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1

Does anyone know if it's possible to change a setting so that the full file name is selected when you rename a file in Windows 7? (i.e. to match the behavior in Windows XP).

Currently it doesn't select the extension, so I have to do it manually.

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1  
Why do you need this? How many times do you want to change the extension when renaming? –  ChrisF Mar 1 '10 at 14:02
    
Yes, so was I... It was a welcome & long overdue feature, but you knew once is was implemented, that someone would be hankering for the 'good old days'... On the rare occasion where you change the extension, is it too much trouble to press CTRL-A (or use the mouse)? –  CJM Mar 1 '10 at 14:18
6  
I actually rename extensions all the time at work (i.e. working with multiple copies of a file, .bak, .bakorig, .bakphase2, etc) so I can work with multiple file versions with automated processes and have the process pick up only the version I'm currently testing. –  BBlake Mar 1 '10 at 14:36
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I'm a developer and basically spend a lot of my time renaming files-in particular changing the extension or copying the filename (by pressing F2 then Ctrl-C). I agree it is a good feature for most users, but in my case more of a hindrance. –  John Sibly Mar 1 '10 at 14:37
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I wanted to do the opposite, which is to rename files in WinXP like Win7, and the answers may be useful for you: superuser.com/questions/102104/… –  Mehper C. Palavuzlar Mar 1 '10 at 14:44

2 Answers 2

up vote 8 down vote accepted

Well, sure, if you're willing to go third-party.

#IfWinActive, ahk_class CabinetWClass
F2::Send {F2}^a
#IfWinActive

In the AutoHotKey scripting language. If you, for whatever reason, don't want to/can't install autohotkey, give me a shout in the comments and I'll compile a script containing that so it can run on it's own (and should not have any requirements such as .net)

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Thanks for the advice-this does the trick. I'm sure AutoHotKey could be useful solving a number of other issues as well! –  John Sibly Mar 2 '10 at 14:53
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@John; Autohotkey is something I adore unreservedly. I'm fairly sure there's very little it can't do. –  Phoshi Mar 2 '10 at 15:36
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Great fix! Interestingly, this selects the full filename, but leaves the cursor just before the extension itself. You could do "end" before "control+A" to get it to put the cursor at the end first. Not sure if I'll need that, but just glad to have this fix! –  James Jun 20 '13 at 14:06
up vote 0 down vote

If you are not positive that you will want to rename the whole thing more often than not (or even if you just don't want to mess with anything, can remember, and can do it fast enough), just type Ctrl + a after you start editing and before you start typing the filename. It's barely any work at all since you're going to type in a new filename anyway.

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protected by Community♦ Jun 3 '11 at 18:54

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