How to Turn On or Off Expand to Current Folder in Windows 7 Navigation Pane
Information
This will show you how to have automatically expand to current folder turned on or off in the Windows 7 Navigation Pane folder tree while you are navigating in the main Windows Explorer pane.
Note
If you open a user folder directly to it's C:\Users\(user-name) location from say a shortcut or from the Start Menu, and did not manually navigate to it in Windows Explorer, then a separate (user-name) folder group will display in the navigation pane of Windows Explorer whenever you have the Expand to current folder option checked.
EXAMPLE: "Automatically expand to current folder" Turned Off NOTE:This is the default setting in Windows 7.
EXAMPLE: "Automatically expand to current folder" Turned On
OPTION ONE
Through Navigation Pane
1. Right click on a empty space in the Navigation Pane.
2. To Turn On Automatically Expand to Current Folder
A) Click on Expand to current folder to check it. (see screenshot below)
3. To Turn Off Automatically Expand to Current Folder
A) Click on Expand to current folder to uncheck it. (see screenshot above) NOTE:This is the default setting.
OPTION TWO
Through Folder Options
1. Open Folder Options, and click on the General tab. (See screenshot below)
2. To Turn On Automatically Expand to Current Folder
A) Check the Automatically expand to current folder box. (see screenshot above)
B) Go to step 4.
3. To Turn Off Automatically Expand to Current Folder
A) Uncheck the Automatically expand to current folder box. (see screenshot below step 2) NOTE:This is the default setting.
4. Click on OK. (see screenshot below step 2)
OPTION THREE
Through a REG file Download
1. To Turn On Automatically Expand to Current Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Expand_to_Current_Folder_Navigation_Pane.reg
B) Go to step 3.
2. To Turn Off Automatically Expand to Current Folder
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below. NOTE:This is the default setting.
Not_Expand_to_Current_Folder_Navigation_Pane.reg
3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the desktop.
4. Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.
5. Click on Run, Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted.
6. If open, close and reopen Windows Explorer to see the changes. NOTE:If you do not see a change, then log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.
7. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
OPTION FOUR
Manually Through Registry Editor
1. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search box and press Enter.
4. In the right pane of Advanced, right click on NavPaneExpandToCurrentFolder and click on Modify. (see screenshot above)
5. To Turn Off Automatically Expand to Current Folder
A) Type 0 (number zero), and click on OK. (see screenshot below) NOTE:This is the default setting.
B) Go to step 7.
6. To Turn On Automatically Expand to Current Folder
A) Type 1, and click on OK. (see screenshot above)
7. Close regedit.
8. If open, close and reopen Windows Explorer to see the changes. NOTE:If you do not see a change, then log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.
In the Navigation Pane, try clicking on the arrow to the left of the folder, or double clicking on the folder instead to see how that allows it to expand for you.
If you have Expand to current folder checked and click on a folder in the main Windows Explorer window and it does not expand to it in the Navigation Pane, then close and reopen Windows Explorer to see if does afterwards.
Been meanin' to sort this for ages and it only took a few click's, search "explorer expand navigate", hit the top result and a scroll down Brink's post.
I'm struggling to get this to work. Folder Options and the registry edit made no difference.
I use the mouse as seldom as possible so I want to be able to use Windows Explorer as I used to in XP, i.e. with keyboard arrows and tab/shift-tab to navigate around. The requirement is:
1. to be able to pass down to a folder in the Navigation Pane (using up/down arrows and right/left arrows to expand/contract to folder of interest) and to have the folder's contents displayed automatically in the right hand pane. As it stands this only works by hitting Enter when you get to the desired folder. This is annoying as (1) it is one more key stroke than XP and (2) I have to repeat the whole business if the selected folder doesn't have the file I want and I want to navigate to another folder.
2. to be able to navigate the right hand pane and to hit Enter on a particular folder, it expands in the right hand pane and the folder appears in the left hand pane. This works fine.
For the record, the regedits from separate posts for killing Libraries, Homegroup and Favorites worked straight away (thank you).
System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Pavilion DV6-3122SA OS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit CPU AMD Turion II 540 Dual Core Motherboard 1441 67 22 Memory 4Gb Graphics Card AMD M880G Sound Card ATI
Yes, that can be annoying, but this tutorial is for only while you are navigating in the main Windows Explorer pane instead of navigating in the navigation pane.
System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Pavilion DV6-3122SA OS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit CPU AMD Turion II 540 Dual Core Motherboard 1441 67 22 Memory 4Gb Graphics Card AMD M880G Sound Card ATI
Information
Note
OPTION ONE 
Quote: Originally Posted by lavecoi 
