Windows Explorer
Explorer windows in Vista and 7 have been greatly overhauled in an attempt to make it easier to work with your files. Explorer windows are the windows in which you view any folders and files that are on your computer.
This is not to be confused with Internet Explorer, which is a web browser.
Address Bar
The Address Bar in an Explorer window contains the path for the files at which you’re looking.
Note the small arrows next to each location. These will allow you to navigate to other folders quickly. For example, in the figure below, you see the drop-down for the F: drive named Data. You can click any of those locations, like My Music, and you will go to the My Music folder, which in this case is located on the F: drive.
This is called breadcrumbs navigation.
Search Bar
The Search function, which is an integral part of Vista and 7, is located in the upper right-hand corner of an Explorer window.
When you enter a search term in an Explorer window, Windows optimizes the Search results in the context of the Explorer window you are in. In other words, if you are in a folder with photos, your search results will primarily point to those related to images. You will, however, be able to expand your search options to broaden the results.
Command Bar
The Command Bar contains commonly used functions that you would perform with the items that are in that folder. In other words, if you are working with photos, the Command Bar contains typical tasks for use with photos.
Navigation Pane
The Navigation Pane is displayed on the left side of the Explorer window. The default view shows “Favorite Links”, which are common locations for files and folders. You can add and delete folders to this list, which will show up in every Explorer window.
Here’s how to add a folder to this “Favorite Links” list:
In Vista:
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Right-click in the Navigation pane and select Open Favorite Links Folder.
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Right-click on the right side where the list of shortcuts appears, and select New, and then either Folder or Shortcut.
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If you are linking to an existing folder, select Shortcut. If creating a shortcut, you will be presented with an option to browse to that folder. Do so, then click Next.
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Create a name for the shortcut, and it will show up in the list of Favorite Links.
In Windows 7:
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Navigate to the folder to which you'd like to create a shortcut.
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Right-click the folder and drag it to the favorites list.
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Let go, then select Create Shortcut. The folder will then show up in the list, and you can click the shortcut to quickly access that folder.
Note that at the bottom of the Navigation pane, there is an up-arrow choice that says "Folders" (or "Computer" in 7). You can select this to get a folder view of your computer, instead of just the links in the default view.
Live Icons
We’ve already seen a little bit of what Live Icons are; they are representations of files, some of which are thumbnails, rather than simply icons. Not all files will be represented as images of the actual files, but many are. As you can see, folders show their contents, and if they are images, you can see the actual images in the folders.
Preview Pane
The Preview Pane, shown at the bottom of the Explorer window, displays information about a selected file, without having to right-click the file and select Properties.
Change view of items in a folder
You can change how items in a folder are displayed, from just a detailed list, shown to the left...
...to extra large icons, which can be handy for items like pictures, as you see here.
To change the size of these icons, do the following:
In Vista:
Click the View option in the Command Bar, and adjust the slider until the items are to your liking.
In Windows 7:
Look for the symbol shown here in the upper right corner of your Explorer window. Click the down-arrow and adjust the slider until the items are to your liking.