Functionality

• Windows Explorer is comprised of two vertical panes. The left pane contains several different sections in expandable tree-like structures. The right pane displays the contents of what is currently selected in the left pane. Expandable items in the left pane have a small plus sign directly to the left of the icon. It changes to a minus sign when expanded. Click the plus and minus signs to expand and collapse the hierarchical structures. Click the "Start" button, "All Programs," "Accessories" and then "Windows Explorer" to open Windows Explorer.
  
  

Sections

• The left pane of Windows explorer starts with the Desktop icon at the very top. Clicking this section displays the contents of the Desktop in the right pane. The next item is My Documents, which is the default location for the currently logged in user to save files. The My Computer section expands to show all storage drives on the computer, such as hard drives, floppy drives, external drives and optical drives. Each drive is assigned a letter. My Computer also contains special items, such as instant access to Web cameras and the Shared Documents folder. My Network Places allows access to other computers attached to the same network, assuming that all computers are properly configured. The Recycle Bin stores items that have been recently deleted.
  
  

Tasks

• Create new folders in Windows Explorer by selecting "Folder" from the "New" section of the "File menu at the top. Select "Rename" from the "File" menu to rename items selected in the right pane. Perform cut, copy and paste operations by selecting the target item in the right pane, selecting "Cut" or "Copy" from the "Edit" menu, browsing to the target location and then selecting "Paste" from the "Edit" menu. Alternatively, select items in the right pane, hold down the left mouse button, drag the item directly to a folder in the left pane and then release the mouse button to perform a move operation.
  
  

Views

• The appearance of items in the right pane can be adjusted. Click the "View" menu and then select one of the five options in the second section. Thumbnails view shows a large icon for each item with a graphical preview of what the file or folder contains. Tiles view displays several columns of smaller icons with a few details below each item, such as the name, date and file type. Icons view presents slightly smaller icons than the Tiles view, with only the file or folder name appearing. List view is a single column of small icons with only the file or folder name appearing. Details view lists several columns of information for each item, such as size, type and modified date. Each column can be sorted.