Windows 7 – Explorer Keyboard Shortcut to Set Focus to Files/Folders

guikeyboard shortcutswindowswindows 7

Is there a Windows 7 Explorer keyboard shortcut to set focus to files/folders/content area (depicted below)?

This has bothered me for so long…
I want to set my explorer window's focus to the files pane (shown below). What's the most efficient way to do that with a keyboard?

enter image description here

Here's what I've been doing:
– Tab / Shift+Tab to move focus through interactive window elements until it looks like a selection rectangle appears over one of the files in my window.
– Alt+V, Alt+D to change appearance setting of a folder contents' icons. Doesn't always work, depending on what's selected at the time.

Best Answer

You can use AutoHotkey to move the keyboard focus to the file pane. In this example, I use the hotkey Win+Space:

#IfWinActive ahk_class CabinetWClass ; Windows Explorer
    #Space::
        ControlFocus, DirectUIHWND3, A
        SendInput, {Space}
        return
#IfWinActive

See Also:

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