Windows Explorer
- Select Start/Programs/Windows Explorer. This starts the Windows Explorer program. This is the program you will use to copy, move organise and delete your files. The following window will appear on your screen.
- Click the Maximise button to run Windows Explorer over your whole screen.
The Windows NT Explorer window is divided into two panes. The left one is the Folders pane, the right one is the Files pane.
You will see the word "Folders" in the description bar above the Folders pane.
You can scroll through one pane without effecting your position in the other pane.
The Folders pane contains all the folders that exist on your computer.
- Scroll to the top of the Folders pane. You can see the Desktop and My Computer icons.
- Follow the line from the desktop down and you will see the icons for My Computer, the Recycle bin, My Briefcase (if installed), Network Neighbourhood .These icons all appear on tyour desktop.
- Follow the line from My Computer down and you wil see icons for the A drive, C drive, the Control Panel etc - these will be the icons you saw when you opened My Computer.
- Follow the Line from the hard drive (C) down and you will see the folders you saw when you opened the hard drive icon in My Computer. The Folders Pane does not show files, only folders.
- Some folders and icons will have plus or minus signs against them. This indicates that they contain more folders (subfolders). A plus means that these subfolders are not displayed in the Folders pane. A minus means that these subfolders are displayed in the Folders pane.
- Click on the minus sign against the hard drive (C). The icon will close and all the sub folders will disappear from display. The icon will now have a plus sign against it.
- Click on the plus sign to redisplay the sub folders.
- Click on the plus sign next to the Winnt folder. All its subfolders will be displayed in the Folders pane.
- Click on the minus sign to close the Winnt folder
- Notice that opening and closing folders in this way does not change the display of folders and files in the File pane.
The files pane displays all the files and subfolders of a selected folder.
- You can change the appearance of the Files pane as you did for My Computer. Select View/Small Icons and see the effect.
- Select View/Arrange Icons and try some of the arrangements in the Files pane.
- Select View/Options/View.
- Most of the options are the same as for My Computer. The last option is for Windows NT Explorer only. It allows you to show or hide the description bar - the grey bar above the panes that tells you what is in the panes.
- De-select this option. Click on Apply and then OK. Notice the difference in the Windows NT Explorer window.
- Select View/Options/View and reselect the last option. Click on Apply and then on OK.
- You can change the size of the panes in Windows NT Explorer. Move your mouse pointer onto the grey bar between the two panes. Your pointer will change to look like a black cross.
- Click and drag on the grey bar to change the width of the panes.
- You can also change the width of the columns in the Details view using this method.