Monday 20 January 2014

Unintuitive right-click in Windows 8.1 File Explorer

In Windows 8.1 File Explorer, the file under the cursor is highlighted as you move your mouse over the folder contents. In Details view, the entire row is highlighted.

Right clicking the highlighted file will show the context-menu for that file only if you right click on its name. If you right click in the highlighted space to the right of the name it will show a context-menu for the containing folder instead.

Meanwhile, left clicking anywhere in the highlighted row will select the file.

This is unintuitive. Right-clicking the highlighted row should show the context-menu for that file, not something else.

Following is output from the Windows 8 Steps Recorder as an example:


Step 1: (‎19/‎01/‎2014 11:53:12 p.m.) User left click on "Downloads (tree item)" in "Downloads"
 
Step 2: (‎19/‎01/‎2014 11:53:14 p.m.) User right click on "Name (edit)" in "Downloads"

Step 3: (‎19/‎01/‎2014 11:53:16 p.m.) User left click on "Properties (menu item)"

Step 4: (‎19/‎01/‎2014 11:54:41 p.m.) User Comment: "Context-menu in Step 3 is for the Downloads folder, not the Microsoft folder highlighted in Step 2."



Meanwhile:

Step 1: (‎19/‎01/‎2014 11:55:04 p.m.) User left click on "Name (edit)" in "Downloads"

Step 2: (‎19/‎01/‎2014 11:55:40 p.m.) User Comment: "Left-click selects the file or folder highlighted, as expected."


This also happens in the Open and Save dialog boxes on Windows 8.1.

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