Keyboard shortcut to hide/show Explorer navigation

Question

Does Windows Explorer in Windows 7 have a keyboard shortcut that hides or shows the navigation pane?

It's pretty annoying each time to click Organize|Layout|Navigation pane...

Answer 1

I don't believe there is a keyboard shortcut (I just tried all the ctrl/alt + alphabet keys, and none of them opened the navigation pane)

Answer 2

In Windows 8.1 (maybe Windows 8 & 7 too, one needs to verify this), you can add the Navigation Pane option to the Quick Access Toolbar. You can then use the Alt+{NumberKey} shortcut followed by the Enter key to show/hide the Navigation Pane.

For example: in my case, the Navigation Pane icon is the third item in the Quick Access Toolbar, so I would press Alt+3 and then Enter to turn the pane on/off.

This has improved my workflow tremendously. Hope it helps you too.

HowTo: Configure

1. open Windows File Explorer
2. right-click View tab
3. right-click Navigation Pane toolbar button
4. click Add to Quick Access Toolbar menu item

Screen Shots

Figure1: Right-Click Menu

Figure2: Quick Access Toolbar with Navigation Pane

Related Notes

With respect to the Quick Access Toolbar, it is important to note that:

• Shortcuts are assigned left to right. For example, with reference to Figure2:
  • Alt+1 = show properties
  • Alt+2 = create new folder
  • Alt+3 = show/hide Navigation Pane
• Shortcuts only work with the number keys at the top of a QWERTY keyboard. They do not work with the number pad number keys.

Answer 3

Here is how I do it:

1) Alt+D (puts the focus in the Address bar, so works wherever it was before)

2) Tab, Tab

3) Space

4) L

5) N

This is optimized for speed of typing; you can save a Tab if you use Ctrl+E or Ctrl+F to put the focus in the search box instead.

If you've just opened the window, three presses of Tab will get you to the Organize button in step 3.

Answer 4

here is a autohotkey script

Win+A toggles the navi pane

/*
Author:  
Date:    
Contact: 
*/

#NoTrayIcon
#Persistent
#NoEnv
#SingleInstance, Force

#IfWinActive ahk_class CabinetWClass
#a::
Send !d{tab}{tab}{enter}ln

Answer 5

Here is how I do it:

1) Shift + Tab

2) Shift + Tab

3) ↓

4) L

5) N

Hope this helps!

Answer 6

I can toggle the preview pane in Windows 10 by typing (with the Explorer window focussed): Alt V N Enter

Note that Alt is a separate keypress to go into the mode where you navigate the ribbon by keyboard.

Answer 7

you may want to record an action and script it. you and use autohotkey to execute that script with a keyboard shortcut. http://www.autohotkey.com/

Answer 8

Here is a macro in PhraseExpress (freely available here):

{#shift {#tab}}{#sleep 500}{#shift {#tab}}{#sleep 500}{#down}{#sleep 500}l{#sleep 500}n

Note: sleep 500 makes it more stable.

Answer 9

Not a direct answer, but you can hide the navigation pane in one folder, and apply this setting for all folders. You will now have to manually enable the navigation pane each time you want to use it.

Here's how:

1. Open Folder Options via the Tools menu (ALT-T, O)
2. Select "View" tab
3. Press "Apply to Folders"

Answer 10

Very good thread. I wanted a folder with just icons that allows me to launch programs or folder locations of interest. I think I'm there. Here are keys:

1. Under folder options, view tab, click "Restore previous folder windows at logon"

   • so once I have folder set up the way I want, I just leave open when I logoff and it gets restored on next logon. Thus, I turn off navigation panel and it comes back with it off.

2. To launch new folders in separate window (and just new ones), in shortcut target use the following:

   %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,/e, "Path to folder you want to start-in"
   

   So, if I want to open a explorer in the D: drive I use

   %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,/e, D:\
   

Now I set-up all the shortcuts in my key folder this way and they launch in a separate window, yet all other times when I double click on folder location they don't create separate window.

Answer 11

I can't see any keyboard shortcuts (apart from OGR's answer), but there is a plugin which adds a Navigation Pane button to the Windows Explorer bar, which at least makes it quicker to toggle.

Details here: Toggle the Navigation Pane with a Button in Windows Explorer

Answer 12

Yes, it's not very well thought out on Microsoft's behalf.

If I have a folder on my desktop which contains JUST shortcut to programs that do say "audio" work. When I open the folder I just want to see icons, not the navigation pane.

If I make it vanish for that folder, then the next time I open explorer (say to look at my PC folder structure) it's gone from there also.

Windows 7 should remember whether or not the navigation pane was enabled on a "per folder" basis, or AT THE VERY LEAST, provide a quick shortcut key to display or hide it.

Piss poor if you ask me.

The navigation pane takes up a lot of space, and people who like their folders and work areas looking "just right" won't be very please at this omission. In this respect, the old explorer worked a lot better. (Even if it did forget the layout for ALL of your folders from time to time!). This one doesn't even have options to remember your folder layout with respect to the navigation pane. Probably why M$ couldn't be bothered to fix the original problem with it, electing to just ommit it from future versions instead.

Answer 13

You could use ctrl+F which will open the pane and then switch to navigation tab, but creating a macro sounds easiest.

Answer 14

Not the answer to the question about Windows 7 but in Windows 10:

Alt+D, Alt, V, N, Enter

Answer 15

Toggle on/off:

Like the 1st method but we go one step further and add the actual toggle option to the quick-access toolbar and not the actual menu button, so all that is needed is a simple left-click of the mouse button:

-> Select the drop-down-arrow to list the options under "Navigation Pane" -> right-click "Navigation Pane" -> Add to quick-access toolbar

Voilla!