The Windows Explorer window (also known as simply the Explorer window) is a file management window that gives you tools to navigate your computer drives, view folders, view and launch documents, etc.

You have many options to launch Windows Explorer:

1. Right click the button.
2. Select Explore from the pop-up menu.

Or,

1. Left click the Start button.
2. Right click the My Computer icon.
3. Select Explore from the pop-up menu.

Or,

1. Left click the Start button.
2. Left click All Programs.
3. Left click Accessories.
4. Left click Windows Explorer.

Exploring the Windows Explorer Window

1. Menu Bar - gives you access to all the commands needed to work with Windows Explorer.
2. Standard Toolbar - shortcuts to navigate and set viewing options.
3. Address Bar - displays the path of the selected drive, folder, or document.
4. Explorer Bar - displays your drives and folders in hierarchical form. To view the contents of a specific drive (e.g. your F: drive) simply left click the drive icon.
5. Contents Pane - displays the contents (i.e. folders, programs, and documents) of the drive/ folder selected in the Explorer Bar.

File Management

The Explorer window is a great place to manage your files, move/copy files and folders, and launch documents and programs.

Note: There are many ways to navigate to files and folders. Over time, you will develop your own navigation style.

Remember that the Explorer Bar is displayed in a hierarchical form. When you left -click once on a drive or folder name (e.g. F: drive) or left-click on the plus (+) sign, the folder expands to reveal the folders located within that drive or folder. To collapse a folder, click once on the minus (-) sign to the left of the folder icon.

By following the example to the right, we see that:1.

1. The F: drive was clicked once to reveal its contents (Expanded).
2. A folder called MYDOCS is located on the F: drive.
3. The MYDOCS folder has been clicked once to reveal its contents (e.g. the Computer Academy folder is located within the MYDOCS folder, which in turn is located on the F: drive.

Note: Only folders and drives are listed in the Explorer Bar! If you want to see the files and documents saved in a folder, you must look in the Contents Pane.

Contents Pane

Unlike the Explorer Bar (which only displays drives and folders) the Contents Pane displays ALL the contents of the folder selected in the Address Bar: Folders, programs, as well as files/documents.

By following the example to the right, we see that:

1. The MYDOCS folder has been selected in the Address Bar.
2. Notice that the folders listed under MYDOCS in the Explorer Bar are identical to the folders listed in the Contents Pane.
3. The Contents Pane also displays the files located in the MYDOCS folder (e.g. Excel, Access, Word docs, etc.)

Opening a File

To launch a file from the Contents Pane, double click the file and it will launch in the appropriate program.

Copying/Moving a File

To copy/move the Book1.xls Excel file from the MYDOCS folder to the Excel Intro Class folder, perform the following steps:

1. Right click, hold, and drag Book1.xls to the Excel Intro Class folder. The folder should highlight in blue.
2. Let go of the right mouse button. A pop-up menu will appear with options to Move or Copy the File.
3. If you Move the file, Book1.xls will be moved and exist only in the Excel Intro Class folder and no longer exist in the MYDOCS folder. If you Copy the file, you will have an identical copy in both the MYDOCS folder and the Excel Intro Class folder.
   Note: Select Cancel if you want to abort the copy/move.

Creating a New Folder

To create a new folder, follow these steps:

1. In the Explorer Bar, select the folder within which you want the new folder to reside. In the example to the right, the New Folder will be created in the MYDOCS folder.
2. Left-click File in the upper-left corner of the Explorer window.
3. Click on New.
4. Click on Folder. A new folder named "New Folder", will appear in the Contents Pane (the right pane) of the Explorer window. The name should be highlighted in blue with the cursor blinking at the end of the name.
5. To rename the folder, simply type the new name. Or, if the folder does not rename, right click on the "New Folder" icon and select Rename. When the folder name highlights in blue… type, in the new name.

Searching for Files and Folders

1. Open the Explorer window by one of the methods listed above.
2. Click the Search button in the Standard Toolbar. The window will look like the picture to the right.
3. In the left pane click the option you want to search for. Typically the best choice will be All files and folders.
4. You then have the option to: a) enter all or part of the file name; or, b) enter a word or phrase within the file. Note: the smaller the amount of information you enter the more files the system will find.
5. Next, change the contents of the Look in field to the drive the file is located.Note: If you select My Computer, it will search all drives on your computer. This search will take longer, but is a good option when you can't remember where you saved your file.
6. Left click Search. As files are found that match your search criteria, they are listed in the Contents Pane (the right pane).
7. To switch back to Explorer mode, click the Folders button in the standard toolbar. The search wizard will go away, but your search results will be available until you click onto a different drive.