address bar is disabled

[Tony Young]

Hi,

When hitting "my computer" or any other folder icon (or type "explorer"
in the start/run window), a folder view dialog box is shown. You can
see standard buttons and address bar. My question is why my address bar
is always dehighlighted and without a list box containing the current
path. Please advise. Thank you.

Tony

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Do you mean Start | Run | Browse button | Places bar?

That opens a Browse dialog, similar to Open or Save As dialogs. They have
no Address bar.

They have:
Places bar
Look in or Save in box
File Name box
Files of type box

Browse, Open, Save As dialogs

Places bar
[[Provides shortcuts to places on your computer or the network from which
you can open a file, such as the History folder, the desktop, or My Network
Places. When you click a location, it will appear in Look in, and the files
and folders in the selected location will be listed at the right.]]

Look in or Save in box
[[Specifies the location where you want to locate a file or folder. Click
the arrow to select another location, or click on the toolbar to move up
levels.

The box below lists the items in the selected location. To open a file, in
the Open dialog box, double-click the name of the file you want to open. To
save a file using an existing file name, in the Save dialog box,
double-click the name of the file you want to save.]]

File Name box
[[Provides a space for you to type the name of the file you want to open or
save. To quickly find a file you’ve previously opened, click the file name
in the drop-down list, if available.

If you are searching for a file, you can use asterisks (*) as wildcards. For
example, you can type *.* to see a list of all files. You can also type the
full path of a file, for example,

C:\Mydocs\Letter.doc.

If you are saving a file, you cannot use a question mark (?) or an asterisk
in the file name. If you use a question mark or asterisk and click Save, the
file will not be saved and the dialog box will not close. ]]

Files of type box
[[Lists the types of files to display.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Tony Young]

Hi Wesley,

Thank you very much for the information. But I didn't mean the browse
dialog box. From Start | Run, I type "explorer" in the box with a label
"Open:" on its left. Then I get a window exploring the files/folders in
the hard drive. In the window, the address bar is all the way to the
right and disabled. I cannot type anything there. My another computer
doesn't have this problem. I must have set some option to cause this
problem.

Tony

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Hi Tony,

From Start | Run, I type "explorer" in the box with a label
"Open:" on its left.

That is the Run command, aka the Run box, Start\Run or Start | Run etc.

Typing explorer in Start | Run opens Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) at My
Documents.

There a many reasons why the Address bar is missing/messed up.

Try this. If you have the Links bar showing.

Right click up at the top, above the Address bar and select Lock the
Toolbars to unlock the Toolbars (there will be a check mark if it is
locked). Right click again and uncheck Links. Does the full Address bar
appear?

If the Address bar appears and you want the Links bar back, try this.

Right click up at the top, above the Address bar and select Links. Move
your cursor to the left of the Links bar until the cursor changes to a
double-headed arrow, left click and drag it to the right until the Address
bar appears the way that you want it. Now right click up at the top, above
the Address bar and select Lock the Toolbars to lock the Toolbars. Locking
the Toolbars again should keep the Address bar from being hidden again.

If none of that worked.

Hit your F11 key to get out of Full Screen mode. The F11 key toggles
between Full Screen mode and a Normal or Maximized window.

Some more info on the Run command.

Open box
[[Provides a place for you to type the location and file name of the program
you want to run. If you are not sure of the program's location or file name,
click Browse. You can make a temporary network connection by typing the path
to a shared computer. You can also gain access to the Internet by typing the
address (URL) of the site you want to open. ]]

OK button
[[Opens the file or path specified and closes the dialog box.]]
The Enter key does the same thing.

Cancel button
[[Closes the dialog box without opening the file or path specified.]]

Browse button
[[Click to browse through folders to find the file you want.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wesley,

Thank you very much for the information. But I didn't mean the browse
dialog box. From Start | Run, I type "explorer" in the box with a label
"Open:" on its left. Then I get a window exploring the files/folders in
the hard drive. In the window, the address bar is all the way to the
right and disabled. I cannot type anything there. My another computer
doesn't have this problem. I must have set some option to cause this
problem.

Tony

Do you mean Start | Run | Browse button | Places bar?

That opens a Browse dialog, similar to Open or Save As dialogs. They
have no Address bar.

They have:
Places bar
Look in or Save in box
File Name box
Files of type box

Browse, Open, Save As dialogs

Places bar
[[Provides shortcuts to places on your computer or the network from which
you can open a file, such as the History folder, the desktop, or My
Network Places. When you click a location, it will appear in Look in,
and the files and folders in the selected location will be listed at the
right.]]

