

Action name: OpenReleaseNotes

Cleanup

Opens the Storage Sense page in Windows Settings

Action name: OpenStorageSense

Open File Explorer properties

Opens File Explorer properties window

Action name: OpenClassicProperties

Default bindings:

"AltShift+Enter"

Open settings

Opens settings

Action name: OpenSettings

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+,"

Open Terminal

Opens folder in Windows Terminal

Action name: OpenTerminal

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+`"

Open Terminal as admin

Opens folder in Windows Terminal as admin

Action name: OpenTerminalAsAdmin

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+`"

Open Command Palette

Opens the Command Palette

Action name: OpenCommandPalette

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+P"

Edit in Notepad

Opens the selected file in Notepad. This action is available for the following file extensions: .ahk, .bat, and .cmd.

Action name: EditInNotepad

Layouts

Details View

Switches to the Details View

Action name: LayoutDetails

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+1"

List View

Switches to the List View

Action name: LayoutList

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+2"

Tiles View

Switches to the Tiles View

Action name: LayoutTiles

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+3"

Grid View

Switches to the Grid View

Action name: LayoutGrid

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+4"

Columns View

Switches to the Columns View

Action name: LayoutColumns

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+5"

Adaptive Layout

Switches the layout based on the folder contents

Action name: LayoutAdaptive

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+6"

Increase icon size

Increases the icon size

Action name: LayoutIncreaseSize

Default bindings:

"Ctrl++"

Decrease icon size

Decreases the icon size

Action name: LayoutDecreaseSize

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+-"

Sorting

Sort by name

Sorts items alphabetically by their name

Action name: SortByName

Sort by date modified

Sorts items by the date and time they were last modified

Action name: SortByDateModified

Sort by date created

Sorts items by the date and time they were created

Action name: SortByDateCreated

Sort by size

Sorts items by their size

Action name: SortBySize

Sort by type

Sorts items by their type

Action name: SortByType

Sort by sync status

Sorts items by their cloud sync status

Action name: SortBySyncStatus

Sort by tags

Sorts items by the tags assigned to them

Action name: SortByTag

Sort by path

Sorts items by their in the file system

Action name: SortByPath

Sort by original folder

Sorts items by the original folder they were deleted from

Action name: SortByOriginalFolder

Sort by date deleted

Sorts items by the date and time they were deleted

Action name: SortByDateDeleted

Sort items in ascending order

Sorts items in ascending order according to the current sort option

Action name: SortAscending

Sort items in descending order

Sorts items in descending order according to the current sort option

Action name: SortDescending

Toggle sort direction

Toggles the sort direction between ascending and descending

Action name: ToggleSortDirection

Sort folders first

Lists and sorts folders before files

Action name: SortFoldersFirst

Sort files first

Lists and sorts files before folders

Action name: SortFilesFirst

Sort folders alongside files

Lists and sorts folders alongside files

Action name: ToggleSortDirectoriesAlongsideFiles

Grouping

Group by none

Lists items without grouping them

Action name: GroupByNone

Group by name

Groups items by name

Action name: GroupByName

Group by date modified

Groups items by date modified

Action name: GroupByDateModified

Group by date created

Groups items by date created

Action name: GroupByDateCreated

Group by size

Groups items by size

Action name: GroupBySize

Group by type

Groups items by type

Action name: GroupByType

Group by sync status

Groups items by sync status

Action name: GroupBySyncStatus

Group by tags

Groups items by tags

Action name: GroupByTag

Group by original folder

Groups items by original folder

Action name: GroupByOriginalFolder

Group by date deleted

Groups items by date deleted

Action name: GroupByDateDeleted

Group by folder path

Groups items by folder path

Action name: GroupByFolderPath

Group by date modified (year)

Groups items by year of date modified

Action name: GroupByDateModifiedYear

Group by date modified (month)

Groups items by month of date modified

Action name: GroupByDateModifiedMonth

Group by date modified (day)

