Windows 11 File Explorer Gets a Faster Way to Open AppData

Windows 11 File Explorer is getting a useful shortcut that lets users type ~ directly into the address bar to jump to their profile folder.

The feature makes it easier to reach folders such as AppData without manually navigating through the full user directory path.

File Explorer now supports the tilde shortcut

Microsoft has added support for ~ in the File Explorer address bar, allowing Windows 11 users to immediately open their current profile folder.

Instead of entering a full path such as C:\Users\YourName, users can simply type ~ and press Enter.

The shortcut also works with subfolders. For example, entering ~\AppData opens the AppData folder associated with the currently signed-in Windows account.

Because the shortcut automatically points to the current user’s profile, it works regardless of the Windows account name.

This can make navigation considerably quicker for users who frequently access AppData and other folders stored inside their profile directory.

Windows adopts familiar Unix-style behavior

The tilde shortcut should already feel familiar to developers and users working with Linux, WSL, Git, and other Unix-like environments.

In those systems, ~ commonly represents the user’s home directory, allowing users to reference files and folders without entering the complete path.

Windows already provides %USERPROFILE% as a way to reference the current user’s profile directory.

However, typing ~ provides a much shorter option, particularly when entering paths directly into File Explorer’s address bar.

The change also brings File Explorer behavior closer to tools and shells that developers already use across Windows and Linux environments.

The feature is currently limited to Windows Insiders

The new shortcut currently appears only in Windows 11 Insider Experimental Preview Build 26340.9596.

Microsoft uses Experimental builds to test features that may change or disappear before reaching regular Windows 11 releases.

As a result, there is currently no guarantee that the tilde shortcut will reach stable Windows 11 builds, although Microsoft could expand availability if testing goes well.

In other news, Microsoft says WSL Containers is generally available, bringing new CLI, API, and enterprise management capabilities to Windows developers.

Via Neowin