How to Set File Explorer to Open to a Custom Folder Location by Default

File Explorer is the tool used in Microsoft Windows to access your files and folders and being able to effectively manage your files and folders is essential to be a proficient Windows user. When you first open File Explorer, it will most likely open to Home or Quick Access depending on whether you are using Windows 10 or Windows 11.

You can however change the default location to This PC by going to the folder options for File Explorer and going to the Folder Options and changing the setting within the General tab.

But what if you want to want to have File Explorer open to a different folder besides the choices you have from the Folder Options area? In this article we will be showing you how to set File Explorer to open to a custom folder location but default. This way every time you open File Explorer, it will be automatically at the folder that you have configured.

To set File Explorer to open to a custom folder, we will be using a simple registry edit. You should always be careful when making changes to the Windows registry because you can make Windows not operate properly, or at all if you change the wrong settings.

We have already configured the registry changes to configure this custom folder for you and there is a file to set the configuration and one to reset the configuration back to the default folder that you can download here. You can download the files from here or simply create your own registry files by copying and pasting the text for each one into Notepad and then saving it with a .reg extension rather than .txt.

Here is what the registry file to set the custom folder location looks like.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}\shell\OpenNewWindow\command]

@=”Explorer \”C:\\Windows\””

“DelegateExecute”=””

Here is what the registry file to undo the custom folder location looks like.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

 [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}]

Once you download the two files, you can double click the file named File Explorer Default Location.reg and click on Yes at the UAC prompt. You will need to have local administrator rights on the computer to perform the next steps.

Then you will need to click the Yes button at the next prompt asking if you want to add the information to the registry.

You will then be notified that the keys and values contained in the registry file have been added to the registry and you can then click the OK button.

To change the default folder to a custom folder for File Explorer, you will then need to edit the registry item that you just imported.

To do so, open the Windows Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Windows taskbar search box and select Registry Editor and say Yes to the UAC prompt. You will then need to navigate to the following registry key. You can simply copy and paste it into the registry editor address bar rather than typing it.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}\shell\opennewwindow\command

Then you will need to double click on the Default REG_SZ value so you can change the folder location to your own custom folder location.

Just be sure to use the proper formatting such as “E:\Sales\Invoices” and make sure to leave the quotes at the beginning and ending of the folder path. After you have made your changes, click the OK button to have them applied.

Now whenever you launch File Explorer, it will open to your custom folder location by default.

If you need to change the custom folder location, you can simply go back to the same registry key and type in a new folder path.

If you want to reverse the process and go back to the default Windows settings, you can simply double click on the Undo File Explorer Default Location.reg file and follow the prompts the same way you did for the other registry file.

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