How to get the most out of Windows 10 File Explorer · PDF fileHow to get the most out of Windows 10 File Explorer ... If you skipped Windows 8.x and have just upgraded to Windows

How to get the most out of Windows 10

File Explorer

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2 HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF WINDOWS 10 FILE EXPLORER


04 The File Explorer Ribbon: A handy tool (once you get used to it)08 Gain a new perspective with the Group By command13 ZeroinonthefilesyouneedwiththeFilterfeature17 Anothergreatwaytofindfiles:TheSearchcontextualtab25 TwotrickstomakeFileExploreropenspecificfolders

Contents



The File Explorer Ribbon: A handy tool (once you get used to it)By Greg Shultz

If you skipped Windows 8.x and have just upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows XP, you’re

probably a little disoriented when you go to perform file management tasks. To begin with, the name of the

tool has changed from Windows Explorer to File Explorer. Not only that, but the file management tool has been

given a new user interface that features a Ribbon instead of a traditional dropdown menu system.

When I first encountered File Explorer’s Ribbon, I was more than a little disconcerted by what I initially thought

would be a big learning curve. However, once I adapted to it, I found that I really liked the Ribbon. I can now

say with confidence that once you get used to it, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without its feature set.

It’s truly a much more efficient navigational system. To help you get started, let’s take a look at some of its

main features.

OverviewFile Explorer’s Ribbon contains one menu and a set of core tabs that are always visible. It also includes

contextual tabs, which appear based on the type of object you’ve selected—such as a location, a folder, or

a file—and then provide related commands. This system of core and contextual tabs is designed to easily

expose close to 200 file management commands. Most have always existed in Windows Explorer, but they

were buried in numerous nested menus, pop-ups, dialog boxes, and right-click context menus.

The Ribbon in File Explorer (Figure A) includes the File menu and three core tabs: Home, Share, and View.

The Ribbon’s File menu (Figure B) is designed to provide you with quick access to some of the more general

commands in File Explorer. When you open the File menu, you’ll see a set of commands on the left side and

Frequent Places on the right. Frequent Places lists the most recently accessed folders. It remains visible until

you select a command that has a submenu. That submenu then overlays the Frequent Places pane and

provides related options.

Figure A: File Explorer’s base Ribbon contains the File menu and three core tabs.



For example, when you select Open Command Prompt, the submenu overlays Frequent Places with

commands to open a regular or an administrator command prompt (Figure C). Both of the Open Command

Prompt options are targeted on the currently selected folder.

Other commands on the File menu allow you to open a new Explorer window, open PowerShell, change folder

and search options, access Help, and close File Explorer.

Home tabThe first of the core tabs is the Home tab (Figure D), which gives you access to the most often used file man-

agement commands. The Clipboard group includes all the standard commands, along with the handy Copy

Path command. Just select a folder, click the command, and the current path is copied to the clipboard.

Figure B: The File menu provides access to the general commands in File Explorer.

Figure C: Selecting an item from the File menu displays a menu of related commands.



In the Organize group, you’ll find that the Move To and Copy To commands are readily accessible, rather than

being hidden away on the Edit menu as they were in Windows XP/7. The Delete and Rename commands also

live in this group.

The New group lets you create new folders and files of various types. The Easy Access command allows you

to add folders to a Library or to the Favorites, as well as to map a drive letter to a network location. This menu

also contains items for configuring and using offline files and folders.

In addition to the Open and Edit commands, which function just like before by launching the associated

application and loading the selected file, the Open group provides you with quick access to the Properties

dialog box.

The History command launches the File History feature. File History is a new tool that works like a combina-

tion of Previous Versions and Windows Backup And Restore. It continuously monitors files stored in Libraries,

Desktop, Favorites, and Contacts folders, and when it detects changes in any file, it makes a backup copy to

another location—such as an external hard disk or a network drive.

The Select group offers a set of commands for selecting groups of files and folders.

Share tabThe Share tab (Figure E) is your one-stop location for any command related to sharing files with others. For

example, within the Send group, you can create a Zip file and email it. You can burn files to an optical disc,

plus print or fax documents.

In the Share With group, you’ll find a gallery that allows you to share files and folders with your homegroup

or with specific users. The Advanced Security command opens the Security tab, where you can lock down

sharing by setting specific permissions.

Figure D: The Home tab offers the main file management commands.



View tabOn the View tab (Figure F), you’ll find a host of commands for configuring the way File Explorer displays files.