Groups items by day of date modified

Action name: GroupByDateModifiedDay

Group by date created (year)

Groups items by year of date created

Action name: GroupByDateCreatedYear

Group by date created (month)

Groups items by month of date created

Action name: GroupByDateCreatedMonth

Group by date created (day)

Groups items by day of date created

Action name: GroupByDateCreatedDay

Group by date deleted (year)

Groups items by year of date deleted

Action name: GroupByDateDeletedYear

Group by date deleted (month)

Groups items by month of date deleted

Action name: GroupByDateDeletedMonth

Group by date deleted (day)

Groups items by day of date deleted

Action name: GroupByDateDeletedDay

Group in ascending order

Sorts groups in ascending order

Action name: GroupAscending

Group in Descending order

Sorts groups in descending order

Action name: GroupDescending

Toggle sort direction

Toggles group sort direction

Action name: ToggleGroupDirection

Group by year

Groups items by year

Action name: GroupByYear

Group by month

Groups items by month

Action name: GroupByMonth

Toggle grouping unit

Toggles unit for grouping by date

Action name: ToggleGroupByDateUnit

Navigation

New tab

Opens a new tab

Action name: NewTab

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+T"

New Window

Opens a new window

Action name: NewWindow

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+N"

Navigate back

Navigates backward in navigation history

Action name: NavigateBack

Default bindings:

"Alt+Left"
"Backspace"

Navigate forward

Navigates forward in navigation history

Action name: NavigateForward

Default bindings:

"Alt+Right"

Navigate up

Navigates up one directory

Action name: NavigateUp

Default bindings:

"Alt+Up"

Navigate home

Navigates to the home page

Action name: NavigateHome

Other

Duplicate tab

Duplicates the current tab

Action name: DuplicateCurrentTab

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+K"

Close tabs to the left

Closes tabs to the left of the current tab

Action name: CloseTabsToTheLeftCurrent

Close tabs to the right

Closes tabs to the right of the current tab

Action name: CloseTabsToTheRightCurrent

Close other tabs

Closes other tabs

Action name: CloseOtherTabsCurrent

Close all tabs

Closes all tabs including the current tab

Action name: CloseAllTabs

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+W"

Open folder in new pane

Opens selected folder in a new pane

Action name: OpenDirectoryInNewPane

Open folder in new tab

Opens selected folder in a new tab

Action name: OpenDirectoryInNewTab

Open folder in new window

Opens selected folder in a new window

Action name: OpenInNewWindowItem

Reopen closed tab

Reopens the last closed tab

Action name: ReopenClosedTab

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+T"

Move to the previous tab

Switches focus to the previous tab

Action name: PreviousTab

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+Tab"

Move to the next tab

Switches focus to the next tab

Action name: NextTab

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Tab"

Close tab

Closes the current tab

Action name: CloseSelectedTab

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+W"
"Ctrl+F4"

Add horizontal pane

Opens a new pane arranged horizontally

Action name: AddHorizontalPane

Default bindings:

"Alt+Shift+H"

Add vertical pane

Opens a new pane arranged vertically

Action name: AddVerticalPane

Default bindings:

"Alt+Shift+V"

Arrange panes horizontally

Arranges open panes horizontally

Action name: ArrangePanesHorizontally

Arrange panes vertically

Arranges open panes vertically

Action name: ArrangePanesVertically

Close active pane

Closes the active new pane

Action name: CloseActivePane

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Alt+W"

Focus other pane

Switches focus to the non active pane

Action name: FocusOtherPane

Default bindings:

"Ctrl+Shift+Right"

Play

Play media files

Plays the selected media files

Action name: PlayAll

Git

Fetch

Runs git fetch

Action name: GitFetch

Init

Initializes the current folder as a Git repository

Action name: GitInit

Pull

Runs git pull

Action name: GitPull

Push

Runs git push

Action name: GitPush

Sync

Runs git pull and then git push

Action name: GitSync