Explorer automatically selects all text while renaming files in OneDrive.

Question

When renaming files in OneDrive (or synced in OneDrive from a SharePoint library), a kind of glitch (which I have to do multiple times per hour) occurs. When trying to add or change characters to a name, Windows decides by itself to select all the characters, which makes the filename disappear and be overwritten with your newly types characters. This keeps on happening and makes renaming unbearably hard.

This seems to be a known issue for over 5 years, because in my search I saw multiple articles tackling this, none of them providing a solution. It's hard to believe that Microsoft hasn't solved this problem yet, because it's a problem that causes a lot of frustration and time loss in normal daily activities. Please tell me there is a setting you can change somewhere to stop this from happening (not a workaround that takes extra steps).

Handling lots of files on a daily basis makes me reconsider using another cloud system because working like this is very annoying.

Thank you very much in advance.

Moved from Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For business | Windows

Answer 1

Hi ElsV,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. I'm happy to help.

Thank you for taking the time to report this. I completely understand how frustrating it is when File Explorer keeps re‑selecting the entire filename while you're trying to make small edits, especially when you're renaming many files throughout the day.

Based on what you've described, this behavior typically occurs when renaming files that are synced via OneDrive or SharePoint. In these scenarios, File Explorer may momentarily refresh as the sync client updates file states, which can cause the rename box to lose focus and re‑highlight the entire name.

You may try this workaround:

• Wait a short time before you start typing.
• In File Explore > select ••• > View > Options > navigate to View tab > scroll down to the item Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended) > uncheck it > select Apply.

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We are sorry for any inconvenience may have caused and thank you for your sympathy.