In the Panes group, you can configure the Navigation pane and enable or disable the Preview pane or the

Details pane. The latter now appears in the same space as the Preview pane rather than at the bottom of the

window.

The Layout group sports a live preview gallery for choosing your icon display. Just hover over an option in the

gallery, and the file display changes accordingly. The Current View group exposes several great commands.

First, the Group By and Sort By commands give you neat ways to narrow and organize the display of your

files so they’re readily available. Second, when you’re using the Details layout, the Add Columns and Size All

Columns To Fit commands come in handy for getting a better look at the available file and folder details in File

Explorer’s display.

The Show/Hide group brings to light several valuable items that were previously hidden in the Folder Options

dialog box. The Item Check Boxes option allows you to enable the check box file selection feature. When you

want to show or hide file extensions on the fly, select the Filename Extensions check box. When you need to

quickly see hidden files, select the Hidden Items check box. The Hide Selected Items command allows you to

quickly set the Hidden attribute—no more going to the Properties dialog box. The Options command opens

the Folder Options dialog box.

Figure E: The Share tab provides commands related to sharing files with others.

Figure F: The View tab includes a host of commands for configuring File Explorer’s display.



Gain a new perspective with the Group By commandBy Greg Shultz

Windows’ Ribbon system, with its core and contextual tabs, is designed to expose close to 200 file

management commands in File Explorer. One of these commands is called Group By, and it’s found on the

View tab. If you’re like most users, you probably aren’t taking advantage of the power that this command

provides when it comes to sorting through the various files, folders, and other objects you can display in File

Explorer.

For example, when it comes to data files, no matter how organized you are, chances are pretty good that you

don’t know where every document is located. Nor do you even remember every document you have on your

hard disk. Of course, Windows 10’s Search feature can help you out when you have an idea what you are

looking for, but it really can’t help you when you’re not sure.

File Explorer’s Group By command offers a different perspective on the data files you have stored on your

hard disk. For instance, using the Group By feature, you can find data files you never knew you had or that

you’d forgotten about. It can also help you locate and get rid of junk files you never meant to keep and that are

hogging valuable disk space.

As its name implies, the Group By command is designed to display all your files in groups—and it’s contextual.

In this article, I’ll explain how the Group By command works and show you how to use it to your advantage.

DocumentsLet’s begin by looking at how the Group By command works in the Documents folder. When you click the

Group By command, a dropdown menu appears that displays the Group options that are appropriate for the

Documents folder (Figure A).

Figure A: Windows presents these options in the Documents folder.



In the Documents folder, the Group options include Name,

Date modified, Type, Size, Date created, Authors, Tags, and

Title (the Ascending and Descending options are not always

selectable, which appears to be a bug).

At the bottom of the Group By menu, you’ll see the Choose

Columns command. Selecting it will open the Choose

Details dialog box (Figure B), where you can add other

column headers to the display and to the Group By menu.

For example, you might want to investigate the different

types of files you have in the Documents folder. To do so,

you could choose the Group By Type option and then

select the List View (Figure C). In addition to the groups,

File Explorer tells you how many files are in each grouping.

As you can see, combining the List View with the Group By

command provides an interesting way to look at your files. Figure B: The Choose Details dialog box allows you to add other column headers to the display and to the Group By menu.

Figure C: You can investigate different types of files using the Group By Type option.



Suppose you want open up space on your hard disk. Simply choose the Group By Size option, select

Descending, and then select the Details View (Figure D). Now you can see which files are hogging disk space.

If you happen to select a

Group By option that doesn’t

work with some of the files

in your folder, those files

will appear in a group titled

Unspecified. In my test folder,

I selected Authors, and those

files that don’t have that

metadata appeared in the

Unspecified group (Figure E).

Once you select a Group By

option, you’ll see that the

Group By menu contains

a new command titled (None). Selecting this option basically ungroups the files and returns the display to

normal.

MusicWhen you select the Music folder, the Group By menu displays options that apply to music files. Let’s say you

want to find a file for a short song. You could select Group By Length (Figure F).

Figure D: You can find out which files are taking up disk space if you use the Group By Size option.

Figure E: Files that don’t fit the Group By option you choose will appear in the Unspecified group.



PicturesWhen you select the Pictures folder, the Group By menu displays options that apply to images. For example,

suppose you want to find a file based on its proportions. You could choose Group By Dimensions (Figure G).

