Settings · Guide – Tern Files

General

The settings open as a tab: press Ctrl+, or choose Settings in the tray menu. Every change works at once and is saved automatically. The first page covers language, start and formats.

Language – Same as Windows, English or Deutsch. Switches immediately, no restart needed.
Start with Windows – starts Tern Files invisibly in the tray when you sign in, so the launcher, rules and quick switch are ready. It is on after the setup. If the page says it was switched off in Windows, switch it on again in Task Manager › Startup apps.
Start folder – what new windows show: User folder, Desktop, Downloads, Documents or any folder via Choose folder ….
Restore tabs – opens the windows and tabs of last time (on by default).
Keep running in the tray – closing the last window leaves Tern Files in the tray. Switch it off if closing should quit the app; the launcher, rules and quick switch then stop as well.
Check for updates – only in the version from ternfiles.com: once a day Tern Files asks ternfiles.com whether a new version exists and offers it. Nothing else is sent, and Windows asks before anything is installed. The Store version is updated by the Microsoft Store, so the switch is greyed out there.
Setup – Start setup goes through the setup of the first start again.
Size units – 1024 counts like Windows, 1000 like drive makers.
Date format – Like Windows or ISO, which always shows dates like 2026-09-30.

Appearance

Appearance changes how Tern Files looks and how much fits on the screen.

Theme – System follows Windows; Dark and Light stay fixed.
Accent color – Lime, Blue, Orange or Neutral. Used for the selection, bars and the main button.
Density – the row height of the file lists: Comfortable or Compact, which fits more rows on the screen.
Font size – from 90 % to 130 %; scales all texts of Tern Files.
Show hidden files – off by default. Ctrl+H switches it in any folder.
Show file extensions – .pdf, .docx and the like after the name (on by default).
Folder sizes – Always, Local only (default) or Off. Local only leaves out network folders; cloud folders count too, and nothing is ever downloaded to count a size. Choose Off if you don't need sizes and want to keep your drives quiet.
Thumbnails – pictures, videos and documents show a small preview in the grid view. Switched off, the grid shows icons.

When a Windows contrast theme is on, Tern Files uses the system colors. Theme and Accent color apply again once the contrast theme is off.

Search & index

This page decides where instant search gets its results and what it may read. How the search itself works is explained under Index service and Contents.

Index – the first line names the source and the number of entries: Index service, Everything or Tern Files' own Index. Tern Files takes the fastest one available. Rebuild index starts from scratch and chooses the source again – useful after you set up the index service or quit Everything.
Index service – only in the version from ternfiles.com. Set up … installs a small Windows service that reads the NTFS file table: the fastest source, always up to date. Windows asks once for administrator permission. Remove … takes it away again.
Drives – one switch per local drive. A drive you switch off doesn't show up in the search.
Include network drives – mapped network drives are searched as well; the first build takes longer. Off by default.
Excluded folders – + Add folder for folders that should never show up in the search, for example backups. After changes to drives or exclusions the index rebuilds itself after a moment.
Also read contents – lets the search find text and amounts in PDFs, Office files and scans. Works without the AI model; off by default.
Shared folders – contents are read only here. Preset: Documents, Downloads, Desktop and Pictures. Add more with + Add folder, remove one with its ×.

Keyboard shortcuts

Here you find every keyboard shortcut of Tern Files, grouped by where it works, and you can change each one that isn't fixed. The shortcuts page of this guide lists them all with their defaults.

Click the keys next to a command. It now says Press keys ….
Press the new combination. Esc cancels, Backspace switches the shortcut off.
If the keys are taken, a hint says Also used for: … – choose other keys or change the other command.

Letters and digits need Ctrl, Alt or Win, because typing in a list filters it.
Shortcuts that work everywhere in Windows, like the launcher, can use letters, digits, F keys and Space. If another program holds the launcher keys, the page says so and names the keys that apply instead.
Some keys are fixed and only shown, for example Enter, Space, Tab and Ctrl+1…9.
Reset next to a changed shortcut brings back its default; Reset all resets every shortcut.

