Keyboard shortcut for selecting multiple objects. Correct selection of files in a folder

Few people know that the keyboard is almost as good as a mouse in terms of functionality for selecting files. If you only have a working keyboard at your disposal, you can easily work with files, including copying them, installing them, and much more. This time we will tell you how to select several files using the keyboard, both in a row and not in a row. Do you know how to do this without using a mouse?

Selecting multiple files simultaneously using the keyboard

Select all files at once using the keyboard

Ctrl+A(Latin) - select all files on the page at once.

Use the keyboard to select consecutive files

1. Press and hold Shift.

2. Clicking the arrows Right And Left at the same time with Shift, you will select files one at a time next to the originally selected file.

3. Pressing keys Up And Down at the same time with Shift, you will select entire lines of files in a row.

4. Pressing keys PageUp And PageDown at the same time with Shift, you will be highlighting entire pages of files.

Use the keyboard to select different files that are not consecutive

1. Press and hold the key Ctrl on the first file you need to highlight.

2. Use the arrows to move the cursor between files. They won't stand out.

3. When the cursor is on the next file you want to highlight, hold down Ctrl, press Space.It will be highlighted and you can continue to move the cursor and highlight the files you need. Clicking Space on a selected file, you deselect it. Thus, pressing this key is equivalent to clicking the left mouse button.

Here are some simple techniques for selecting files (including photos, videos, etc.) using the keyboard, without using the mouse. With their help, you can speed up your work on a computer, especially a laptop, when it is inconvenient to use the touchpad and there is no room for a mouse. Still have questions? Write them in the comments and we will answer you promptly!


A vote for a post is a plus for karma! :)

Windows often offers multiple ways to perform the same function. For example, to select files and folders for copying or moving, we found 5 different ways. These are the ways to select files: set the selection field with the mouse, select files in a folder using the mouse and special keys, select files and folders using keyboard shortcuts and using checkboxes.

1. Set the selection box using the mouse

Do you need to select a group of files?

Open the folder with the files you need. This method is convenient to use if files are displayed in tile mode. Although this also works in other modes. In Tile mode, files are displayed as icons.

To select several adjacent files, left-click on an empty area near the first file and, without releasing the button, drag the mouse down and to the right.

You will see that a sort of rubber rectangle appears that stretches. Drag this rectangle around other files to select them.

Or like this:

2. How to select a group of files with the mouse using service buttons on the keyboard

One hand is on the mouse and the other is on the keyboard. Using the keys, you can hold down Ctrl, add files one by one or by holding Shift, select a group of several files at once.

To select a series of files, select one file or icon. Then, while holding Shift, click another icon in the same folder to select it and everything in between.

To select multiple items, hold Ctrl, click on multiple files or folders to select or deselect them.

you can use Ctrl to change the set of selected objects. If you used Shift or the selection box to select the first five files in a folder, you can hold Ctrl, allocate additional files without losing the originally allocated items.

Be careful: when dragging files with the pressed Ctrl you will copy all files.

3. How to select files using the keyboard

Holding Ctrl, navigate through files using the up and down arrow buttons. When the colored rectangle surrounds the file you want, press Spacebar to highlight it.

Or, to select multiple files in succession, use the arrow buttons to find the first file, then hold Shift, expand the selection using the arrow buttons. After this you can even use Ctrl to select and deselect individual files.

Keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A will select all files.

4. Select files using a template or mask

In the Search window in the upper right corner of the window Conductor Enter a selection pattern to filter the list and show only the files that match it.

File templates typically contain regular characters (letters and numbers) along with special characters. For example, a question mark (?) means any single character. And the asterisk (*) is any number of characters, respectively.

For example, enter *.txt to show only files with the extension .txt, or v??. to show files of any type whose names begin with v and which have three letters in the file name.

Explorer will only show files that match the entered pattern; at this point you can press Ctrl+A to select them all.

This is generally much faster - not to mention more accurate - than trying to highlight files manually.

Templates in Windows 7

In Windows 7, there are much more search specifications. for example, it became simple:

  • Find files containing various criteria in any order - enter into the search bar in Explorer Pineapple juice
  • Find files containing the exact phrase - enter this phrase in quotes " Pineapple juice«
  • Find files with at least one of the search criteria: pineapple OR orange OR pistachio
  • Exclude search term pineapples NOT bananas
  • United operators (pineapples OR pistachios) AND (almonds OR hazelnuts) NOT cashews
  • Search only file names, not file contents: name: sparkling
  • Search by file name extension: *.jpg

And a few words about using file templates in Total Commander. For those who are “not in the know”, I will only say that this is an alternative file manager, very popular, although paid. I won’t describe its capabilities here - it would be a whole book! And I’ll tell you about one convenient way to search and highlight certain types of files.

Look at the screenshot to see what selection methods are available:

Selection according to a given pattern

Press the + key on the number pad (it's on the right). It is also designated Gray+ or Num+. Or select one of the selection commands (Select Group / Deselect Group) from the menu Selection. Then in the dialog that appears, enter the file type you need (for example, *.txt). You can also specify multiple file types that should be highlighted, and even file types that don't need to be highlighted! They should be separated by the vertical bar symbol "|".

Example 1:w*.*|*.bak *.old — select all files that start with w and do not end with .bak or .old.

Example 2: |*.exe- select all files except programs.

Select by extension

Having selected the file with the extension you need, press the keyboard shortcut Alt+Num+(or Alt+Num –) to select all files with the same extension in the current panel or, accordingly, deselect these files.

5. Selecting files with checkboxes in Windows 7

If you are holding a laptop with one hand on the road, then selecting files is quite difficult. In Explorer, click the drop-down button Arrange, select Folder and search options and then enable the option Use checkboxes to select items.