Figure F: In the Music folder, the Group By menu contains options that apply to music files.

Figure G: In the Pictures folder, the Group By menu shows image-related options.



This PCIn addition to files, the Group By command works with other objects. For instance, when you select This PC,

the Group By menu displays a host of options you can use to display the items you find in This PC. Suppose

you have a number of external drives connected to your computer and you want to find out their formatted file

system. Just use Group By File System (Figure H). You can also group by other options, like Total Size, Free

Space, and Percent Full. This will definitely give you a different perspective.

NetworkFinally, when you select Network,

the Group By menu displays

options that can be useful in

a number of situations. For

instance, suppose you want

to find out what IP addresses

are being used by the systems

on your network. You could do

this by selecting Group By IP

Address (Figure I).

Figure H: When you select This PC, you’ll find a number of useful options on the Group By menu.

Figure I: In Network, the Group By menu provides options you can use to view your network in helpful displays.



Zero in on the files you need with the Filter featureBy Greg Shultz

As we’ve discussed in the previous articles, File Explorer offers easy access to a tremendous number of useful

commands and options. This time around, we’re going to look at the Filter feature, which can be especially

helpful.

While the Filter feature is not actually a command on the Ribbon, it is a handy tool to have in your arsenal.

Similar to the Group By command, the Filter feature allows you to gain a different perspective on the data files

stored on your hard disk. However, unlike Group By, which allows you to reorganize all the files in a folder, the

Filter feature lets you narrow the display to only those files you want to work with. Let’s take a closer look.

Accessing the Filter featureTo begin with, the Filter feature is accessible only in File Explorer’s Details view. That’s because the Filter

feature actually lives in the column headers that display at the top of the File List pane when you’re using that

View. For example, the Documents Library displays the Name, Date Modified, Type, and Size column headers

by default (Figure A).

When you hover your mouse pointer over

a column heading, a dropdown arrow

appears to the right of the heading. This

arrow displays a menu with the Filter

options that are appropriate to the heading

type. For instance, the Filter menu on

the Name heading displays options that

show groups of numbers and letters that

a filename could begin with (Figure B).

Selecting one or more of the check boxes

enables that filter.

Figure A: There are four column headers in the Documents Library by default.

Figure B: The column heading menu contains filters that are appropriate for that heading type.



To get a better understanding of how the Filter feature works,

let’s look at some example situations where using it would be

advantageous.

Using the Filter featureSuppose you encounter a folder that contains a plethora of

files and folders, but you want to see only PDF files. If so,

you’d access the Filter feature on the Type header, and the

resulting menu would display all the file types present in the

folder (Figure C).

If you select the check box next to the PDF type, you’ll see

only PDF files in this folder (Figure D). Notice the check

mark in the column header; this indicates that this File List is

currently being filtered. You’ll also see the file type spelled out

in the address bar.Filter option allows you to filter out all but

the documents You can also use multiple Filters at the same

time. For example, you could add a Name Filter to limit the

display to only document names that

begin with any letters in the range of Q

to Z (Figure E).

Suppose you’ve found the PDF files

you’re looking for, but you also want

to find the DOC source files. Go back

to the Type Filter (Figure F). As you

can see, the Type Filter menu is much

smaller, because it’s now considering

only those file types that have filenames

beginning with letters in the range of Q

to Z.

The other nice thing about the Filter

menu is that it remains open until you

click on something else. This means

that you can select different Filter options

on the menu, one by one, to easily see

different sets of files.

Figure C: The Type Filter menu will display all the file types in the folder.

Figure D: The Filter option allows you to filter out all but the documents you’re interested in seeing.



For instance, suppose you want to look

for files created on certain dates. Once

you bring up the Date Modified filter,

you’ll see a Calendar display (Figure G).

As you click on any date, File Explorer

will instantly filter out all other files and

display only the files created on that

date. So if you select the 8th, you’ll just

see files or folders created on the 8th.

If you then select the 9th, you’ll just see

files or folders created on the 9th, and

so on.Figure E: You can use multiple filters at the same time.

Figure F: The Type filter menu is now being filtered by the Name filter.

Figure G: A Filter menu will remain in focus, allowing you to sequentially apply different filters on the fly.



Removing filtersTo remove a filter, you can clear the check box or you can use a shortcut—just click the back button. If you’ve

applied multiple Filters, you’ll have to click the back button to remove each Filter. If you decide that you want

to immediately apply the Filter again, just click the forward button.

