We are familiar with the Windows file explorer, it is a piece of software to the browser and manage files and folders in your computer. File Explorer provides a user interface to manage files and folders. You can easily create, open, rename, move, copy or delete files. You can search for files (F3 key) using file attributes and properties. In Windows, you can access file explorer by pressing Windows key+E button together. In Windows 10, press Windows key+X to open Power user task menu, in the opened menu, you can see the file explorer. Click File Explorer to open it.
File explorers packed with a lot of features to make our digital life easier. But, most people didn’t explore much in file explorer. Here we are looking into some interesting use of file explorer.
Open folders in separate Window
Do you want to open new folders in a separate window? Normally the windows will open up above the same window, which makes viewing old files difficult. So, it is a wise thing to open new files in a separate window. To open each folder in its own window, go to file explorer, select the View tab, in Options click Change folder and search options. In the Folder options popup window, under the General tab, in Browse folders, select Open each folder in its own window and click ok.
Open files and folders with a single click
To open an item using a single click, open the Folder option as described above. Under the General tab, just below the Browse folders, you can see click items as follows. Select Single-click to open an item (point to select) and click the ok button.
Stop showing recent activity
It is awkward to display all the recent files and folders that we accessed to the public. If it is a public computer, it gives access to others to the files that we recently used. If it is your personal computer and laptop it is convenient for you to access the recent files easily without visiting the file location. So, depends on your use, you can turn on or off the recent activities in the file explorer. First, open the Folder option as described above. Under the General tab, under the Privacy, you can see Show recently used files in Quick access and Show frequently used folders in Quick access. You can check or uncheck to turn on or turn off the recent activities in Quick access. You can also clear the recent access file history by clicking the Clear button in Clear file explorer history.
Show file extensions
Do you want to see the file name extensions? To display file name extension, in file explorer, under the view tab, check (select) File name extensions. Now the file extensions are displayed next to the file name.
Show hidden files, folders and drives
In those golden old days, only a few people are familiar with computer usage. So it is easier for us to hide files from prying eyes by using the Hidden items. By enabling or disabling Hidden items, one can easily hide files and folders that are marked as hidden. To mark a file or folder as hidden, first right click on the file or folder that you want to hide, then click Properties. In the file or folder properties, in attributes, check (tick) Hidden and click OK. Now the file or folder is marked as hidden. Now unchecking Hidden items in File explorer will hide the files or folders from public view.
