Is this something I can fix in settings somehow?
February 23, 2021 8:55 AM Subscribe
Whenever I open Windows explorer to save a document, Windows automatically goes to whatever folder in Explorer that my cursor happens to be hovered over, which not infrequently results in me saving the document in the wrong place. Is there a way to fix this?
I tried googling this but didn't know what to google. The issue is that I select "save as" in Word or Adobe or whatever, select the folder I want to save my document in but then if the cursor happens to be hovered over some other folder in Explorer when it pops up to confirm where the document is being saved, Explorer automatically goes to that folder. Half the time I don't notice this happening so I think I've saved the document in whatever folder I first selected in the "Save As" screen but I actually end up saving it in whatever random place in the file structure that my cursor happened to be hovering over when I opened Explorer. If I think of it beforehand, I can try to make sure my cursor is not anywhere near Explorer when it opens but it would be nice if there was a way to change a setting so this didn't happen.
I'm using Windows 10, btw, on a Lenovo computer.
I tried googling this but didn't know what to google. The issue is that I select "save as" in Word or Adobe or whatever, select the folder I want to save my document in but then if the cursor happens to be hovered over some other folder in Explorer when it pops up to confirm where the document is being saved, Explorer automatically goes to that folder. Half the time I don't notice this happening so I think I've saved the document in whatever folder I first selected in the "Save As" screen but I actually end up saving it in whatever random place in the file structure that my cursor happened to be hovering over when I opened Explorer. If I think of it beforehand, I can try to make sure my cursor is not anywhere near Explorer when it opens but it would be nice if there was a way to change a setting so this didn't happen.
I'm using Windows 10, btw, on a Lenovo computer.
That's not normal Windows behavior, in my experience. My first instinct is that this is an issue with whatever pointing device you're using (mouse / trackpad / the little eraser-nub pointer thingy on some Lenovo computers) rather than a Windows setting - probably a driver issue, or possibly you're clicking/tapping inadvertently.
- See if it happens if you remove your hand from the pointing device immediately after clicking 'Save As'.
- Try using a different pointing device and see if it still happens. If the behavior is specific to one pointing device, try reinstalling or updating the driver.
- Shut down the computer, start it up then press the F8 key to get startup options. Try starting in Safe Mode and see if the issue still occurs (if not, then probably a driver issue). You could also try the Windows Repair (NOT Recovery!) and Diagnostic options to see if either of those uncover anything.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:59 AM on February 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
- See if it happens if you remove your hand from the pointing device immediately after clicking 'Save As'.
- Try using a different pointing device and see if it still happens. If the behavior is specific to one pointing device, try reinstalling or updating the driver.
- Shut down the computer, start it up then press the F8 key to get startup options. Try starting in Safe Mode and see if the issue still occurs (if not, then probably a driver issue). You could also try the Windows Repair (NOT Recovery!) and Diagnostic options to see if either of those uncover anything.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:59 AM on February 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
Best answer: This happened to me. Puzzled me for a while then I realised I was double clicking. First click opens the save menu, the second chooses whatever folder or file happens to be under the mouse pointer. Same might be happening for you.
posted by BrStekker at 10:46 AM on February 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by BrStekker at 10:46 AM on February 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
If it is a multi-click issue, you may be able to adjust the responsiveness of your mouse settings. Hand tremor gets more prevalent with age (by my age, 4% of the population has it), and can cause accidental clicks.
If that's a possibility, then there are settings to adjust the double click speed, so clicks in very quick succession register as only a single event. I'm not sure how to do this on a Windows machine, but looking for accessibility options or under "extra mouse settings" or something should help.
posted by nat at 11:45 AM on February 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
If that's a possibility, then there are settings to adjust the double click speed, so clicks in very quick succession register as only a single event. I'm not sure how to do this on a Windows machine, but looking for accessibility options or under "extra mouse settings" or something should help.
posted by nat at 11:45 AM on February 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
In Windows 10, find the settings people are talking about in Start > Settings > Devices > Mouse > Additional mouse options > Buttons tab, in the Double-click speed section. (I am sharing this because it's in a more obscure niche than it used to be with older Windows versions; though in Win 10 you can also open the Start menu and type Mouse and the Mouse settings should be the first result.)
posted by aught at 12:02 PM on February 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by aught at 12:02 PM on February 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh my gosh, you don't have to double click to open Explorer? Mind is blown... it didn't used to be like that right?
Btw I am on a laptop using a touchpad if that matters. But I did just try a few tests and they seemed possibly to have solved the issue.
posted by knownfossils at 10:48 PM on February 23, 2021
Btw I am on a laptop using a touchpad if that matters. But I did just try a few tests and they seemed possibly to have solved the issue.
posted by knownfossils at 10:48 PM on February 23, 2021
The Windows standard Save As dialog looks a lot like Explorer, and in fact shares a lot of code with it, but its behaviour isn't identical. Double-click is in general a gestural shortcut that has the same effect as right-click followed by selecting the default (first) option presented in the resulting pop-up menu. For Explorer proper, that will almost always be Open. For the Save As dialog, it's almost always Save.
posted by flabdablet at 4:46 AM on February 24, 2021
posted by flabdablet at 4:46 AM on February 24, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
For Word, try File --> Options --> Save --> Save Documents -- Default File Location
posted by Leontine at 9:48 AM on February 23, 2021