Turn off hover select i Windows 11 Explorer

Hello,

Thank you for using Microsoft products and posting to the community.

By "Hover over in Windows 11 Explorer", do you mean that you select files when your mouse hovers over them?

If yes, then that "hover to select" is different from the setting in Easy Access (which hovers to select the active window).

To turn off hover to select files, change the control panel's "View By" to "Small Icons" and select "File Explorer Options" (or "Folder Options").

From there, select "Double-click to open an item".

Feel free to post back if you need further assistance.

Best regards,

Johann - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Thanks for your speedy reply. Unfortunately double click is already selected (that was one of my first actions, see below) but it does not change the "hover over file select" in any way.

What is more confusing is that I can't switch to Single select ("Enkelklicka" in Swedish). It is grayed out. I AM Admin and sole user on this PC.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't find the ["View By" to "Small Icons"] you refer to in the Control Panel.

Or do you mean the "View by" setup in the Windows 11 Explorer itself? Unfortunately changing icon size does not change anything either! Hovering a second still selects the underlying file without any clicking at all, and it stays selected until I click anywhere else in the window!

Bug?

Best regards // Bo

Hello,

I was talking about the control panel's view setting in the upper-right corner. Since you have already found the dialog where the setting is, you do not need to toggle anymore.

Based on your screenshot, it seems that the option is disabled by a group policy. Please try reverting the "Classic Shell" setting using the method below, and see whether the file selecting issue still exists.

Also, since Classic Shell is not enabled by default, is your computer managed by your workplace/school, or you are using some "system tuning" software?

If you are using Pro version of Windows or higher, you can try reverting that setting by pressing Windows+R and enter "gpedit.msc" to enter Logal group policy editor. Select User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Windows Components->File explorer (Select the folder itself), then double-click "Turn on Classic Shell" and change the setting to "Not Configured".

If you are using Home version, since the group policy editor is not available, please press Windows+R and enter "regedit". In the registry editor, select HKEY_CURRENT_USER->SOFTWARE->Microsoft->Windows->CurrentVersion->Policies->Explorer in the left panel, and delete "ClassicShell" value.

Disclaimer: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or work group is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems, however, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click this link to view the article.

We look forward to your response.

Many thanks for your detailed instructions. They "made my day" :-)

gpedit.msc and "User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Windows Components->File explorer (Select the folder itself), then double-click "Turn on Classic Shell" and change the setting to "Not Configured""

removed the annoying "hover automatic file select"! It also enabled the Explorer "View by" setup that was previously grayed out.

My PC i private, but ONE email account was corporate, and I will inform the administrator that some policies need to be investigated.

Again, many thanks!
// Bo

Hello,

We are very happy to know that everything is now working on your end.

Do not hesitate to ask the community at any time in case you have any questions in the future.

I am glad I was able to help, feel free to mark the response above that contained the solution to make it easier for other customers to find the solution more quickly.

My control panel has no View By or small icons setting. There is a file explorer section, but it does not have a double-click option. This is extremely annoying and unhelpful. Does anyone care. I'm still struggling with Windows 11 for over 6 months. And every time I try the new outlook, I switch back within 5 minutes as they eliminated all the tools I used to use every time I use outlook. I won't switch until you fix this ****. I've reported this many times and never get any helpful responses. Windows 11 still sucks. *** Email address is removed for privacy ***