Changing Folder Options

WINV-4.1.1, WINV-4.1.2, WINV-4.1.3

When you work with files and folders, Windows displays folder contents in a standard way, known as the default. The default folder view settings are as follows: Tiles view displays files and folders as icons; common task links appear in the left pane; folders open in the same window; and items open when you double-click them. Depending on previous installation or users, your folder view settings might differ. Instead of changing the folder view to your preferred view—Icons, List, or Details—each time you open a folder, you can change the view permanently to the one you prefer. In addition to the defaults, you can change options such as folder settings to show or hide file extensions for known file types, show or hide hidden files and folders, show or hide protected operating system files, and show pop-up descriptions of folders and desktop items.

Change the Way All Folders Work

Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click the Folder Options icon.

Click the General tab.

Select a Tasks option to display frequently used tasks or the contents of the folder.

Select a Browse folders option to display each folder in the same window or its own window.

Select a Click items as follows option to single-click or double-click items.

Click OK.

Did You Know? You can restore all folder options to default Windows settings. On the General tab in the Folder Options dialog box, click Restore Defaults.

Change the Folder View

Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click the Folder Options icon.

Click the View tab.

To set the current view to all folders, click Apply to Folders.

Select the check boxes for the options you want, and clear the check boxes for the ones you don’t. Some common options include:

• Always show menus (New!).

• Hidden files and folders. Click an option to show or hide them.

• Hide extensions for known file types.

• Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) (New!).

• Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color (New!).

• Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items.

Click OK.

For Your Information: Understanding File Extensions The program Windows uses to open a document depends on a three-letter extension to the document’s file name, called a file extension. You might have never seen a document’s file extension because your system might be set up to hide it. The file extension for simple text files is “.txt” (pronounced “dot t-x-t”), and many graphic files have the extension “.bmp”. This means that the full name for a text file named Memo is Memo.txt. If you double-click a document whose file name ends with the three-letter extension “.txt,” Windows automatically opens the document with Notepad, a text-only editor. If you want to display or change file extension settings, click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then double-click the Folder Options icon. If you want to display file extensions in dialog boxes and windows, click the View tab, and then clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box in the Advanced settings list box. If you want to change the program Windows automatically starts with a given file extension, click the Start button, point to All Programs, click Default Programs, click Associate a file type or protocol with a program, select the file type, and then click Change Program to see the list of the file extensions Windows recognizes and the programs associated with each of them, and make changes as appropriate.

Did You Know? You can reset folder views to original Windows settings. On the View tab in the Folder Options dialog box, click Reset Folders.