Other filtersIn my examples, I showed you only the Filters in the Documents folder. The other folders, such as Pictures,

Videos, and Music, contain different file types and have different headers in the Details view. This means that

those folders will have filters that are appropriate to the type of files in that folder.



Another great way to find files: The Search contextual tabBy Greg Shultz

The Windows 10 Search contextual tab offers some great options—and it plays in well with the Filter feature

we discussed in the preceding article. Let’s take a look.

The Search tabWhen you select the Search box in the upper-right corner of File Explorer, the Search contextual tab will

appear (Figure A). This tab is populated with a host of filters and additional search features arranged in several

categories: Location, Refine, and Options. We’ll take a look at those additional features in a moment.

As soon as you begin typing in the Search box, File Explorer will begin sifting through the search index for that

text in folder names, filenames, the contents of files, and in file properties. It then displays the results in File

Explorer. For example, I entered Man into the Search box in the Documents Library, and it instantly turned up

112 items (Figure B).

Figure A: The Search tab offers a selection of filters and additional search features.

Figure B: The Search process is fast and efficient.



Manually weeding through 112 files to find the ones I want would be a time-consuming task. Fortunately, I can

use Search filters to do the work for me.

Location filtersUsing the filters in the Location category, I can better target my search. The default location is All Subfolders,

which will conduct the search in the selected folder and all subfolders underneath it. If you’re not sure where

on your hard disk the file is, you can expand the search by selecting This PC, which will search everywhere on

the computer. If you know that the file is in the current folder, you can narrow the search by selecting Current

Folder, which will search only in the selected folder and not in any of the subfolders.

If the file or text you’re looking for was not found in these three most common locations, you can select Search

Again In and choose from any of the available options (Figure C). The options you find will vary, depending on

your situation.

As you can see in my example, the choices on the menu include things like my Homegroup, Libraries, and the

internet, which will direct the search to Bing.

Refine filtersUsing the filters in the Refine category will allow you to narrow your search even further. An interesting fact here

is that the filters in the Refine category actually invoke a base version of the Windows Search Advanced Query

Syntax.

Figure C: The Search Again In menu will display options relevant to your system.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa965711.aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa965711.aspx



When you select the Date Modified filter (Figure D), you’ll see a menu that allows you to select one of the

available timeframes, such as Yesterday or Last Year.

When you select one of the options on the Date Modified menu, the Advanced Query Syntax for the filter

will appear in the Search box in light blue text. For example, if you select This Year, datemodified:this year will

appear in the Search box (Figure E). The filter appears in the Search box along with your original search term.

Figure D: The Date Modified filter provides a menu where you can select one of the available timeframes.

Figure E: The Date Modified filter invokes the Advanced Query Syntax.



In the case of the Date Modified filter, the timeframes can also be refined. Just place your cursor right after

the last character and click. When you do, a panel will appear that contains a calendar. You can select a date

or date range simply by clicking the dates on the calendar (Figure F). You can also select one of the other

timeframes.

When you select the Kind filter, you’ll see an extensive menu that shows the different kinds of files you can

search for. I selected Document from the list, and the Advanced Query Syntax base term kind:=document

appeared in the search box (Figure G). This allows you to narrow your search to only files classified as

documents by the Kind filter. My example turned up .pdf, . docx, and .txt files that contained the word Man in

the title, properties, or contents.

Figure F: Using the calendar you can refine your Date Modified search based on actual dates.

Figure G: Using the Kind filter essentially allows you to narrow your search to a specific file type.



Looking at the available Kind filters reveals some interesting ways to refine your search. For instance, you can

specify content from Contacts, Instant Messages, Recorded TV, and Web History, just to mention a few. If you

click the query text in the Search box, a panel will appear that allows you to select one of the other Kind filters.

If you know roughly the size of the file you’re searching for, you can use the Size filter (Figure H) to help

narrow your search. Click the query text in the Search box, and a panel will appear that lets you select one of

the other Size filters.

If you select the Other Properties filter, you can select some of the most common file properties. However,

these filters work a bit differently from the others, in that they require you to add information to the filter. For

example, I selected Type from the menu (Figure I), and it appeared in the search box, but I had to manually

enter the name of the type I wanted to search for right after the colon.

OptionsThe items in the Options section aren’t filters, but they will help you conduct your search operation more

efficiently. For instance, Recent Searches essentially displays a history list of all your recent search operations

(Figure J). There’s also a Clear Search History command so that you can easily clean up the list when you no

longer need it.

