General Open Item with Single-click or Double-click in Windows 11


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Click_items_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to open items with a single-click or double-click for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

You can set Windows to open an item with a single-click/tap or double-click/tap.

The Single-click to open an item (point to select) option allows you to open an item with a single click/tap, and to select an item by hovering the pointer over the item. Single-click will also allow you to select to "underline icon titles consistent with my browser" or "underline icon titles only when I point at them".

The Double-click to open an item (single-click to select) option allows you to open an item with a double click/tap, and to select an item with a single click/tap on the item.

You can now also select to Single-click to open an item and never underline using the BAT file in step 4 of option two.


It will always only take a single-click to open items on the taskbar and Start menu.



Contents

  • Option One: Open Item with Single-click or Double-click in Folder Options
  • Option Two: Open Item with Single-click or Double-click using BAT file




Option One

Open Item with Single-click or Double-click in Folder Options


1 Open Folder Options.

2 Do step 3 (single-click) or step 4 (double-click) below for what you want.


 3. Open Item with Single-Click

A) In the General tab, select (dot) Single-click to open an item (point to select). (see screenshot below)​

B) Select (dot) Underline icon titles consistent with my browser or Underline icon titles only when I point at them for what you want.​

C) Click/tap on OK.​

Click_items_as_follows-1.png


 4. Open Item with Double-Click

This is the default setting.


A) In the General tab, select (dot) Double-click to open an item (single-click to select). (see screenshot below)​

B) Click/tap on OK.​

Click_items_as_follows-2.png




Option Two

Open Item with Single-click or Double-click using BAT file


1 Do step 2 (single-click, underline-browser), step 3 (single-click, underline-point), step 4 (single-click, never underline), or step 5 (double-click) below for what you would like to do.


 2. Open Item with Single-click (point to select), and Underline Icon Titles Consistent with Browser

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the .bat file below, and go to step 6.​

Single-click-to_open_item_and_Underline_icon_titles_consistent_with_browser.bat


(contents of .bat file)
Code:
@echo off

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V IconUnderline /T REG_DWORD /D 3 /F
REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V ShellState /T REG_BINARY /D 240000001ea8000000000000000000000000000001000000130000000000000062000000 /F

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main" /V "Anchor Underline" /T REG_SZ /D "yes" /F

:: To kill and restart explorer
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe


 3. Open Item with Single-click (point to select), and Underline Icon Titles when Pointed at

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the .bat file below, and go to step 6.​

Single-click-to_open_item_and_Underline_icon_titles_only_when_point_at.bat


(contents of .bat file)
Code:
@echo off

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V IconUnderline /T REG_DWORD /D 2 /F
REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V ShellState /T REG_BINARY /D 240000001ea8000000000000000000000000000001000000130000000000000062000000 /F

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main" /V "Anchor Underline" /T REG_SZ /D "yes" /F

:: To kill and restart explorer
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe


 4. Open Item with Single-click (point to select), and Never Underline

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the .bat file below, and go to step 6.​

Single-click-to_open_item_and_Never_Underline.bat


(contents of .bat file)
Code:
@echo off

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V IconUnderline /T REG_DWORD /D 3 /F
REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V ShellState /T REG_BINARY /D 240000001ea8000000000000000000000000000001000000130000000000000062000000 /F

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main" /V "Anchor Underline" /T REG_SZ /D "no" /F

:: To kill and restart explorer
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe


 5. Open Items with Double-click and Single-click to Select

This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the .bat file below, and go to step 6.​

Double-click-to_open_item_and_single-click_to_select.bat


(contents of .bat file)
Code:
@echo off

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V ShellState /T REG_BINARY /D 240000003ea8000000000000000000000000000001000000130000000000000062000000 /F

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main" /V "Anchor Underline" /T REG_SZ /D "yes" /F

:: To kill and restart explorer
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

6 Save the .bat file to your desktop.

7 Unblock the .bat file.

8 Run the downloaded .bat file.

9 If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes to approve.

10 You will now see a command prompt quickly open and close, and your screen flicker as the explorer process is restarted to apply the registry changes.

11 You can now delete the .bat file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

Attachments

  • Click_items.png
    Click_items.png
    3.5 KB · Views: 139
  • Double-click-to_open_item_and_single-click_to_select.bat
    577 bytes · Views: 10
  • Single-click-to_open_item_and_Never_Underline.bat
    650 bytes · Views: 11
  • Single-click-to_open_item_and_Underline_icon_titles_consistent_with_browser.bat
    682 bytes · Views: 10
  • Single-click-to_open_item_and_Underline_icon_titles_only_when_point_at.bat
    682 bytes · Views: 9
Last edited:
Is there any way to change to Taskbar behaviour so that double-click opens an application from there?
I find it a severe irritation that double-click seems to work everywhere but the Taskbar! I am forever double-clicking items on the Taskbar and opening two instances of some applications.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    I9 10900X
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime X299 AII
    Memory
    64GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Quadro RTX 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UP2716D
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
Tutorial updated to add step 4 in option two to Open Item with Single-click (point to select), and Never Underline. :alien:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium

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