| name | File Explorer |
| description | Searching, opening, moving, copying, renaming, and deleting files and folders in Windows File Explorer. |
| publisher | H Company |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| source_url | https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec |
| license | Vendor docs |
File Explorer is a tabbed file browser with a left navigation pane (Home, Gallery, OneDrive, This PC, Network, and pinned Quick access folders), a main pane that shows the current folder, a command bar / ribbon at the top (New, Cut, Copy, Paste, Rename, Share, Delete, Sort, View), and the address bar (breadcrumb) showing the current path — click any segment to navigate up, or click the empty area to edit the raw path. The optional details/preview pane sits on the right. The status bar at the bottom shows item count and selection size.
Shortcuts
Open and windows: Win+E opens a new File Explorer window from anywhere. Ctrl+N opens a new window of the current folder, Ctrl+W closes the current tab/window, Ctrl+T opens a new tab. Ctrl+Shift+N creates a new folder in the current directory.
Navigation: Alt+Up jumps to the parent folder. Alt+Left / Alt+Right step back/forward through visited folders. Ctrl+L (or Alt+D, or F4) focuses the address bar — type or paste an absolute path (%USERPROFILE%\Downloads, C:\Temp, a UNC path like \\server\share) and Enter to navigate. Backspace goes to the previously viewed folder. Num Lock + * expands all subfolders of the selection in the nav pane.
Views: the View menu switches between Extra large/Large/Medium/Small icons, List, Details, Tiles, and Content. Ctrl+Shift+1 through Ctrl+Shift+8 set those views directly; Ctrl+Mouse wheel scales icon size. Hidden items and file-name extensions are toggled under View → Show (no default key) — be careful, the user's machine may hide extensions by default.
Selection and inspection: arrow keys navigate within a view. Ctrl+A select all. Ctrl+Click toggles individual items into the selection; Shift+Click selects a range. Space (in the preview pane) or Alt+P toggles the preview pane; Alt+Enter opens Properties for the selection. Enter opens the selected item.
Renaming: F2 renames the selected item (Enter commits, Esc cancels). Tab while renaming moves to the next item to rename it too. Note this differs from many macOS habits — in File Explorer Enter/double-click opens, and F2 renames.
Search: Ctrl+F (or F3) focuses the search box scoped to the current folder and its subfolders. Search supports filters like kind:, date:, size:, and * wildcards.
Clipboard and destructive operations
Ctrl+C copy, Ctrl+X cut, Ctrl+V paste, Ctrl+Z undo the last file operation (move/rename/delete), Ctrl+Y redo. Unlike some platforms, Ctrl+X is a real cut — the source is removed once you paste.
Delete moves the selection to the Recycle Bin (reversible: open the Recycle Bin and Restore, or Ctrl+Z immediately after). Shift+Delete deletes immediately, bypassing the Recycle Bin — Irreversible. Files on network drives, USB sticks, and OneDrive "online-only" items often bypass the Recycle Bin too — treat Delete on those as Irreversible and confirm first.
Drag-to-move within the same drive is a move (reversible with Ctrl+Z immediately after); drag-to-move across drives is a copy by default (hold Shift while dragging to force a move). Paste over a file with the same name shows a "Replace / Skip / Keep both" prompt — never click "Replace the file in the destination" without confirming with the user.
Rename is reversible only with Ctrl+Z immediately after; once focus moves away, the old name is gone unless tracked by File History or a Previous Version. For rename operations the user might want to undo later, confirm via answer first.
Forbidden paths
Some places are off-limits regardless of the task. If the user's request points at one of these, explain the boundary and ask them to handle it directly:
%USERPROFILE%\.ssh\ — SSH keys and known_hosts
%USERPROFILE%\.aws\, %APPDATA%\gcloud\, %USERPROFILE%\.kube\ — cloud credentials
C:\Windows\, C:\Windows\System32\, C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ — system files
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Credentials\, %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Crypto\ — Windows credential and key stores
- Password-manager databases (1Password, KeePass
.kdbx, Bitwarden vault files)
- Browser cookie stores, "Login Data", and "Local State" files under
%LOCALAPPDATA%\...\User Data\
Reading anything under these paths is also off-limits unless the user explicitly asked for it and Holo can name a concrete, benign reason.
Verification
After a move/copy/rename, the file actually appears at the new location, opens in the expected app, or shows the new name. A successful drag without visible confirmation has lied to agents before — refresh with F5 and check the destination folder reflects the change before reporting success. For OneDrive folders, the per-file status icon (green check vs syncing arrows vs cloud) tells you whether the change has actually synced.
Sources
Microsoft's Windows keyboard shortcuts reference: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec