Renaming or Deleting File Folders

Written by Barry Dysert (last updated April 23, 2018)

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As you use your system more and more, you may come to wish that your folders had different names. Or you may discover that you don't need a particular folder and can therefore delete it. Renaming and deleting file folders are simple tasks in Windows.

The easiest way to rename or delete a folder is by using Windows Explorer (Windows 7) or File Explorer (Windows 8 and Windows 10). To display your version of Explorer, press the Windows key (it has the Windows logo on it) and the letter E. Navigate to the folder you wish to rename or delete. At this point there are a couple of ways you can proceed. If you want to rename the folder, you can right-click the folder and select "Rename" from the Context menu. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Renaming a folder.

The folder name will then be highlighted so that you can immediately begin typing its new name; finish by pressing Enter. The other way to rename a folder is to first select it (a single click), and then click it again. This will cause the folder name to be highlighted, and you can type its new name, finishing by pressing Enter.

Deleting a folder follows a similar pattern and can be done in either of two ways. One way is to right-click the folder and select "Delete" from the Context menu. The other way is to first select it (a single click), and then press the Delete key on the keyboard.

 This tip (12310) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

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What is eight less than 8?

2018-04-24 06:51:19

Barry

Hi Mark,

Probably the simplest way to schedule automatic folder and file deletion is to create a basic task with Task Scheduler that invokes a batch file to do it. There's another tip around here that tells how to use the Task Scheduler.

2018-04-24 03:30:32

Mark Tooke

Hi Barry,

Is there a way to schedule automatic folder and file deletion on a specified future date?

Regards,

Mark Tooke

2018-04-23 12:31:19

len richard

highlight folder, press F2

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