If you’ve settled into Windows 7 but find the change in the functionality of the backspace key while browsing files to be too much to bear, use this simple hack to turn the backspace key back to its XP state.
For the unfamiliar: in Windows XP pressing the backspace key while browsing files in Windows Explorer would navigate you up one folder level. In Windows Vista and Windows 7 however, the same keystroke doesn’t move you up a folder level but back one stop in the history. It’s a small thing but if you’ve coded the backspace into your muscle memory as a quick way to navigate up the folder hierarchy it can be a very annoying small thing to deal with.
Over at How-To Geek they’ve put together a guide to using AutoHotkey to resolve the backspace issue. You can either add their script to your AutoHotkey installation or download a stand alone executable—both are provided. Throw a link to the application in your Startup folder and you’ll never have to deal with the backspace key not navigating the way you want. Check out the link below for full details and the files.