Click OK, and now all files in the folder will have checkboxes. Now, in order to select a file, just check the box.

Read more about this method of selecting files.

Well, did you find anything new for yourself? Or maybe you know other ways to select files? Share in the comments!

Selecting files and folders in the operating system is one of the most common operations. The need for this operation arises when moving, archiving, objects and to obtain information about the occupied space of a selected group of files or folders. This article will look at how to select files and folders in Windows. There are several ways to select objects.

Mouse selection

This is probably the most famous method. To select folders, place the mouse cursor in an empty space of the file manager window or the Computer folder window, hold down the left mouse button and move the cursor, drawing out a rectangular area of ​​​​transparent blue color, highlighting the desired objects. Selected files and folders will be marked in blue.

Selective selection

This method is convenient because it can select files in any order. To do this you need to hold down the key and left-click on the desired objects. If a file is selected by mistake, simply click on it again to deselect it. Key in this case, you do not need to release, otherwise the selection will be removed from the already selected objects.

Sequential selection

With sequential selection, a selection is made from the initial file (folder) to the final one. For sequential selection, find the desired object, click on it with a single click of the left mouse button and hold down the key . After this, click on the final object and get a sequential selection of the required files (folders) from the first marked object to the last.

Full selection of files/folders in the window

If you need to select all files in the open file manager window, you can do this in several ways:

  1. Key combination<CTRL+A>. Hold down the key , and then all objects in the current window of the File Explorer file manager will be selected.
  2. On the File Explorer toolbar, click Arrange and select the menu item Select all.
  3. Key combination<SHIFT+END>. Single-click the left mouse button to select the first object in the window, hold down the key and, without releasing it, press the key .
  4. Key combinations<SHIFT+HOME>. Single-click the left mouse button to select the last object in the window, hold down the key and, without releasing it, press the key .

Regardless of the method, you can deselect all selected files and folders by simply clicking the left mouse button on an empty space in the file manager window.

Share.

Nowadays, we have to constantly work with a computer, solving a variety of issues, both work-related and ordinary. All work with a PC is based on interaction with files in one form or another. Every user has encountered a situation where there was a need to quickly select a large amount of items in a folder. In this article we will figure out how to simultaneously select all files in a folder or several files. Let's get started. Go!

The first way is to use a regular highlight box. Users resort to this option most often. Just hold down the left mouse button and mark a rectangular field. It's quick and easy, but very ineffective if you need to select a lot of elements.

The second option will be useful to mark several individual items scattered throughout the catalog. Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and mark each element individually. To select blocks of files, it is very convenient to use the Shift key. Keep it pressed and click on the file in the folder. After this, all folders preceding the selected element will be selected. This method allows you to quickly capture a significant number of objects. Please note that you do not need to hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys when dragging.

The third approach allows you to do without a mouse altogether, using only the keyboard. In this case, the already familiar Ctrl and Shift keys will also help. While holding down the Ctrl button, navigate through the catalog objects using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Or, after moving to the desired element, press Shift. The result will be similar to the method discussed above. To quickly mark all objects in the catalog, use the Ctrl+A key combination.

The fourth method is somewhat more complicated, however, it can also find its application. At the top right of the window there is a special search field in which you can enter parameters for selection. For example, to view all files in the “.doc” format, enter “*.doc”. If you want to display all items that start with "A" and have four letters, enter "A???". After Explorer displays all objects according to the filters you have specified, use the Ctrl+A combination. In newer versions of the Windows operating system, search capabilities have been significantly expanded. In Windows 10, you can even search for a phrase contained within a document. Also, for such filtering, you can use the following keys, in addition to those discussed above:

  • "OR". To display items that match one of the specified criteria. For example, report OR check OR list.
  • "NOT". Allows you to display everything that does not contain the specified word. (NOT report).

Please note that in one line you can combine keys with each other, thereby performing the most accurate selection.

The file type is determined by the extension in its name - several letters of the Latin alphabet to the right of the last dot. Sometimes it is necessary to copy, move or delete files only one type, leaving everything else in place. It is not very convenient to perform the required operation with each file separately, and there is no need for this - the capabilities of modern file managers allow you to select and highlight files according to various criteria, including the extension in the name.

Instructions

Standard file manager for the operating system used. If you have any version of Windows OS installed, then to launch this program just press the Win + E key combination. In the latest version of this OS (Windows 7), the file manager (Explorer) icon is pinned to the taskbar, next to the “Start” button » - you can launch the application by clicking on this icon.

Using the folder tree in the Explorer window, go to the directory that contains the items you are interested in files. In the Windows 7 file manager, there is a search field in the upper right corner of the window - it contains text that begins with the word “Search”, and then usually indicates the name of the current folder. In this field, enter the search term - , then a period and the extension corresponding to the file type you are interested in. For example, if you want to select files images in gif format, then the search query should look like this: *.gif. Immediately after entering, Explorer will begin filtering files, leaving in the window only those whose extensions match the mask you specified.

Single-click any of the filtered files to move the input focus from the search query field to the list of files. Then press Ctrl + A and Explorer will highlight this entire list containing only files necessary type.

If you are using an earlier version of the OS, you will not find fields for the search query in the Explorer window. In this case, open the “View” section in its menu and select the “Table” line - the list of files in this display mode has a “File Type” column. Click on the title of this column and files will be sorted according to their extensions. Find the first file of the group you need in the list type and click it. Then press the Shift key and, without releasing it, press the down arrow button until all the necessary files will not be highlighted.



 

It might be useful to read: