navigating in windows explorer

[Nita Klew]

I don't see any URLs in Windows Explorer. A URL looks like this:

http://www.someplace.com

Are you sure you mean URLs? When you open the Navigation Pane you should see
links to commonly-use folders like Documents, Pictures, Public and so forth
under the Favorite Links heading. You can make that page taller or shorter
by dragging the top bar on the Folder pane just below it.

To remove a shortcut that's in Favorite Links, right-click it and choose
Remove Link. To add a link, drag an icon from the main pane to the right
into Favorite Links.

Once you get the hang of using the Search Box on the Start menu, you won't
have to spend so much time navigating around through folders. Just tap the
Windows key, type a few characters until you see the item you want, then
click it on the Start menu. It's not limited to programs. It includes
folders, files, and file metadata properties (tags).

 

[Nita Klew]

Oh, URLs in the Address Bar. I thought you had URLs in Favorite Links. I
guess IE and Windows Explorer share the same History list. If you clear out
your IE history list, they'll go away. Open Internet Explorer, click Tools
and choose Delete Browsing History. Click Delete History.

I suppose if you wanted them never to show up you'd have to set your
browsing history limit to zero days. I don't know, haven't tried it. But if
you click the Settings button next to Delete History, you can change the
number of days at the bottom of the dialog box.

 

[newsgroupposter]

Hi,

In windows explorer,there is a list of urls and only links to drive C and
D.How are those urls removed? And some short cuts somewhere for particular
folders to navigate to,as all i see on the left is the "favourite Links",
and the "up 1 level" button is gone (was in XP). Its actually much harder to
navigate in vista or is it not set up properly??

e.g. if i go to a folder several levels down in drive D,i have to go back to
drive D to go to a level just above the folder i was previously in.

thanks

 

[Donald Lessau]

Hi,

In windows explorer,there is a list of urls and only links to drive C and
D.How are those urls removed? And some short cuts somewhere for particular
folders to navigate to,as all i see on the left is the "favourite Links",
and the "up 1 level" button is gone (was in XP). Its actually much harder
to navigate in vista or is it not set up properly??

May I humbly recommend you check out the alternative file manager XYplorer.
It has all the features and look and feel of XP's Explorer, plus lots of
usability enhancements like tabbed browsing, instant file preview, and a
really great file search.

http://www.xyplorer.com/ (30-day free trial of full version)

Don

 

[Puppy Breath]

Navigation in Vista is vastly improved. You don't need an Up button because
the parent folder's name is to the left of the current folder's name in the
Address bar. So just click the parent folder's name in the Address bar.



You can also click any << symbol or triangle in the Address bar to see
folders at that level to go to.



The Favorite Links list is completely customizable and can contain links to
any drive or location you wish. The ones that show up by default are just
examples. You can drag shortcuts in, delete items that are in there using
all the usual methods.



The Folder List is below Favorite Links. Just click its header to slide it
up into view.



Don't bother with any third-party file navigation systems. Once you've
mastered Vista's methods and created shortcuts to your most
frequently-accessed resources you'll be able to get from anywhere to
anywhere with a mouse click or two.

 

[Mike Benton]

I have noticed that both URL and local paths show up in the history while
using the Internet Explorer and File Explorer. I'm not sure how to filter
this. I don't really care to see the local paths I have explored while in
the Internet Explorer. Likewise, I don't really care to see Internet sites I
have explored while browsing through my drives in the File Explorer. If
there is a way to keep the browsing history separate, please let me know....

Mike

 

[Mike Benton]

One of the things I feel is silly about this feature is that if you're in
Internet Explorer and you put a path on your local machine, your brower
won't even open this path for security reasons. It wants to open a new
window. So why display these paths in history? The same is true for the File
Explorer. When you type a URL in the File Explorer, a new Internet Explorer
window opens. ?????

 

[newsgroupposter]

Hi,

Yes I am 100% positve i have url's in the address bar.What i see is firstly
"Computer",in that drop downlist is a list of url's such as
http://www.java.com as well as D:\ and C:\

thanks

 

[newsgroupposter]

I think that was a security issue,i may be wrong,in XP,as IE could access
your pc files ...

 

[Geta Klew]

You wouldn't have to think so hard if you put a post-it not on your monitor
that said:

To go to the folder above this one, click its name or press Backspace.

After you've read it a few thousand times, it'd probably become
second-nature to you. And you probably wouldn't be too terribly emaciated
from all the intellectual effort.

i have to agree,it is harder.It does take more thinking & when you are
tired .....

