Explorer and File Management

This article also introduces file management techniques for better file system structure for various

purposes.

Copy, Move, Rename, Delete

As with most other features of Windows, there are many ways to accomplish the same task. This section does not aim for optimal performance, but rather a solid foundation that is helpful for other computer related activities.

Navigation

There are many ways to navigate in Windows Explorer. First, let us start Windows Explorer. You can start Explorer in different ways:

• ˆ double-click “My Computer” on the desktop
• ˆ Click “Start”, then click “My Computer”

In either case, you should see a screen similar to the following:

When you double-click a folder in Explorer, it has two possible responses. First, it reuses the same window to display the content of the double-clicked subfolder. Or, Explorer opens a new window to display the content of the subfolder.

You can select between these two behaviors.

The Panes of Explorer

Explorer has many panes, and the panes are configurable. The default view is as follows:

On the left hand side is the “Explorer Bar”. The Explorer Bar is an important component in Explorer.

In this default view, the Explorer Bar includes the pane called “File and Folder Tasks” shows the tasks that can be performed with selected files and folders. This feature is new in Windows XP. It makes many operations easier. The pane below “File and Folder Tasks” is “Other Places”, it contains links to other important parts of the file system. The bottom pane, titled “Details”, is minimized. Click the down arrow to make it display details of selected files and folders. While this view is helpful, old time users prefer a more classic view. You can change the view using the “View” menu. For example, if you want the Explorer Bar display a hierarchy of folder, select “View ,, Explorer Bar ,, Folders”.

Views, Sorting and Arrangements

Explorer has many options to help you sort and display files in a folder. Let’s begin with the various options for displaying files in a folder. By default, Explorer displays files as icons. This display method is best for beginning end users because of its simplicity and ease of use.

You can change from icon view to other views. The can be done through various methods. First, you can select the view from the view menu. You can also select a view from a drop-down box. Last, but not least, when a folder contains mostly image files, you can click “view as thumbnails” or “view as filmstrip” in top left pane for operations for image

files.

In a folder with mostly images, you can select “thumbnail” view or “film strip” view. Thumbnail view is similar to icon view, except that each image file is displayed as a miniature version of the image itself. This is very helpful for previewing pictures in a folder. Filmstrip view is similar to thumbnail view, except that the thumbnails are displayed as a virtual film strip at the bottom of Explorer, with the main area displaying a larger preview of the image. This view is better for image related work that require more resolution and detail.

The tile view is similar to icon view, except tiles are bigger than icons. This view is best for people who cannot read the tiny icons. The list view is similar to icon view, except there is only icon per row.

For more advanced users, the “detail” view can be very helpful. In this view, a file is displayed as a row. Additional information of a file can be displayed in this view. By default Explorer displays the name, date of last modification and file size of a file in “detail” view. However, you can customize it and display more or fewer properties of a file in “detail” view. This is accomplished by “View ¿ Choose Details”, then select (check) the items that you wish to display.

Copy

There are three methods to copy a file. The old GUI method is to press-and-hold the shift key, then drag a file (or a group of selected files) from one Explorer window into another. For all practical purposes, the desktop can be interpreted as another Explorer window.

This GUI method may seem user-friendly, but it can also lead to problems. If a user accidentally release mouse button before reaching the destination Explorer window, the files can be copied to a folder that is not the destination. Furthermore, the GUI method requires that an Explroer window be opened for both the source and destination folders. Both windows must be visible at the same time. On a smaller monitor, this may not be practical. The new GUI method is new in XP. The “File and Folder Tasks” pane on the left of Explorer (called the Explorer Bar) displays operations that you can perform to files and folders. After selecting files as described earlier in thie chapter,you only need to click “Copy” in the pane for general file and folder operations. Then, in the dialog box, navigate and select the destination.

The keyboard method is accurate because it does not involve mouse dragging. It is also “backward compatible” with older versions of Windows. Compared to the drag-and-drop method, it only requires one Explorer window, you can use to navigate to the source folder, select files, then navigate to the destination folder. The keyboard method does involve more steps:

• ˆ select a file or a group of files (as discussed before).
• ˆ type control-C or select “edit ¿ copy” from the menu.
• ˆ navigate to the destination folder.
• ˆ make sure the window of the destination folder has focus, then type control-V or select “edit ¿ paste” from the menu.

Move

The old GUI method is to just drag-and drop a file or a group of selected files from one Explorer ro another. As with file copying, the GUI method works best only with a larger monitor. You can also use the “File and Folder Tasks” pane. After selecting a file or a group of files to move, click “Move” in the pane for general file and folder operations. Then, navigate to the destination folder and select it.

The keyboard method is very similar to the one for copying files:

• ˆ select a file or a group of files (as discussed before)
• ˆ type control-X or select “edit ,, cut” from the menu. The files should appear “half-transparent” to indicate they are in the process of cut-and-paste.
• ˆ navigate to the destination folder ˆ make sure the window of the destination folder has focus, then type control-V or select “edit ¿ paste” from the menu. The files should be moved from the source folder to the destination folder.

Removable Media

“My Documents” is a good starting point to save your documents, but that is only if you do not need to transport the files with you. If you want to transport files with you (to work or to school, for example), you need to consider creating files in a removable medium. In the past, the only type of removable media are disks. Floppy disks and later ZIP disks are the only affordable removable media. However, these days, there are many more choices. Particularly, flash memory based “solid state” USB disks are inexpensive and reliable. For more capacity but less portability, USB-based 2.5” hard disk enclosures are also becoming increasingly common.

The security of documents saved on a removable medium is a valid concern. Afterall, it is easy to lose an USB flash drive, or have it stolen. If you have sensitive information to store on a removable medium, you should consider formatting the medium as an NTFS partition, and use the encryption feature of XP (not available for XP Home, unfortunately). This way, even if the medium is stolen, the data is still encrypted.