F1 (Help for this view) opens this guide at the section for the view you are in; the ? button in the title bar does the same.

Integrations

Integrations control how Tern Files works together with Windows and your developer tools.

Tern Files as default file manager – Win+E, drives and folders from other apps open Tern Files. Off by default and can be undone at any time; switching it off runs a self test that checks Explorer is back. Only in the version from ternfiles.com – Windows does not let Store apps make this change. More under Default file manager.
Take over Explorer windows – when another program opens a folder in File Explorer ("Show in folder"), it opens in Tern Files with the same file selected. Explorer shows up for a moment, so it is off by default.
Quick switch in open and save dialogs – the panel next to the file dialogs of other programs (on by default; see Quick switch).
Exceptions for the quick switch – type a program's process name, e.g. photoshop, and click + Add. Its dialogs then stay without the panel.
Open launcher – click the keys to set another shortcut. Alt+Space otherwise opens the window menu of the program in front.
Entries of other programs in the context menu – for example 7-Zip or antivirus: Under "All Windows entries" (default), At the bottom of the menu or Never.
Terminal – used by "Terminal here" and "WSL terminal here": Automatic (Windows Terminal if it is installed), PowerShell 7, Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt.
Editors – found automatically and offered in the context menu. + Add adds another program; × removes one you added.
Git status in file lists – shows changed, new and ignored files right in the list. Needs Git to be installed.

AI (local)

Everything on this page runs on your PC – no account, no costs per request. The features that use the model (search in normal language, AI tidy-up and names by content) need Pro after the trial.

Use the AI model – switching it on downloads the model once from Microsoft's page on Hugging Face. With a graphics card that has at least 4 GB of its own memory you get Graphics card (DirectML), about 3.4 GB; otherwise Processor (CPU), about 4.9 GB. The page shows which graphics card was found. An interrupted download continues where it stopped, and every file is checked. Remove deletes the model again.
Also read contents and Shared folders – the same switch and list as on Search & index. Below them you see how far reading has come, e.g. Reading … 40 of 120 files, and later how many documents are in the content index.
Clear cache – removes the texts and facts read so far. While reading contents is on, they are read again. Useful if results look outdated.

Without the model, content search and search in normal language still work with fast built-in rules; the model understands more questions and suggests names for more kinds of documents. As the privacy note at the bottom says: Tern Files sends no files, texts or search questions to the internet, and contents stay in the data folder on this PC.

Safety & history

This page decides how carefully Tern Files deletes and how long it remembers what it did. The defaults are on the safe side.

Always to the recycle bin – off by default. When on, Shift+Del also moves to the recycle bin; files are only deleted for good when you empty it.
Ask before deleting for good – on by default: Shift+Del asks first. Where there is no recycle bin – network folders, many USB sticks, files too large for it – Tern Files always asks, whatever you set here.
Protected places – Tern Files changes nothing here: Windows, programs, system files. Show lists them.
Keep history – 7, 30 (default), 90 or 365 days: how long you can undo actions.
Verify after copying – on by default: every copied file is compared with the original using a checksum. Copies take a little longer; switch it off only if speed matters more to you than the check.
Rules: "Ask first" for new rules – on by default: new rules show what they would do and wait until you click Run.

License

This page shows your trial or license and is where you buy Pro or enter a key. More in Trial and License key.

Status – Trial with the days left (e.g. 4 of 14 days left), Pro – licensed with the name and e-mail of your key or Bought in the Microsoft Store, or Trial ended. After the trial the file manager stays free to use and nothing is deleted.
Keep Tern Files Pro – the buy button: Buy in the Microsoft Store in the Store version, Buy directly in the version from ternfiles.com.
License key – paste the key from your e-mail (line breaks don't matter) and click Unlock. Pro is unlocked at once, without a restart. The Store version accepts keys too. If it says That is not a complete key., copy the whole key again.
License terms and Third-party notices – Open shows the terms on the website and the open-source parts of Tern Files with their licenses.