Look in or Save in box
[[Specifies the location where you want to locate a file or folder. Click
the arrow to select another location, or click on the toolbar to move up
levels.

The box below lists the items in the selected location. To open a file,
in the Open dialog box, double-click the name of the file you want to
open. To save a file using an existing file name, in the Save dialog box,
double-click the name of the file you want to save.]]

File Name box
[[Provides a space for you to type the name of the file you want to open
or save. To quickly find a file you’ve previously opened, click the file
name in the drop-down list, if available.

If you are searching for a file, you can use asterisks (*) as wildcards.
For example, you can type *.* to see a list of all files. You can also
type the full path of a file, for example,

C:\Mydocs\Letter.doc.

If you are saving a file, you cannot use a question mark (?) or an
asterisk in the file name. If you use a question mark or asterisk and
click Save, the file will not be saved and the dialog box will not
close. ]]

Files of type box
[[Lists the types of files to display.]]

 

[Tony Young]

Thank you so much, Wesley. After I unlocked the toolbars, I was able to
drag the address bar to the left and hence show the full bar. I really
appreciate your detailed and informative teaching.

May God bless you.

Tony

Hi Tony,

From Start | Run, I type "explorer" in the box with a label
"Open:" on its left.

That is the Run command, aka the Run box, Start\Run or Start | Run etc.

Typing explorer in Start | Run opens Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) at My
Documents.

There a many reasons why the Address bar is missing/messed up.

Try this. If you have the Links bar showing.

Right click up at the top, above the Address bar and select Lock the
Toolbars to unlock the Toolbars (there will be a check mark if it is
locked). Right click again and uncheck Links. Does the full Address bar
appear?

If the Address bar appears and you want the Links bar back, try this.

Right click up at the top, above the Address bar and select Links. Move
your cursor to the left of the Links bar until the cursor changes to a
double-headed arrow, left click and drag it to the right until the Address
bar appears the way that you want it. Now right click up at the top, above
the Address bar and select Lock the Toolbars to lock the Toolbars. Locking
the Toolbars again should keep the Address bar from being hidden again.

If none of that worked.

Hit your F11 key to get out of Full Screen mode. The F11 key toggles
between Full Screen mode and a Normal or Maximized window.

Some more info on the Run command.

Open box
[[Provides a place for you to type the location and file name of the program
you want to run. If you are not sure of the program's location or file name,
click Browse. You can make a temporary network connection by typing the path
to a shared computer. You can also gain access to the Internet by typing the
address (URL) of the site you want to open. ]]

OK button
[[Opens the file or path specified and closes the dialog box.]]
The Enter key does the same thing.

Cancel button
[[Closes the dialog box without opening the file or path specified.]]

Browse button
[[Click to browse through folders to find the file you want.]]

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Hi Tony,

Glad to help. Keep having fun.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Thank you so much, Wesley. After I unlocked the toolbars, I was able to
drag the address bar to the left and hence show the full bar. I really
appreciate your detailed and informative teaching.

May God bless you.

Tony

Hi Tony,

From Start | Run, I type "explorer" in the box with a label
"Open:" on its left.

That is the Run command, aka the Run box, Start\Run or Start | Run etc.

Typing explorer in Start | Run opens Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) at
My Documents.

There a many reasons why the Address bar is missing/messed up.

Try this. If you have the Links bar showing.

Right click up at the top, above the Address bar and select Lock the
Toolbars to unlock the Toolbars (there will be a check mark if it is
locked). Right click again and uncheck Links. Does the full Address bar
appear?

If the Address bar appears and you want the Links bar back, try this.

Right click up at the top, above the Address bar and select Links. Move
your cursor to the left of the Links bar until the cursor changes to a
double-headed arrow, left click and drag it to the right until the
Address bar appears the way that you want it. Now right click up at the
top, above the Address bar and select Lock the Toolbars to lock the
Toolbars. Locking the Toolbars again should keep the Address bar from
being hidden again.

If none of that worked.

Hit your F11 key to get out of Full Screen mode. The F11 key toggles
between Full Screen mode and a Normal or Maximized window.

Some more info on the Run command.

Open box
[[Provides a place for you to type the location and file name of the
program you want to run. If you are not sure of the program's location
or file name, click Browse. You can make a temporary network connection
by typing the path to a shared computer. You can also gain access to the
Internet by typing the address (URL) of the site you want to open. ]]

OK button
[[Opens the file or path specified and closes the dialog box.]]
The Enter key does the same thing.

Cancel button
[[Closes the dialog box without opening the file or path specified.]]

Browse button
[[Click to browse through folders to find the file you want.]]