Forum Discussion
Windows explorer bug: renaming files highlights file name while editing, removing entire name
This has been a problem for several years with Windows explorer.
If you work decently fast editing a file name, either by clicking on it or pressing F2, and then start typing immediately, Explorer automatically selects the whole name after about a second. This is really annoying since it removes the entire name if you're typing when this happens.
This has been annoying on Windows 11, and I feel like Windows 10 did it too... maybe even back to Windows 8? (Re: Renaming files: annoying automatic re-selection of entire filename - Microsoft Community)
Yeah, it is one of the annoying issues to be fixed.
If you keep trying over the course of several seconds, Explorer eventually lets you place the cursor in the filename. But, yes, this is ridiculous. I've resorted to right-click > Properties and changing the name in the General tab.
February 2025 and all is still not well.
Nothing yet? Any real suppor tticket started yet? Link please? Can't find one.
Thank you!A one second wait to rename each file or folder may not seem important, but compound this with millions of users globally and Microsoft has introduced a worldwide wastage of man hours.
Same here on a spanking new Windows 11 PC. It is definitely related to backup software. I have encountered the same with (individually) each of Google Drive, Dropbox, Synology Drive, and ONEDRIVE! But all Microsoft official solutions blame all other software but their own, while ignoring that this is a Windows problem and has been for over 10 years! I'm beginning to understand why so many of my tech friends have jumped over to Linux.
- Confirmed as an issue as of today. Extremely annoying!
Same bug in Windows 11 as of April 2023. I saw this to a lesser extent in Windows 10 too. Different laptop, different OS. Come on MS. Acknowledge it. However in my case, after this bug occurs a few times, the problem fixes itself.
I may have a workaround - try putting a space at the end of the file name. It seems to let me edit it if there is a space at the end. Let me know if this works for you. Murray
- I am having the exact same issue here and it is getting really annoying! Using F2, the arrows as well as Home key. I tried everything, from being faster or slower, using the contextual menu to rename, etc ... to not avail.
Searching the web, I found posts of people using Dropbox having the same issue and the suggestion is that this has something to do with syncing, so I paused syncing, and lo and behold, the problem was gone. Well, sort of, because now it is not syncing of course. My suggestion to you would therefore to pause syncing if you have several files to rename and restart it when done. The best solution though would be that Microsoft fixes this.- 1.5 years later, this is still a problem. But today, I *would* tell you that you have no idea how much you have improved my life - but you do know. Thank you.
Pausing OneDrive syncing worked for me! thank you
