how to create folders and subfolders in windows 10 and rename them

Your Windows OS comes with some ready to use folders that you can use to arrange your files. However, what if you wanted to create other folders within those folders for even more detailed file organization? Allowances are made for you to do that in File Explorer. Additionally, how can I rename a file or folder on my Windows 10 computer? Let us take a look at how to do both those things now.

 

 

Consider this scenario. You are a teacher. You teach three subjects: Mathematics, Science and Information Technology. You store the documents for your teaching sessions withing the ready to use folder of Documents because, of course, they are document type files. This level of organization is still not enough for you though because you would prefer to have a subfolder dedicated to each subject within the larger Documents folder. This way, you are not sifting through all the files in Documents to find files relating to any one of the subjects. You would be able to just go directly to that subfolder and explore its contents. Let us learn how to create subfolders within folders.

 

[Tired of scrolling and just want these documents at your fingertips? Go to our Downloadables page to find out how you can get them!]

 

Using the example above, we are going to create a subfolder in Documents called “Mathematics”. Follow these steps:

 

 

1. Open File Explorer and open the Documents folder [for more information check out the tutorial on Using File Explorer].
2. Access the main menu by pressing Alt, Right arrow to “Home” and press Enter then Tab to “new folder” and press Enter. You could also use the keystroke CTRL + Shift + N.
3. The subfolder is created and your screen reader will announce “new folder edit”. This is informing you that you are in an edit field and that you can now type the name that you want for the subfolder. For purposes of the example, you would type “Mathematics”. As you type, the words “new folder” are removed and the name you are typing is inserted.
4. When you are finished typing the name, just press Enter.

Now you are done… your subfolder named “Mathematics” is created! You can now move files into it as you wish.

Renaming Files and Folders

So you saved a file in Pictures but then realize that the name is not appropriate and descriptive enough. How do you change it? Use the following steps to rename files and folders in File Explorer:

1. Locate the file or folder that you would like to rename.
2. With the file or folder in question selected, press F2 or use the Applications key and Down arrow through the context menu to find “rename” and press Enter.
3. The current name of the file or folder now comes up in an edit field, just type over that name or use Left or Right arrows and Backspace to edit it.
4. When you have finished fixing the name, press Enter.

Great, you have renamed it! This method can also be used to rename files and folders in other areas as well, for example on the Desktop.

Take Away Keystrokes

Keystroke	Function
CTRL + Shift + n	Create a new subfolder
F2	Brings up edit field to rename files or folders