How to work with files and folders
File Explorer (previously called Windows Explorer) helps you
work with files and folders on your OneDrive, PC, and network.
Open File Explorer by swiping in from the right edge of the
screen, tapping Search (or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right
corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Search),
entering File Explorer in the search box, and then tapping or clicking File
Explorer.
What happened to My Computer and the libraries?
The Computer location is now called "This PC," and
you can still use the Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders to save
your files. You just browse to these folders differently in File Explorer. To
browse the locations on your PC, including the folders that used to appear
under "Libraries," expand This PC in the left pane.
Learn about the different parts of the File Explorer window
Here's a typical window with its parts:
File
Explorer. See the following table for more info about each numbered area.
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Window part
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What it's useful for
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Window part
1. Left pane
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What it's useful for
Use the left pane to get to all kinds of locations: your OneDrive,
folders on your PC, devices and drives connected to your PC, and other PCs on
your network. Tap or click a location to view its contents in the file list,
or tap or click an arrow to expand a location in the left pane.
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Window part
2. Back, Forward, and Up buttons
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What it's useful for
Use the Back button to go back to the last location or
search results you were viewing, and the Forward button to return to the next
location or search results. Use the Up button to open the location where the
folder you're viewing is saved.
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Window part
3. Ribbon
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What it's useful for
Use the ribbon for common tasks, such as copying and
moving, creating new folders, emailing and zipping items, and changing the
view. The tabs change to show extra tasks that apply to the selected item.
For example, if you select This PC in the left pane, the ribbon shows
different tabs than it would if you select your Pictures folder. If you don't
see the ribbon, tap or click the Expand the Ribbon button in the upper right
or press Ctrl+F1.
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Window part
4. Address bar
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What it's useful for
Use the address bar to enter or select a location. Tap or
click a part of the path to go to that level, or tap or click at the end of
the path to select the path for copying.
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Window part
5. File list
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What it's useful for
This is where the contents of the current folder are
displayed. It's also where your search results appear when you enter a search
term in the search box.
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Window part
6. Column headings
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What it's useful for
In Details view, you can use the column headings to change
how the files in the file list are organized. For example, you can tap or
click the Date modified heading to sort by date (with the files you worked on
most recently at the top). If you tap or click the column heading again, the
files are sorted with the oldest ones at the top. Press and hold or
right-click a column heading to select other columns to add. To learn how to
switch to Details view, see the next section, "Change the view."
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Window part
7. Search box
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What it's useful for
Enter a word or phrase in the search box to look for an
item in the current folder. The search begins as soon as you begin typing—so
if you enter "B," for example, all the files with names starting
with the letter B will appear in the file list.
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Window part
8. Status bar
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What it's useful for
Use the status bar to quickly see the total number of
items in a location, or the number of selected items and their total size.
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Window part
9. Details/Preview pane
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What it's useful for
Use the details pane to see the most common properties
associated with the selected file. File properties provide more detailed info
about a file, such as the author, the date you last changed the file, and any
descriptive tags you might have added to the file. If you don’t see the
details pane, tap or click the View tab, and then tap or click Details pane.
Use the preview pane to see the contents of a file, such
as an Office document, without opening it in an app. If you don’t see the
preview pane, tap or click the View tab, and then tap or click Preview pane.
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When you open a folder, you can change how the files look in
the window. For example, you might prefer larger (or smaller) icons or a view
that lets you see different kinds of info about each file. To make these kinds
of changes, use the View tab.
The
View tab
Note
File Explorer isn't designed to let you manually arrange
files within a folder. For advanced procedures on how to do this in some views
and locations, search the Microsoft Community.
Depending on how many files you have and how they're
organized, it might be a lot of work to always browse to each particular file
you need. To save time and effort, use the search box to search for files.
The search box is located at the top of every window. To
search for a file, open a folder as a starting point for your search, tap or
click the search box, and start entering your search term. The search box
filters the current view based on the text that you enter. Files are displayed
as search results if your search term matches the file's name, tags or other
properties, or even the text inside a document. For more info about searching
in File Explorer, see Search for
files in File Explorer.
You can create folders to help organize your files. You can
even create folders within folders (sometimes called subfolders).
Tap or click the Home tab, and then tap or click New folder.
You can often print files directly from File Explorer, but
it's best to open the file you want to print in an app and use the app's
command for printing. This way, you can check and change print options if you
need to. If you can't find the print command in the app you're using, try
pressing Ctrl+P.
The most common way to create new files is by using an app.
For example, you can create a letter in a word-processing app or a movie file
in a video-editing app. By default, most apps save files in common folders like
Pictures and Music, which makes it easier to find the files again next time.
When you no longer need a file, you can remove it from your
PC to save space and to keep your PC from getting cluttered with files you
don't need. To delete a file, find the file and then select it. Tap or click
the Home tab, and then tap or click Delete.
When you delete a file, it gets moved to the Recycle Bin,
where it's stored temporarily. Think of the Recycle Bin as a safety net that
allows you to recover files or folders that you might have accidentally
deleted. To open the Recycle Bin in File Explorer, enter Recycle Bin in the
address bar. Occasionally, you should empty the Recycle Bin to reclaim all of
the storage space being used by files you don't need anymore. To empty the
Recycle Bin, right-click or press and hold it, and then tap or click Empty
Recycle Bin.
To open a file, double-tap or double-click it. The file will
usually open in the app that you used to create or edit it. For example, a text
file will open in your word-processing app. If you want to open a file in a
different app than the one you usually use, select the file, tap or click the Home
tab, tap or click the arrow next to Open, and then choose the app you want to
use.
If you have a CD or DVD burner on your PC, you can burn
discs using Windows Media Player. For more info, see Burn a CD or
DVD in Windows Media Player. Note that Windows Media Player isn't
included in Windows RT 8.1.
To rename a file or folder, select it in the file list, tap
or click the Home tab, and then tap or click Rename.
Notes
