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When you think about it, most of your time working with a computer is
spent managing files and folders. You create files and folders to store
and organize information. You move the files and folders from one
location to another. You set file and folder properties, and so on.
Because you spend so much time working with files and folders, a few
simple techniques for effective management can go a long way toward
saving you time and effort.
Customizing File Explorer
File Explorer is the tool of choice for working with files and
folders. Unfortunately, its default settings are configured for the
widest cross-spectrum of users and not experienced users or
administrators. For example, as an administrator, you often want to see
hidden items and file extensions. By default, File Explorer doesn’t
display hidden file types or file extensions.
With Windows 8, related options can be quickly enabled in the View panel. In File
Explorer, tap or click View to open the View panel. Next, select Hidden
Items to display hidden items (but not protected operating system
files), and then select File Name Extensions to display file name
extensions. To override other settings, complete the following steps:
-
In the View panel in File Explorer, tap or click Options. This
displays the Folder Options dialog box with the General tab selected. -
As shown in Figure 1, select the View tab to display the advanced settings for File Explorer.
-
You can now customize File Explorer settings. Options available include:
-
Always Show Icons, Never Thumbnails
By default, File
Explorer shows large thumbnail images of the actual content for pictures
and other types of files. For folders that have many pictures, this
option can be annoying because File Explorer has to render the thumbnail
representation of each image. To disable thumbnails except when you
select the Thumbnails option on the View menu, select this option. -
Display File Icon On Thumbnails
By default, File Explorer adds file icons to the thumbnails it
displays. To display thumbnails without file icons, clear this option. -
Display File Size Information In Folder Tips
By default, when you move the mouse pointer over a folder name or
folder icon, File Explorer displays a tooltip showing the folder’s
creation date and time, the size of the folder, and a partial list of
files. To display less information (only the creation date and time),
clear this option. -
Display The Full Path In The Title Bar By default, when you press Alt+Tab and then hold the Alt key, Windows opens the flip view,
which shows a preview of all open windows without having to click the
taskbar. In this view, you can cycle through the open windows by
pressing the Tab key or using your mouse. By default, Windows displays
the folder name for a File Explorer window. Select this option to display the file path for File Explorer windows instead. -
Hidden Files And Folders
By default, File Explorer does not display hidden files, folders, or
drives. To display hidden files, folders, and drives, select Show Hidden
Files, Folders, And Drives. (The Hidden Items option on the View menu
can also be used to manage this option.) -
Hide Empty Drives In The Computer Folder
By default, File Explorer does not display information about empty
drives in the Computer window. To display information about empty
drives, clear this option. -
Hide Extensions For Known File Types
By default, File Explorer does not display file extensions for known
file types. To display file extensions for all file types, clear this
option. (The File Name Extensions option on the View menu can also be
used to manage this option.) -
Hide Folder Merge Conflicts
By default File
Explorer does not display information about merge conflicts for folders.
To display information about merge conflicts, clear this option. -
Hide Protected Operating System Files By default, File Explorer does not display operating system files. To display operating system files, clear this option. -
Launch Folder Windows In A Separate Process
By default, Windows runs all instances of File Explorer in the same
process. This saves memory and generally speeds up the process of
opening new windows, but it also means that all instances of File
Explorer are dependent on each other. If one instance crashes, they all
crash, and if one instance is in a pending or wait state, all instances
could become locked. To modify this behavior and have Windows start a
new process for each instance of File Explorer, select this option. -
Restore Previous Folder Windows At Logon
File Explorer can track folders that users have open when they log off
and reopen the folders the next time they log on. By default, this
feature is disabled. To enable this feature, select this option. -
Show Drive Letters
By default, File Explorer displays drive letters as part of the
information on the Locations bar. Clear this option if you don’t want to
see drive letters. -
Show Encrypted Or Compressed NTFS Files In Color
By default, File Explorer lists encrypted files and compressed files
using different colors than normal files. Encrypted files are displayed
with green text, and compressed files are displayed using blue text.
