"Up" Keyboard Shortcut for Windows Vista Explorer
The new Explorer window in Windows Vista doesn't have an Up button, which drives me completely batty. Thankfully I found a keyboard shortcut replacement.
Let's say I'm in my x:\wpmu\wp-content directory. Sure, I can usually click the "wpmu" part of the path and simulate the Up button, but it doesn't always work, especially if I've lowered the size of the window or tiled two windows beside each other.
This window is 600px wide, shouldn't I have an easier way to go Up? Turns out I do… if I just hit the following key combination:
Alt+Up
Ahhh, so much better… now I'm in the parent directory!
Note that this is also the quickest way to get to the Desktop folder… just keep hitting Alt+Up until you get to the right folder.
Other interesting keyboard shortcuts for Explorer:
- Alt+Right - Go forward
- Alt+Left- Go back
- Alt+D - Focus the address bar and select the current path.
- F4 - Pop up the dropdown in the address bar, actually somewhat useful.
- Alt+Enter - Properties of the selected file
- Ctrl+Mousewheel - change the size of the icons
- F11 - Put explorer into Fullscreen mode. Actually kinda weird, and I have no idea why this function is even there.
Enjoy!
… or just click the double less than sign on the left of folder name and from the menu go where ever you want. I know its one click more (and I personally prefer keyboard shortcuts anytime over the mouse clicks) but there is still a way to do this with mouse.
ALT+F11 triggers full-screen because Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer share the same core engine.
And full-screen is useful (sometimes) when browsing.
Wow nice ones. Explorer is a key component and having those under my belt would definitely boost my productivity.
So pressing "Backspace" as a shortcut for "up" will not work in Vista? Sad, that's one of the few shortcuts I really often use…
Actually the Backspace key is a shortcut for Back, which does not necessarily mean Up.
In most cases you can probably use the backspace key, but if you are expecting to always go Up, you'll be disappointed. Isn't that the same way it worked on XP ?
F11 puts Internet Explorer into kiosk mode… since windows explorer shares the same code, I'm sure this is just a carry over.
Handy when you're working with deep directories and lots of files… but otherwise useless for most mortals.
Damn… aren't those keyboard shortcuts since…. forever?
Anyway… anyone here seen Total Commander?
Why the hell is there still no keyboard shortcut to create new folders? I've wanted this forever. There is a flashy "New Folder" command under the Organize menu, but you can't get there without using a mouse.
And another one that drives me crazy is the new file replace dialog that pops up when you copy files that already exist. You used to be able to hit 'y' or 'a' (for 'Yes' or 'All') and have it overwrite files without using the mouse. The new dialog makes you click the "Do this for the next [n] conflicts" checkbox and then the Replace button. Argh!
Erm.. most of these have been around for a while, at least in XP if not long before.
Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Alt-D, F4, F11 and Alt-Enter.
You could also use Backspc to go Up.. try it. If it doesn't work in Vista, and only Alt-Up works, then that's pretty dumb of Microsoft.. why replace a one key shortcut with a two-key combo?
Also, in XP you can use F6 as well as Alt-D. Give it a try.
Ctrl-mousewheel, on the other hand, sounds like a nifty new Vista feature!
hah! just like in mac osx! (cmd + up) equals (alt+ up) in my pc keyboard.
by the way, it's horrible to find out that the default key for going up in windows explorer (backspace) behaves erratically, sometimes it works ok, and others it just works as a "back" key
The backspace key has never been the "Up" key, even in XP. It was always "Back", which may mean up sometimes, but only because you went down a folder right before, so back would logically mean back…
I just double checked the Backspace-Key behaviour on my German WinXP SP2 machine. When I jump to a completely different dir (via Link) and press the backspace key, my explorer always shows the new dir's parent dir and never the dir it showed before. Therefore I dare to say, the backspace key acts as an UP-Key.
Greetings,
SuAlfons
The Geek - that is not quite accurate. In IE Backspace is back. in Explorer, Backspace is indeed the shortcut for go to parent.
From My Computer, open the folder list, expand c:\, c:\windows, c:\windows\temp, then click directly on c:\windows\temp, then focus on the panel with all the files, and hit backspace.
You will end up at c:\windows and not My Computer.
I just tested, and you guys are definitely correct about XP… I guess I haven't used it in a while. =)
In Vista, the backspace button is definitely tied to Back.
What about the sequence of holding down the Ctrl-key and then clicking the Up button in XP which would open a new file explorer window so you could move files around and do other stuff conveniently?
Or better yet holding down the Ctrl-key and double-clicking a folder which would open a new file explorer window with that folder's content?
I loved that feature. Now i can't seem to figure out a way to mimic it in Vista. Instead I have to go open a new explorer window from scratch, cut & paste the file path out of the toolbar of the original window and into the new window, then navigate to the parent folder or whatever folder i'm trying to view side-by-side. It's a big step backwards. Any ideas?
I have had Vista for two weeks. Every day I have tried to find a way to go up or back or new folder easily and quickly or add buttons to the toolbar - why is that ability to add buttons removed - idiots involved somewhere. This ALT thing helps relieve my stress though…
Although It sound really better: "Alt + Back" to go Back and "Alt + Up" to go up, but I really preferred to use the old style; Backspace as UP. I really liked it, simply one key, and I can't understand, why they've changed Backspace's behavior.
