Windows 7 issue: can’t copy filename of files on read-only media

Just came across one more case of trying to over-protect users and in the way losing functionality (maybe originally unforeseen functionality, but which is nevertheless useful to many end-users).

At Windows 7, Microsoft doesn’t allow you anymore to press F2 or click on a filename to enter edit more for it when the file resides on a read-only media (like a DVD-ROM).

Moreover when you right click the file and select Properties, the filename field at the properties dialog is at a disabled editbox and somebody from the Windows UI team must have taken “disabling” an editbox literally, making the action disable even selecting and copying text from it instead of just making it read-only.

So one would think they would be able to right-click the file, select Copy and then Paste the filepath onto an editbox. No, again no one thought of also putting a text flavor with the full file path on the clipboard so that user could paste it to a textbox (Clipboard supports multiple data flavours for copied items and when you paste an app can select which flavours it knows and might care to use). Think I have suggested that to Microsoft long time ago, but still not implemented.