Clear this option if you don’t want to use different colors. -
Show Pop-Up Description For Folder And Desktop Items By default, File
Explorer shows tooltips with additional information about a file or
folder when you move the mouse over the file or folder. Clear this
option if you don’t want to see tooltips. -
Show Preview Handlers In Preview Pane By default, when the Preview pane is visible, File Explorer displays previews of selected files and folders. Clear this option if you don’t want to see previews. -
Show Status Bar By default, File Explorer displays a status bar. If you want to hide the status bar, clear this option. -
Use Check Boxes To Select Items
By default, File Explorer allows you to select files, folders, and
other items by using only the standard selection techniques, such as
click, Shift+click, and Ctrl+click. Select this option if you want File
Explorer to display check boxes to select multiple files and folders. -
Use Sharing Wizard
By default, File Explorer uses the File Sharing Wizard for configuring file sharing.
If you prefer to use only the advanced file sharing options, clear this
option. When you try to share files, you need to tap or click Advanced
Sharing on the Sharing tab so that you can configure permissions,
caching, and connections settings separately. -
When Typing Into List View
By default, when
you are working with the list view and press a letter key, File Explorer
selects the first file or folder with that letter at the start of its
name. If you would rather have File Explorer enter the text that you
type into the Search box, select the Automatically Type Into The Search
Box option.
Configuring Advanced File Explorer Options
Both users and administrators spend a lot of time working with File
Explorer or one of the related views, such as Computer. As an
administrator, you’ll often want to do more with File Explorer. You
might want to perform one of the following tasks:
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Deploy computers that have certain File Explorer features blocked
out. For example, you might want to block users’ access to the Hardware
tab, preventing them from viewing or changing hardware on a computer. -
Hide or restrict access to local disks. For example, you might want
to prevent users from accessing the CD/DVD-burning features on the
computers that you deploy.
These and other advanced configuration options for computers are discussed in this section.
Setting Group Policy for File Explorer and Folder Views
As with many other Windows 8 features, you can use Group Policy to
control the options available in File Explorer. Because many of these
options extend to folder views and settings, they are useful to examine.
Table 1
provides an overview of policies that you might want to implement and
how these policies are used when they are enabled. These Administrative
Templates policies for User Configuration are located in Windows
Components\File Explorer.
Table 1. Policies for File Explorer
|
POLICY NAME |
POLICY DESCRIPTION |
|---|
|
Allow Only Per User Or Approved Shell Extensions |
Shell extensions extend the feature set available in File Explorer.
This setting permits a computer to run only shell extensions that have
been approved by an administrator or that don’t affect other users on
that computer. Approved shell extensions must have a registry entry in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell
Extensions\Approved. | |
Display Confirmation Dialog When Deleting Files |
Displays a confirmation dialog box whenever you delete files or move files to the Recycle Bin. | |
Hides These Specified Drives In My Computer |
In File Explorer views, hides icons representing selected hard
drives. Users can still gain access to drives through other methods. | |
Hides The Manage Item On The File Explorer Context Menu |
Removes the Manage item from the shortcut menu in File Explorer views
and the Start screen. This shortcut menu option is used to open
Computer Management. | |
Prevent Access To Drives From My Computer |
Prevents users from accessing files on selected drives in File
Explorer views. Users also can’t use the Run or Map Network Drive
command to access files on these drives. | |
Remove “Map Network Drive” And “Disconnect Network Drive” |
Prevents users from mapping or disconnecting network drives by using
File Explorer. This doesn’t prevent the use of other techniques, such as
the command prompt. | |
Remove CD Burning Features |
Removes CD creation and modification features from File Explorer. Users are not prevented from using other CD-burning programs. | |
Remove DFS Tab |
Removes the DFS tab from File Explorer and File Explorer–based
windows, preventing users from using the tab to view or change
distributed file system (DFS) settings. Note that the DFS tab is
available only when DFS is configured in the workgroup or domain. | |
Remove File Menu From File Explorer |
Removes the File menu from File Explorer views but doesn’t prevent
users from using other means to perform tasks that are available on this
menu. | |
Remove Hardware Tab |
Removes the Hardware tab from all dialog boxes, preventing users from
using the tab to view, change, or troubleshoot hardware devices. | |
Remove Security Tab |
Removes the Security tab from the Properties dialog boxes for files,
folders, shortcuts, and drives. This prevents users from changing or
viewing the related file and folder permissions. | |
Remove File Explorer’s Default Context Menu |
Prevents users from pressing and holding or right-clicking and displaying shortcut menus on the desktop and in File Explorer. | |
Start File Explorer With Ribbon Minimized |
Controls whether File Explorer displays the full or minimized ribbon.