But the lack of Up means one now needs to expend energy (if one thinks
hard all day over 1/2 of the kj [or calories] burnt will be in the brain)
and think instead of it being a pycho-motor skill and requiring little
cognitive effort. It is like walking versus trying to coordinate the
muscles consciously to walk. So I would say on theory, and my experience
bears this out, it is harder. I doubt MS does usability testing on
fatigued users (which most are at the end of a day at work).

Navigating in Windows Explorer is much easier in Vista, once you get
used to the new format.

In the left pane, you can drag the Folders bar up to where you like it
or just drag it all the way to the top of the pane.

In the Address Bar the URL's you see are a duplicate of what is in IE.
You can navigate to those websites easily from WE.

When you open a folder, you will see all of the top level folders
displayed in the Address Bar. You can use the drop down arrow on any of
the top level folders to navigate wherever you wish or simply click the
top level folder to go there.

The "up one" button is no longer needed, since you can now go up 1 or 2
or 3 or more by clicking any of the top level folders.

If you want to see the Path to your current folder/file location, simply
click an empty space in the Address Bar.



--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


Hi,

In windows explorer,there is a list of urls and only links to drive C
and D.How are those urls removed? And some short cuts somewhere for
particular folders to navigate to,as all i see on the left is the
"favourite Links", and the "up 1 level" button is gone (was in XP). Its
actually much harder to navigate in vista or is it not set up
properly??

e.g. if i go to a folder several levels down in drive D,i have to go
back to drive D to go to a level just above the folder i was previously
in.

thanks

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Navigating in Windows Explorer is much easier in Vista, once you get used to
the new format.

In the left pane, you can drag the Folders bar up to where you like it or
just drag it all the way to the top of the pane.

In the Address Bar the URL's you see are a duplicate of what is in IE. You
can navigate to those websites easily from WE.

When you open a folder, you will see all of the top level folders displayed
in the Address Bar. You can use the drop down arrow on any of the top level
folders to navigate wherever you wish or simply click the top level folder
to go there.

The "up one" button is no longer needed, since you can now go up 1 or 2 or 3
or more by clicking any of the top level folders.

If you want to see the Path to your current folder/file location, simply
click an empty space in the Address Bar.

 

[Guest]

But the lack of Up means one now needs to expend energy (if one thinks hard
all day over 1/2 of the kj [or calories] burnt will be in the brain) and
think instead of it being a pycho-motor skill and requiring little cognitive
effort. It is like walking versus trying to coordinate the muscles
consciously to walk. So I would say on theory, and my experience bears this
out, it is harder. I doubt MS does usability testing on fatigued users
(which most are at the end of a day at work).

 

[newsgroupposter]

i have to agree,it is harder.It does take more thinking & when you are tired
......

But the lack of Up means one now needs to expend energy (if one thinks
hard all day over 1/2 of the kj [or calories] burnt will be in the brain)
and think instead of it being a pycho-motor skill and requiring little
cognitive effort. It is like walking versus trying to coordinate the
muscles consciously to walk. So I would say on theory, and my experience
bears this out, it is harder. I doubt MS does usability testing on
fatigued users (which most are at the end of a day at work).

Navigating in Windows Explorer is much easier in Vista, once you get used
to the new format.

In the left pane, you can drag the Folders bar up to where you like it or
just drag it all the way to the top of the pane.

In the Address Bar the URL's you see are a duplicate of what is in IE.
You can navigate to those websites easily from WE.

When you open a folder, you will see all of the top level folders
displayed in the Address Bar. You can use the drop down arrow on any of
the top level folders to navigate wherever you wish or simply click the
top level folder to go there.

The "up one" button is no longer needed, since you can now go up 1 or 2
or 3 or more by clicking any of the top level folders.

If you want to see the Path to your current folder/file location, simply
click an empty space in the Address Bar.



--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

 

[Jeff Richards]

snip <

The "up one" button is no longer needed, since you can now go up 1 or 2 or
3 or more by clicking any of the top level folders.

Not so. Clicking on a higher level folder in the address bar does not honour
the "Open each folder in it's own Window" setting. The "Up One" button in
XP did honour it.

It's the backspace key that is equivalent to the "one up" button from XP.
AFAICT there's nothing clickable that is equivalent.

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

To tell you the truth, I never really used that 'one up' button that much in
XP anyway. The thing I like most about the way Vista does it is that you can
see everything with a glance.

 

[Mike Benton]

Some guy posted his software on this thread early on. Something like
"XYPlorer"... Probably not cool to post software products on Microsoft's
newsgroup sites, but it did have an interesting feature.

If tabbed browsing makes sense for exploring URL's, why doesn't tabbed
browsing make sense for exploring the file system? As a software developer I
need to open several paths at once typically. I'd love this feature. Now I
know I can go some this guy's site and buy it, but why not make this a
feature of Vista?