Bug: Explorer reselects entire filename when editing the name of a newly synced file
What's the Bug:
This bug causes File Explorer to select all the text of a filename you are editing while you editing it, which causes a single keystroke to erase the text of the filename if you are not paying attention.
When It Happens:
It happens when you immediately try to rename a file after performing a file operation but before the OneDrive client syncs it. For example, it happens if you copy a file and quickly rename it, or if you save a file and then quickly rename it. It appears as though Explorer incorrectly reselects the entire filename once it syncs the file.
Example Steps to Reproduce:
1. In Explorer, copy a file to a synced OneDrive folder. Let's say the filename is "book.txt".
2. Immediately after copying the file (before it is synced to OneDrive):
2a. Start to rename the file (e.g. press F2). (At first, the entire filename text is selected, such as "book".)
2b. Position the cursor at any single point in the file name (so the entire filename text is no longer selected). For example, place the cursor at the end of the filename so you can rename it to "book123456789".
3. Wait a second or two (presumably for the file to sync to OneDrive).
4. Explorer automatically reselects the entire filename. (If you were trying, for example, to append "123456789" to the original filename, you end up erasing the original file name after Explorer selects it and you press any key.)

66 comments
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Jane commented
wow, cant believe it's not just me here....this bug is terrible. GET. IT. FIXED.
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Josh commented
This bug is driving me crazy, and has for years. Even files that have not been touched for a year (so clearly not in the middle of syncing changes) do this.
I was just trying to re-name some folders that I made last year, so I clicked-paused-clicked to edit them. Then I clicked and highlighted the part I wanted to change, and it switched and highlighted the whole file name... so I used an arrow key to move the cursor to the end, and then it highlighted the whole thing... so I clicked and selected a word to change and without even releasing my mouse button (ie. still actively selecting) and it switched and highlighted the whole file name.
It is infuriating, especially if I think it has finally stopped (because I have selected 3 times in a single file name and it seems like it has stopped) so I type and it re-selects the whole title RIGHT THEN. Add in that I am one of those people who has to look at my keyboard while I type and it means I don't see that the file name is screwed up until after I hit Enter.
I thought that maybe there was FINALLY some technical thing I could find online to stop from getting so angry at Windows (I have searched in years past), but apparently not!
**As others have noted, it is not just OneDrive files. A file I created on my hard drive 5 years ago and not touched since will have this same bug if I try to rename it.
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John Fitzpatrick commented
The same issue exists in just Windows 10 Explorer, not even with OneDrive attached. It's a Windows Explorer Bug that has not been fixed since Windows 7 or before. WTH? Went searching to see if there has been a solution and all the forums name the same issue. Obviously MS must be aware of this FATAL FLAW.
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Guy commented
Have the same issue. Does somebody know when MS will fix this? Anybody has the case ID @ MS?
Super annoying. -
Anonymous commented
This has been W Explorer bug for years and still no fix, fantastic !!!
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Shuodao Wang commented
this is really frustrating. no body in the onedrive team cares?
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Samuele Rivoira commented
Yes, this needs to be fixed on high priority... Not sure it's a OneDrive bug, maybe a Windows Explorer issue, especially because, if I keep an Explorer window open with many files inside in the process to be synchronized, the whole PC is slowed down, and I can notice explorer.exe consuming a lot of CPU in task manager.
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Marco commented
fix this
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Marco commented
Please fix this. Actually this is a window's problem rather than onedrive's problem
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Anonymous commented
still happening.....................
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Anonymous commented
Absolutely infuriating bug which stems from Windows File Explorer. Been happening to me for about a year and kept thinking I was causing it by accident somehow. Does nobody at Microsoft actually use their own products as this must be annoying loads of people and surely cannot be that difficult to fix.
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windsnow1024 commented
That's extremely annoying!!! Microsoft have been turning a blind eye to it for years! (Greeting from a CN user)
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Anonymous commented
OneDrive support escalated the issue and the engineering team looked into it. Apparently this is a Windows 10 issue.
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Anonymous commented
I'm not sure this is limited only to OneDrive - I have this problem with all files in File Explorer, even those in my DropBox folders. When I'm doing company accounts I spend a good week every quarter saving and renaming hundreds of files to add reference numbers, but keeping the original filename intact and this massively drops my productivity.
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Stefan commented
Please fix this issue, it is so annoying to have to work around it especially when all you work is files that are saved to cloud folders. I have not seen any answers from OneDrive in this thread, are they monitoring these forums or are we just wasting our time reporting it? In between OneDrive and Windows 10 which are both Microsoft products there should be a solution to this bug. This was reported back 2-3 years ago and it is still an issue, I really don't understand why does it take so long to have it addressed. I have not seen an acknowledgment from Microsoft yet that they are aware of this bug or that they are working on a fix for it.
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Anonymous commented
This bug has caused my work to become extremely tedious as is keeps erasing my file names. Beyond irritating.
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sunny commented
Sigh! Still this bug remains, years after it was identified. Almost every single day, at least five times a day, I have to de-select a file name and re-select it, then wait 2-3 seconds to ensure OneDrive doesn't re-select the whole filename again while I'm in the middle of typing.
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Tudor commented
Please fix this.
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Anonymous commented
Has anyone noticed that this bug gets pushed to the second page below issues with less votes?
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Bill commented
I supplied screen recordings and screen captures of the issue, as well as a link to this issue to OneDrive support. They told me to update to the latest version (which I was already running) and closed the ticket. Shame