How to Cut, Copy, Paste, and Rename Files/Folders in Windows 11?

Microsoft has changed the context menu in Windows 11. So, you should change your Windows 10 habit of using the context menu if you have upgraded your computer to Windows 11. To be specific, the ways to cut, copy, paste, rename, and delete a file or a folder via the context menu are changed.

To help you adapt to this change as soon as possible, we show you how to cut, copy, paste, rename, and delete a file or a folder on a Windows 11 computer.

How to Cut and Paste Files in Windows 11?

Way 1: Use the Context Menu or the Top Ribbon Bar

1. Right-click the file/folder you want to cut.

2. Click the cut icon from the context menu to cut the file/folder. You can also select the target item and then click the cut icon from the ribbon bar to do the same job.

3. Go to the location you want to paste the file/folder to.

4. Right-click on the free space and select the paste icon to paste the item to that folder. You can also directly click the paste icon on the tip ribbon to paste the file/folder.

Way 2: Use Keyboard Shortcuts

A faster way to cut and paste a file/folder in Windows is to use the keyboard shortcuts.

1. Select the file/folder you want to cut and press Ctrl+X to cut the select item.
2. Navigate to the destination folder and press Ctrl+V to paste the item.

How to Copy and Paste Files in Windows 11?

Way 1: Use the Context Menu or the Top Ribbon Bar

1. Right-click the file/folder you want to copy.

2. Click the copy icon from the context menu. You can also select the target file/folder and then click the copy icon from the top ribbon bar to copy it.

3. Open the destination folder you want to save the copied file/folder.

4. Right-click the free space and click the paste icon. You can also directly click the paste button from the top ribbon bar in File Explorer to paste that file/folder.

Way 2: Use Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Select the target item and press Ctrl+C to copy it.
2. Go to the destination location and press Ctrl+V to paste the file/folder.

How to Rename Files in Windows 11?

Way 1: Use the Context Menu or the Top Ribbon Bar

1. Right-click the file/folder you want to rename and select the rename icon from the context menu. You can also select that item and then click the rename icon from the top ribbon bar.
2. Type a new name for the select item.
3. Press Enter or click any free space to save the new name.

Way 2: Use the F2 Key

1. Select the file/folder you want to rename.
2. Press the F2 key.
3. You are allowed to type a new name for the selected item. Just do it.

Way 3: Use Your Mouse

You can also use your mouse to rename a file/folder in Windows 11/10/8/7.

1. Select the file/folder you want to rename.
2. Click again on that file/folder. Then, you can see the name is editable.
3. Type a new name and press Enter to save it.

How to Delete Files in Windows 11?

Way 1: Use the Context Menu or the Top Ribbon Bar

• Right-click the target file/folder and select the trash can icon to delete that file.
• You can also select the file/folder you want to delete and click the trash can icon from the top Ribbon bar to perform a file/folder deletion.

Way 2: Use the Delete Key

A faster way to use the Delete key on your keyboard.

You should select the file you want to delete and press the Delete key on our keyboard to move the selected file to Recycle Bin.

Way 3: Permanently Delete a File/Folder in Windows 11

The deleted file/folder will be moved to the Recycle Bin in Windows 11/10/8/7 if you haven’t permanently deleted it. The file still occupies disk space on your computer. That’s why deleting files not freeing up disk space on your PC.

The good news is that you can directly permanently delete files/folders on your Windows computer.

If you only want to permanently delete a certain file/folder

You can press the Shift button when you click the Delete key or select Delete from the right-click menu of the file/folder.

If you want to skip the Recycle Bin when deleting all files

1. Right-click the Recycle Bin on the desktop and select Properties.
2. Select Don’t move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted.
3. Click Apply.
4. Click OK.

You can select a method according to your requirements.

[Solved!] Skip Recycle Bin for Deleting Files on Windows 10

In this post, we will show you how to skip Recycle Bin for deleting files on Windows 10 by using the corresponding shortcut keys and modifying settings.

Read More

Tip: If You Want to Recovery the Permanently Deleted Files

If you accidentally important files permanently, you can use a free file recovery tool, MiniTool Power Data Recovery, to get them back. This software is designed to recover the lost and deleted files from different kinds of data storage devices including the computer’s internal hard drives.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

With the free edition of this software, you can recover up to 1GB of files. If you want to use this software to recover more files, you can use an advanced edition.

Bottom Line

Now, you know how to cut, copy, paste, rename, and delete a file/folder in Windows 11. If you delete a file by mistake, you can use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to get them back. Should you have any other related issues, you can let us know in the comments.