microsoft / microsoft/PowerToys

Peek PowerToys interfere with Windows Explorer file selection highlight (“Show in folder” / /select behavior broken)

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#47,618 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Issue-Bug Needs-Triage Product-Peek
Dominant language
C
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139k
Forks
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PR merge metrics
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Description

### Microsoft PowerToys version

0.99.1

### Installation method

GitHub

### Area(s) with issue?

Peek

### Steps to reproduce

When Peek module is enabled in PowerToys, Windows Explorer file selection behavior becomes inconsistent.

Specifically:

“Show in folder” from browser downloads does not highlight the file correctly
“Open file location” from Start menu does not properly focus/select the file
The Explorer window opens the correct folder, but file is not highlighted or focus is lost
Issue is temporary after restarting explorer.exe, but reappears after a few minutes

When PowerToys is completely disabled, the issue disappears.

Enable PowerToys with Peek module ON
Keep PowerToys running
Download any file using a browser (e.g. Chrome/Edge)
Click “Show in folder”
Observe that:
Folder opens correctly
File is NOT highlighted or focus is incorrect after a short delay

OR

Open Start menu
Search a file
Click “Open file location”
Same issue occurs

### ✔️ Expected Behavior

Explorer should open the correct folder
The target file should be automatically selected and highlighted

### ❌ Actual Behavior

Folder opens correctly
File selection is lost or not highlighted
Focus behavior is inconsistent
Issue appears after a delay when PowerToys is running

Disabling Peek module immediately resolves the issue
Restarting Explorer temporarily fixes it but issue returns

### Upload Bug Report ZIP-file

_No response_

### Additional Information

_No response_

### Other Software

WINDOWS 11

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reproducing the issue with the Peek module enabled, using both “Show in folder” and “Open file location,” then compare Explorer behavior with PowerToys disabled or explorer.exe restarted. Done means the correct folder opens and the target file remains selected and highlighted without the issue returning after a delay.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c
Domain
desktop, operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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