Enabling Single-Click to Open in Windows 11
If you’ve ever gotten frustrated with having to double-click folders and files in Windows 11 when all you want to do is click once, you’re definitely not alone. Honestly, the default double-click setup can feel a bit clunky—especially if you’re flicking through heaps of folders or trying to get things done faster. The good news is, Windows 11 does let you switch to single-click mode, but finding that setting isn’t exactly straightforward.
How to Access Folder Options in Windows 11
To switch to single-click, you first need to open the folder options. And yeah, it’s not exactly front and centre. The easiest way I’ve found is through Windows Search because, frankly, navigating through Settings menus can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Press Windows + S — that shortcut is a lifesaver for quick searches. Type File Explorer into the search box. It should come up quickly — sometimes right at the top. Click on it. When the Folder Options window appears, you’ll have the controls you need to adjust how clicking works. If you don’t see it immediately, try enabling the display of hidden items, or if that doesn’t help, try this more traditional approach:
- Open Control Panel (type it in the Start menu or search for it)
- Navigate to Appearance and Personalisation
- Click on File Explorer Options
It might feel a bit like a treasure hunt, but once you find the right window, it’s worth the effort.
Switching to Single-Click Mode
In the Folder Options window, go to the General tab. That’s where the magic happens. Inside, look for the section labelled Click items as follows. That’s where you set your preferred click behaviour.
Click the dropdown menu and select Single-click to open an item (point to select). Once selected, you can also tweak other options — like whether items highlight when you hover over them or only get clicked to select — whatever suits your workflow best.
Applying and Saving Your Changes
After making your choice, hit Apply and then OK. These buttons save your settings. Sometimes, you might need to restart File Explorer for the changes to kick in. If things aren’t working straight away, don’t stress — open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), locate Windows Explorer, right-click it, and select Restart. That’ll refresh the interface without needing a full reboot.
If you want to double-check your settings, you can even open tpm.msc from the Run dialog or search bar to verify that your click preferences are active as expected.
Why Switch to Single-Click?
This little tweak is handy if you prefer fewer clicks or are using a touchscreen device, where double-clicking can be unintuitive or frustrating. Plus, on hardware with sensitive mice or slower response times, single-clicking can feel more reliable.
Some folks might find it a bit odd or confusing initially — after all, most of us are used to double-clicking — but once you get the hang of it, navigating around gets a lot quicker. Just keep in mind, this setting may not behave perfectly across all folders, especially if you’ve customised other Windows options. It’s worth a bit of trial and error to get it just right.
To switch back to double-click, just follow the same steps and select Double-click to open an item. Easy as that.
Honestly, it’s a simple change that can make a big difference if you spend a lot of time in Explorer or need better accessibility. The process isn’t as straightforward as it should be, but once you know where to look, it’s just a couple of clicks away. Hope this helps — I took ages to work it out myself, so I’m sharing in case it saves someone else the hassle.
Quick tip before you go: if you want a quicker way, you can tweak the registry directly, but honestly, messing with HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer and editing the SingleClick DWORD is a bit risky. I’ve bricked a system or two trying that, so stick with the GUI unless you’re comfortable with Regedit.
Good luck fiddling with it! Hopefully, this helps someone cut down on unnecessary clicks—or makes Windows feel a little more personalised.