From the Advanced Options menu (Figure K), you can change which folders are indexed for fast searching

or add non-indexed locations to a search operation. For example, you might configure the tool to search the

contents of files in non-indexed locations.

Figure H: Using the Size filter enables you to narrow your search to a specific file type.



If you find yourself performing the same search over and over again, you can save the search for easy access

anytime you need it. All you have to do is click Save Search. The search will be saved in the Saved Search

folder in your user profile folder (Figure L).

Figure I: The Other Properties filter requires user input.

Figure J: Recent searches displays a history of all your recent search operations.



Figure K: Advanced Options allows you to change indexed locations.

Figure L: You can save yourself time and effort by saving the search.



Saved searches appear in the Favorites section of the Navigation pane (Figure M), so that you can easily run

a search whenever you need to.

Two other commands appear on the Search tab: the Open File Location command and the Close Search

command. Selecting a file in the search results display and then selecting the Open File Location command

will open the folder containing the file that’s currently selected. Selecting the Close Search command will do

exactly what it says—it will close the Search tab and remove the results from the file pane.

Figure M: If you have a search operation that you run on a regular basis, you can save the search.



Two tricks to make File Explorer open specific foldersBy Mark Kaelin

Recently, a reader sent me an email asking if it would be possible to update an old article I wrote. How do I

tweak Windows Explorer to open in a directory of my choosing? explains how to change the behavior of File

Explorer in Windows XP, but to get the same effect in Windows 10 requires a slightly different approach. Here’s

an update to show you how.

The new elegant wayThere are actually two ways to get the Windows 10 File Explorer to open in a directory of your choosing. The

first, best, and easiest way is to take advantage of the Pin feature found in the Taskbar on the Windows 10

Desktop.

When you click or tap the File Explorer icon in the Taskbar, the app will open in a special library called Quick

Access (at least that is what happens on my Desktop, as you can see in Figure A). From there, you can

navigate to the other folders available on your PC.

However, if you right-click the File Explorer icon, you are presented with a submenu showing pinned and

recently opened files and folders. You can use this feature to pin any folder or file you want to this submenu.

Figure A: The quick Access library opens when you click or tap the File Explorer icon.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/how-do-i-tweak-windows-explorer-to-open-in-a-directory-of-my-choosing/

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/how-do-i-tweak-windows-explorer-to-open-in-a-directory-of-my-choosing/



All you have to do is grab a folder

or file displayed in File Explorer and

drop it on the File Explorer icon on

the Taskbar. Once you do, that file or

folder will be pinned to the submenu.

As you can see in Figure B, I have

several pinned folders, which I can

access quickly by right-clicking the

File Explorer icon in the Taskbar.

For those of you who prefer the

Windows 10 Start Screen, you also

have the option to pin a folder or a file

to the Start Screen. That feature could

come in handy for Windows 10 tablets

or PCs using a touch screen.

The old-fashioned hackIf you insist on making Windows 10

act more like Windows XP, you will

have to create a shortcut for the File Explorer app, which

is located in the Windows file folder. Note: You can’t

modify the way the executable file itself works. Once

you find the executable file (explorer.exe), right-click it

and navigate to the Create Shortcut menu item. The

system will locate the new shortcut file to your Desktop

by default.

If you double-click that shortcut it will open File Explorer

in Quick Access as it did before. To get that shortcut

to open in a different folder you will have to modify its

properties.

Right-click the File Explorer shortcut and click on the

Properties menu item. When you get to the Properties

screen, click on the Shortcut tab. Now, just like you

did in Windows XP, you will change the Target box on

this screen (Figure C) to include the switches and the

location of your desired folder.

Figure B: Pinned folders are easy to access.

Figure C: Modify the Target setting to point to the location you want.



The command in the Target box should follow this pattern:

c:\windows\EXPLORER.EXE /n, /e, X:\Folder of my choosing

You can follow this procedure to create as many shortcuts for as many folders as you want. Of course, that

could clutter your Desktop a bit, so I would suggest using descriptive titles and perhaps changing the default

icon.

Choose wiselyCreating a way to access specific folders in Windows 10 is not difficult and in many ways the process is

the same as it was with Windows XP. However, I have been using the Taskbar and its pinning feature since

Windows 7 and find it much more efficient and elegant than the old Windows XP way of creating shortcuts.

Which method you prefer is a choice you will have to make for yourself.