By Dervish / Last update December 10, 2024

 

When you want to paste the full path of a file or folder in the command line or Windows Run and other tools, the first thing you need to do is to copy their path on Windows 10 or Windows 11.

If you are using Windows 10, you can hold down the Shift key and right-click the folder or file to copy the full path. When you hold down Shift, an option called "Copy as Path" will appear in the context menu. You need to click on this option to copy the complete path to the clipboard, which is useful most of the time.

But now in Windows 11, it becomes easier to copy the path of a folder or file. Because the context menu in Windows 11 includes the "Copy as Path" option by default, you only need to right-click the folder or file, and then click "Copy as Path" to paste it into another place.

Microsoft will also introduce keyboard shortcuts to future versions of Windows. In the preview version, when you select a file or folder in File Explorer, you can now use CTRL + Shift + C to copy the path. The keyboard shortcut can also copy the path to the clipboard like the "copy as path" option in the context menu.

Keep in mind that the location of the "copy as path" depends on the system configuration, and the copy path will still include quotation marks. If you want to paste the path in the Explorer address to directly enter the file/folder, please make sure to remove the quotation marks before pressing the Enter key.

File Explorer’s new context menu issue

The context menu of Windows 11 is the same as the previous version of the operating system, it provides a bunch of operations.

You can use it to access the native shared user interface or context menu. If you have a touch screen, or you like a new design language, a modern context menu design may be a great advantage, but slow performance is the number one reason why Explorer is unpopular.

According to reports, users may experience a noticeable delay when using the context menu. Some people claim that there will be a 1/2 second delay when the menu attempts to resize before reflecting the options.

This is especially noticeable on computers with lower configurations. Fortunately, Microsoft is investigating and has made a fix in the recent preview version. Microsoft is also working hard to repair the file explorer, so hope that these minor issues can be resolved before the release of Windows 11 22H2.