Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Make My Computer use Explore View by Default

The title of this article might be a bit confusing, but I hope that the next sentence will explain it better. When you open 'My Computer' under the Start menu, it defaults to a task view. This means in the My Computer window when displaying files and folders, on the right there is a set of tasks that can be performed on each item in the window (such as renaming, moving, or deleting a file).

Some people hate the Task view because it consumes too much screen space that can be used for other things, such as displaying more icons. Personally I really like the Explorer view, this view allows you to quickly access files by expanding and contracting folders by pressing the plus (+) or minus (-) icons next to these icons.

To make My Computer default to the Explorer view instead of the Tasks view, follow the instructions below:
  • From the Start menu open 'My Computer'.
  • From the Tools menu, select 'Folder Options...'
  • Click the 'File Types' tab.
  • In the 'Registered file types' list, find the item that says '(NONE) Folder' and click on it.
  • Press the Advanced button.
  • Click 'Explore' in the 'Actions list'.
  • Press the 'Set Default' button.
  • Press the OK button.
  • Press the Close button.
Now every time when you open My Computer, it will open in the Explorer view.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is a great feature! I was always wondering if there was a way to do that. Thanks!