File Explorer in Windows 10 – Instructions

File Explorer in Windows 10: Video Lesson

            This video lesson, titled “File Explorer in Windows 10,” shows how to use File Explorer in Windows 10. This video lesson is from our complete Windows tutorial, titled “Mastering Windows Made Easy v.10.”

File Explorer in Windows 10: Overview

            File Explorer in Windows 10 adds a few new features. Note that previous releases of Windows before Windows 8 called File Explorer “Windows Explorer,” instead.  It doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as you realize that Windows Explorer and File Explorer are basically the same program. However, there are a few differences between its features and names in the different Windows operating systems.

            File Explorer in Windows 10 is a window that lets you explore and manage the files and folders in your computer and OneDrive account. After opening a library folder in Windows 10, for example, its contents appear in a File Explorer window.

            To start File Explorer in Windows 10, click the “File Explorer” app within the “Windows System” folder in the “All apps” listing of the Start menu or Start screen. You can also open it from the Desktop by clicking the “File Explorer” button in the Taskbar at the bottom of the desktop. The File Explorer in Windows 10 contains a set of tabs at the top of the window that let you to perform activities on the files and folders selected in the main File Explorer window.

            Within File Explorer, the Navigation Pane is used to select folders, drives, and navigate the computers, folders, and files on your network. You can expand and collapse the areas shown within the Navigation Pane, which include Quick access, OneDrive, This PC, Network, and Homegroup.

File Explorer in Windows 10 – Instructions: A picture of the File Explorer window within Windows 10.

            The Back, Forward, and Up Buttons let you navigate the different screens you browse in File Explorer. Clicking the Back button returns to the last page viewed. Clicking the Forward button moves forward again after pressing the Back button. If you click the Up button, you move up a level in the folder hierarchy shown in File Explorer.

            The many Tabs within the Ribbon appear at the top of File Explorer. All your file and folder management commands appear here. After selecting an item in the Files and Folders listing in File Explorer, the available commands appear on the tabs in the Ribbon. Clicking the tabs shows the functions in each group.

            The Address Bar shows the currently selected location in your computer or network. You can also click into the Address Bar and enter a folder location, if desired. The Files and Folders listing shows the contents of the currently selected Address Bar location.

            If viewing the “Details” view of a folder in the Address Bar, then the details of the files and folders appear in columns. At the top of each column is a column name that show the column’s information type.

            To find a specific file or folder in a selected folder location, use the Search Box. To do this, start typing the name of the file or folder into the Search Box. Doing this then searches within the currently selected folder location for the text you enter. Searching begins immediately as you start typing into the Search Box.

File Explorer in Windows 10: Instructions

1. To start File Explorer in Windows 10, click the “File Explorer” app within the “Windows System” folder in the “All apps” listing of the Start menu or Start screen.
2. Alternatively, click the “File Explorer” button in the Taskbar at the bottom of the desktop.
3. The Navigation Pane at the left side of the File Explorer window lets you select folders, drives, and also navigate your network’s computers, folders, and files.
4. You can expand and collapse the areas in the Navigation Pane.
5. The Back, Forward, and Up Buttons let you navigate through the screens you browse within File Explorer.
6. To return to the last page viewed, click the Back button.
7. Click the Forward button to move forward again after clicking Back.
8. To move up a level in the folder hierarchy shown within File Explorer, click the Up
9. After selecting an item from the Files and Folders listing in File Explorer, all its commands appear on the Tabs within the Ribbon at the top of File Explorer. Clicking the tabs shows the functions available in each group.
10. The Address Bar shows the currently selected computer or network location.
11. You can also click into the Address Bar and enter a folder location.
12. The Files and Folders listing shows the contents of the currently selected Address Bar location.
13. If viewing the “Details” view of a folder location in the Address Bar, then the details of its files and folders appear within columns. The top of each column shows the column’s name.
14. To find a file or folder in a selected folder, type the file’s name or folder’s name into the Search Box to immediately start searching within the currently selected folder for the text you enter.