How can I disable Full Row Select in Win Explorer?

[Char Jackson]

In Message-ID: <[email protected]> earlier this
year, Bruce Hagen suggested the following method of disabling Full Row
Select in Windows 7's Windows Explorer:

How to Disable Full Row Select in Explorer in Windows 7?
<http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/disable-full-row-select-explorer-windows-7/>

Unfortunately, this solution doesn't go all the way to restoring the
Explorer functionality that existed in XP. Does anyone have a better
solution? Specifically, I want only the actual filename (or folder
name) to be selectable. I don't want the whole row to be selectable,
nor do I want the whole width of the Name field to be selectable.

I've tried several solutions already, but so far none have been able
to limit the selection to just the text within the Name field.

Do I need to switch to another file manager to get this basic
functionality?

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Char.

An inelegant solution that works for copying a filename: Tell Explorer to
Rename the file. Then the filename will be selected; you may want to extend
the selection to include the extension. Use the mouse - or <Ctrl>+C - to
copy the filename to the clipboard and paste it wherever you like.

As I said: Inelegant. But it works for me. ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2011 (Build 15.4.3538.0513) in Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1


"Char Jackson" wrote in message


In Message-ID: <[email protected]> earlier this
year, Bruce Hagen suggested the following method of disabling Full Row
Select in Windows 7's Windows Explorer:

How to Disable Full Row Select in Explorer in Windows 7?
<http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/disable-full-row-select-explorer-windows-7/>

Unfortunately, this solution doesn't go all the way to restoring the
Explorer functionality that existed in XP. Does anyone have a better
solution? Specifically, I want only the actual filename (or folder
name) to be selectable. I don't want the whole row to be selectable,
nor do I want the whole width of the Name field to be selectable.

I've tried several solutions already, but so far none have been able
to limit the selection to just the text within the Name field.

Do I need to switch to another file manager to get this basic
functionality?

 

[Retroman]

[snip]
I've tried several solutions already, but so far none have been able
to limit the selection to just the text within the Name field.

Do I need to switch to another file manager to get this basic
functionality?

Char, a few points:

Even though the whole row is selected, only the file is copied.

With one row selected, pressing F2 selects only the name, not the
extension. At that point you can copy or edit the name.

To copy complete filenames as text, press and hold the Shift key and
right-click on the selected file(s). Now choose "Copy as Path". That
copies the full path of the file(s).

Doug M. in NJ

 

[Char Jackson]

"Char Jackson" wrote in message


In Message-ID: <[email protected]> earlier this
year, Bruce Hagen suggested the following method of disabling Full Row
Select in Windows 7's Windows Explorer:

How to Disable Full Row Select in Explorer in Windows 7?
<http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/disable-full-row-select-explorer-windows-7/>

Unfortunately, this solution doesn't go all the way to restoring the
Explorer functionality that existed in XP. Does anyone have a better
solution? Specifically, I want only the actual filename (or folder
name) to be selectable. I don't want the whole row to be selectable,
nor do I want the whole width of the Name field to be selectable.

I've tried several solutions already, but so far none have been able
to limit the selection to just the text within the Name field.

Do I need to switch to another file manager to get this basic
functionality?

Thanks for the reply, R.C., but that's not what I'm looking for.

With Windows Explorer in Details view, the default behavior is Full
Row Select, meaning you can click anywhere along the row, in any part
of any field, to make a selection. I found some hacks that claim to
fix that behavior, but so far none have fully accomplished the job.
The best I've found are hacks that 'turn off' every field except the
Name field, but the entire Name field remains live. I want the white
space between the last character of the filename and the right edge of
the Name field to be dead space, as it was in XP's Explorer. That
makes a very convenient place to be able to left-click to deselect all
files, or right-click to bring up the context menu.

If you Google 'disable full row select' you'll find a nearly endless
series of complaints about this odd new post-XP behavior, but no easy
way to turn it off. There was a single-key Registry hack that did the
trick in Vista, but it doesn't work in Win 7.

 

[Char Jackson]

[snip]
I've tried several solutions already, but so far none have been able
to limit the selection to just the text within the Name field.

Do I need to switch to another file manager to get this basic
functionality?

Char, a few points:

Even though the whole row is selected, only the file is copied.

With one row selected, pressing F2 selects only the name, not the
extension. At that point you can copy or edit the name.

To copy complete filenames as text, press and hold the Shift key and
right-click on the selected file(s). Now choose "Copy as Path". That
copies the full path of the file(s).

Doug M. in NJ

Thanks, Doug. That's not what I'm looking for. Please see my reply to
R.C. White. I'd like to regain the functionality I currently have with
XP's Windows Explorer.

 

[Retroman]

Thanks, Doug. That's not what I'm looking for. Please see my reply to
R.C. White. I'd like to regain the functionality I currently have with
XP's Windows Explorer.

I want the white space between the last character of the filename
and the right edge of the Name field to be dead space, as it was in
XP's Explorer. That makes a very convenient place to be able to
left-click to deselect all files, or right-click to bring up the context menu.

You're welcome but I don't feel that significant functionality has been
lost. You can deselect files by pressing the Tab, Home, or End keys, and
the context menu is still available. But I understand that old habits die
hard....

Doug M. in NJ

 

[Char Jackson]

You're welcome but I don't feel that significant functionality has been
lost. You can deselect files by pressing the Tab, Home, or End keys, and
the context menu is still available. But I understand that old habits die
hard....

I feel that significant functionality has been lost and there doesn't
appear to be an easy way to regain it.

 

[Clog_-_wog (®)]

I feel that significant functionality has been lost and there doesn't
appear to be an easy way to regain it.

Maybe this is useful for you!
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/features.html
[q]
Classic Explorer
Classic Explorer is a plugin for Windows Explorer that:
Adds a toolbar to Explorer for some common operations (Go to parent folder,
Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Properties, Email). The toolbar is fully
customizable
Replaces the copy UI in Vista and Windows 7 with the more user-friendly
"classic" version similar to Windows XP
Handles Alt+Enter in the folder panel of Windows Explorer and shows the
properties of the selected folder
Has options for customizing the folder panel to look more like the Windows
XP version or to not fade the expand buttons
Can show the free disk space and the total file size in the status bar
Can disable the breadcrumbs in the address bar
Fixes a long list of features that are broken in Windows 7 - missing icon
overlay for shared folders, the jumping folders in the navigation pane,
missing sorting headers in list view, and more
[q/]

 

[Char Jackson]

I feel that significant functionality has been lost and there doesn't
appear to be an easy way to regain it.

Maybe this is useful for you!
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/features.html
[q]
Classic Explorer
Classic Explorer is a plugin for Windows Explorer that:
Adds a toolbar to Explorer for some common operations (Go to parent folder,
Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Properties, Email). The toolbar is fully
customizable
Replaces the copy UI in Vista and Windows 7 with the more user-friendly
"classic" version similar to Windows XP
Handles Alt+Enter in the folder panel of Windows Explorer and shows the
properties of the selected folder
Has options for customizing the folder panel to look more like the Windows
XP version or to not fade the expand buttons
Can show the free disk space and the total file size in the status bar
Can disable the breadcrumbs in the address bar
Fixes a long list of features that are broken in Windows 7 - missing icon
overlay for shared folders, the jumping folders in the navigation pane,
missing sorting headers in list view, and more
[q/]

Thanks, but I'm already using Classic Shell and while it does fix a
lot of the shortcomings, it doesn't seem to do anything about this
specific annoyance.