Choosing list selection highlighting

Open Settings → Advanced and edit FullRowSelect.

true highlights a selected item's whole row. This is the default.
false highlights its primary label, leaving the other columns in their ordinary presentation.
An empty value restores the default when you Apply.

Apply accepts the change; Cancel discards the draft. The setting belongs to the preferences of the window that opened the list.

The preference applies to file lists, repository contents, worktrees, LFS locks, reference leaves, containing references, Synchronization file/reference/tag lists, operation results, Import Patch, Find results and the corresponding Settings lists. A checkbox remains a checkbox; selecting a row does not stage, unstage or change the checked files. Copy, keyboard navigation and context commands still operate on the selected row identities.

Log, Reflog, Rebase and embedded revision-history lists always highlight full rows, following TortoiseGit. Repository and reference namespace trees, Blame's source grid and editors retain their own selection behavior.

The primary label follows its logical column after you reorder or resize columns. Long labels are clipped to the available cell, and hidden primary columns do not move the highlight to a different field.