Maybe to make it like IE, as Kenny said. Actually I can't remember if this combination worked on XP (Alt + Up = UP).
Anyway I'm so happy founding something for UP at last.
Thanks All.
Actually Alt-UP does not always change to the parent directory in Vista.
When you have a shortcut to a directory (e.g. c:\Data\pics) on your Desktop and then open this directory and then use Alt-UP, where do you end up?
Not in c:\Data but in …\Desktop !
Rather annoying. No way to go to the real parent dir when opened from a shortcut.
Ernie, are you sure?
I just tried it, it is not like this !!
When you create a shortcut for a folder (like "c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office" on your desktop) and open it, then the ALT+UP ends in "c:\Program Files\", where it should.
I used to have backspace mapped to my left thumb button on my intellimouse, and shift on the right button. I shift click a lot of stuff, which in IE opened in a new window (now ctrl for new tab) and such, then backspace was good for folder browsing. Backspace, of course, worked as back in IE, and shift+backspace worked as forward, so I ended up with all the original functionality plus shift on my mouse, bonus. In one of the Intelimouse software versions they removed shift and backspace from the menus, so I always stuck with 4.0. Now, in Vista, you can map the shift key to the mouse fine, but not backspace, but as we've seen it still wouldn't solve my issue. They did add a key sequence option, which you can put alt + up in, and it seems like it would work, but it doesn't, it still does "back" functionality such as backspace.
@Azad : Thanks for your comment, that made me check once more.
Now I can reproduce 2 different behaviors!
Behavior 1: If I create the shortcut by dragging the folder icon to the desktop while pressing Ctrl-Shift, then it behaves like I explained above, Alt-UP goes to the Desktop folder.
Behavior 2: If I create the shortcut by right-click folder/create shortcut, then Alt-UP works as expected, goes to parent folder.
Weird, there seem to be 2 different types of shortcuts in Vista! (Also right-click shortcut/Properties looks totally different)
Wooow, very strange!!
You are absolutely right, and look at this:
C:\Users\Azad\Desktop>dir cc*
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 6C83-F3A9
Directory of C:\Users\Azad\Desktop
07/19/2007 08:25 PM ccna - Shortcut
07/19/2007 08:26 PM 354 ccna - Shortcut.lnk
The one which is created by dragging while Ctrl+Shift is pressed is a DIRECTORY!!!! not a link!!
I can't remembe if it was like this on XP or not, any idea?
Ernie, another point:
Look at the address bar when you open a shortcut which is created with Ctrl+Shift,
It is like this: C:\Users\Azad\Desktop\ccna - Shortcut,
It seems that this is really a simulated directory, not a shortcut.
Also the label of action (the hint) when trying to drag while Ctrl+Shitf is pressed, is "Create a LINK" where as the menu says: "create a shortcut"
I think these have two different meanings, but again I can't remember if we had such different concepts on XP too.
Azad wrote:
> I can't remembe if it was like this on XP or not, any idea?
I remember exactly as I am still using XP on my other machine:
On XP the behavior was different, there was only one type of shortcut, no matter how it was created. It always behaved like the type 2 I mentioned above.
A lot of these funtions are not just in Vista, they are in XP, the only one that is Vista only Ctrl+Mousewheel - change the size of the icons
I agree with Ernie, at last Alt+UP doesn't work in XP. I tried.
Alt+D actually doesen't work on German Windowsvista because Alt+D opens the German "File" Menu (German: "&Datei").
Doublepress F4 to open and close the Adressbardropdownmenu instead
Heh, I haven't used the up function in a long time because the way I browse through Explorer folders means the back button goes to the parent folder. I rarely, if ever, follow shortcuts or anything else that would result in the back button not going to the parent folder. Anyways, keyboard shortcuts are always nice to know.
The Ctrl+Mousewheel trick also works on the Vista desktop to resize icons, which can be really handy when you first install Vista and have the HUGE icons that take up the entire desktop.
Thanks!!
Well… Up button was return http://mavisapps.com/up-button/
How incredibly stupid is it that one needs to install a $5 program to get functionality that was standard since windows 1.0 (..) and has been a standard part of every filemanagaer for PalmOs, Windows Mobile, Apple, every Linux and basically any other gui around?
My theory:
Since the "genuine user validation tool" microsoft just makes too much money, so they hire to many people who think they can make things even better. In an open source community Vista would just be called Xp 1.1… Or even "alternate shell version for the beginning user". I just hope Linux catches up with the drivers for my hardware really fast…
ALT+UP is not available on XP or is it… any ideas?
I've only been using Vista for two days now, but the lack of an up button really, really bugs me. I didn't know how much I used it.
But thank you for finding the keyboard shortcut.
Another really-bugs-me issue:
a - Lack of the "file size" column when using search. I know I can add it on a per search basis, but I cannot figure out how to make this column show up every time I do a search.
b - Having the "Authors" and "Tags" columns in the search. I never need those and I would love to get rid of them.
For keyboard shortcut to create a new folder in XP, there's a small app call mdaxel: http://biglasagne.webpark.pl/projects.html
@ John L.
there is a shortcut to open a new window of the same folder you're in - ctrl+N
it used to be for a new folder, but now they don't have one…
Thanz a lot for the "up" keyboard shortcut…..Vista was driving me nuts without the up button in explorer ……
If you want a Free Up-Button see http://www.howtogeek.com/howto.....utton-too/
You also get tabs in Vista Explorer.