Options are available for when first opened or for all new windows. | |
Turn Off Caching Of Thumbnail Pictures |
Disables the caching of thumbnail views. | |
Turn Off The Display Of Thumbnails And Only Display Icons |
Disables the creation and display of thumbnails when users access
local computer folders. This can reduce wait times and make accessing a
folder the first time faster for users, although users might need to
view media files to distinguish between them. | |
Turn Off The Display Of Thumbnails And Only Display Icons On Network Folders |
Disables the creation and display of thumbnails when users access
network folders. This can reduce wait times and make accessing a folder
the first time faster for users, although users might need to view media
files to distinguish between them. | |
Turn Off Windows Libraries Features That Rely On Indexed File Data |
Disables all Arrangement views except By Folder, and all Search
filter suggestions other than Date Modified and Size. Also disables the
view of file content snippets in Content mode and excludes libraries
from Start searches. |
As detailed in Table1,
many File Explorer policies control the availability of options such as
menu items and tabs in dialog boxes. To configure these options for all
users of a computer, follow these steps:
-
Open a Group Policy Object for editing in the Group Policy Management
Editor. The related Administrative Templates policies for User
Configuration are located in Windows Components\File Explorer. -
Double-tap or double-click the policy you want to configure. This
displays a properties dialog box. Select one of the following options:
-
Not Configured Specifies that no changes will be made to the registry for this policy -
Enabled Enables the policy and updates the registry -
Disabled Disables the policy and updates the registry
-
Tap or click OK.
Managing Drive Access in File Explorer
You might want to block access to files on certain drives or even
hide certain drives on a system. You manage this through Group Policy.
The policies you use are Hide These Specified Drives In My Computer and
Prevent Access To Drives From My Computer.
Hiding drives prevents users from accessing them in File Explorer
views, but it doesn’t prevent them from using other techniques to access
the drives. In contrast, blocking access to drives prevents users from
accessing any files on the drives and ensures that these files cannot be
accessed using File Explorer or the Run or Map Network Drive command.
It doesn’t, however, hide drive icons or the folder structure in File
Explorer.
To hide selected drives or to prevent access to files on selected drives, follow these steps:
-
Open a Group Policy Object for editing in the Group Policy Management
Editor. The related Administrative Templates policies for User
Configuration are located in Windows Components\File Explorer. -
To hide drives, double-tap or double-click Hide These Specified
Drives In My Computer, and then select Enabled. Next, specify which
drives you are hiding, and then tap or click OK. Key options are the
following:
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Select Restrict All Drives to restrict access only to all internal hard drives and floppy drives. -
Select Restrict A And B Drives Only to restrict access only to floppy drives. -
Select Restrict A, B And C Drives Only to restrict access only to floppy drives and drive C. -
Select Restrict C Drive Only to restrict access only to drive C. -
Select Restrict D Drive Only to restrict access only to drive D. -
Select Do Not Restrict Drives to remove additional restrictions that would otherwise apply.
-
To block access to files on specific drives, double-tap or
double-click Prevent Access To Drives From My Computer, and then select
Enabled. Next, select the drives you want to restrict access to, and
then tap or click OK.
Note
The List Folder Contents permission controls whether a user can see
files in a folder. If you want to ensure that users cannot view the
names of folders on drives, you should also hide the drives. This is the
easiest way to hide all the folders on a drive from view.
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