As I’ve been known to say over the years, the most important (and expensive) part of any computer is the data that’s on it. Some files are more important to us than others, but most everything that’s stored on a hard drive is there for a reason. From pictures, to documents, to programs, everything we need to utilize our computers in an efficient matter is housed on the hard drive. While it’s comforting to know that these files exist, it’s important to know how to actually access them when looking to attach something to an e-mail, or save a new file, and without basic organization, it’s almost impossible to quickly find what you’re looking for. Fortunately, modern versions of Microsoft Windows include the File Explorer to help make sense of an often complex and confusing problem. Today, we’ll introduce you to your “new best friend” the File Explorer, explain what it is and how it works, and include some tips to use it effectively.
If you’ve been around the Windows game for a while, you’re familiar with names like “My Computer” and “Windows Explorer”. File Explorer is the replacement for these old favorites. Essentially, File Explorer is a graphic representation of the file system that makes up your personal computer (P.C.). It lists the drives that have been formatted on your computer, including the hard drive and any optical (DVD/CD) or removable drives (USB) that you may use. Typically, the hard drive is labeled as drive C, and where files are saved by default. When you install a program to your computer, the files needed to access that program are contained on the hard drive. When you create a document in Microsoft Word, nine times out of ten you’ll save that document to drive C, the hard drive. Because the hard drive is almost always the storage media of choice, Microsoft had a feeling it would get pretty congested. In an effort to force basic organization onto Windows P.C.s, Libraries were created. Libraries are virtual folders that make it easy to find files according to their type. Since Windows 7, four default libraries are included with each user account: Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos. It is possible to create your own, but everyone has these four.
Before we go any further, let’s head to the File Explorer. In most cases, the File Explorer icon (seen in the “Find Your Inner (File) Explorer” graphic) is visible on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. If you see the icon on your computer, click on it, to launch File Explorer. If it isn’t there, follow these steps. In Windows 7, click “Start” then “Computer”. In Windows 8, move the mouse to the right side of the screen, and click on the magnifying glass that appears. Type “File Explorer” and click on the top result in the list. If you’re on Windows 10, right-click on the “Start” button, then left click on “File Explorer” to begin. When you launch File Explorer, what you’re greeted with varies depending on the version of Windows you’re using. In Windows 7 you’ll see the aforementioned Libraries in the center of the screen, with Favorites (folders you frequent), Libraries, and Computer on the left side. Windows 8’s version begins with a combination of Favorites and Libraries at the top of the screen, and Devices and Drives underneath those folders in the center of the screen. The left side mirrors that of Windows 7, with one difference: “This PC” replaces “Computer”. Finally, Windows 10 has changed the center of the screen to show “Frequent folders” and “Recent files”, with the Frequent folders repeated at the top left of the screen, followed by This PC, and Network. While Computer and This PC are labeled differently among the versions, their function is the same: to list the drives and folders on your computer.
When you install a program, one of the settings that can often be changed is the location where the files are saved. For example, if you use Microsoft Word, your documents are set by default to be saved in C:\Users\YourName\Documents (My Documents in Windows 7). To access that location, you would click on “Computer” or “This PC”, then double click on C:, double click on “Users”, double click on “Your Name” (don’t look for “Your Name” – just click on whatever your user account name is), then double click on “Documents”. Any documents you’ve created are listed there. On my computer I have several spreadsheets for Finish Line that are scattered among my resume and racing notes. To organize the folder a little, I decided to create a new folder within My Documents called “Finish Line”. If you’d like to do something similar, simply right-click in any open white area, click “New” then click “Folder”. Give your folder a name, then press “ENTER”. To add any existing files to that folder, left-click and drag them into the folder you’ve just birthed. When creating a document in the future that should be saved in that folder, simply select the particular folder when saving the document. A couple of other tips: if you’re looking for a shortcut rather than doing all the clicking we did to access documents, simply click “Documents” on the left side of the screen to see all of your documents. Right-click on any document or folder, and select “Open file location” or “Open folder location”. The document will be highlighted in the list of the folder it’s housed in. To know which folder it is, look to the top of the screen at the address bar. If you click your mouse to the right of (for example “Justin\My Documents”), you’ll see the entire folder location highlighted. In my example it’s “C:\Users\Justin\Documents”. Click the forward or back arrows at the top of the screen to navigate through File Explorer. Also, to the right of the address bar is a search box. Type a search term in the box and press “ENTER”, and any files within that folder that contain that term will be listed and can then be accessed.
Sorry for the long post, but there’s an awful lot to cover in File Explorer. We’ve hardly scratched the surface here! File Explorer is one of the most useful, yet least understood features of Windows. I’m confident that if you put in the effort, you too will be able to “Find Your Inner (File) Explorer!”