Lesson 3: Customizing Folder Options | McDst Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-272(c) Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a[... ]ystem)

Folder options specify how folders function and the content that is displayed.

After this lesson, you will be able to

Configure folder options.
Troubleshoot Folder view settings.
Identify the best practices for setting folder options.

Estimated lesson time: 15 minutes

Configuring Folder Options

You can use Folder options to resolve many types of service calls and requests from end users. You can access folder settings from Control Panel or from the Tools menu in Windows Explorer. Listed next are brief descriptions of the four available tabs in the Folder Options dialog box and some common tasks that you can perform by using them:

General tab Use the options on this tab to change how folders look and how they open. Windows can be configured to use Windows classic folders for a pre– Windows XP look and feel, and opening a folder inside another folder can be configured to appear in different ways. Folders can be configured so that the new folder opens either in the same window or in a different one. Folders can also be configured to open with a single or double click.
View tab Use the options on this tab to apply folder views systemwide (Details, Tiles, Icons, and so on) or to reset the folder views to their default. Configure advanced settings to remember (or not remember) each folder’s view settings, to show (or not show) pop-up descriptions of folder and desktop items, to use (or not use) Simple File Sharing, to automatically search for network folders and printers, and more.
File Types tab Use the options on this tab to view, add, or reconfigure which types of files open with which particular program. When an end user requests that a specific file open with a specific program, make that change here. (File types are covered in Lesson 4.)
Offline filesIf Fast User Switching is not enabled, offline files can be enabled here. When offline files are enabled, a user can work on network files even if he or she is not connected to the network. (Offline Files are a tested objective on the 70-271 exam.)

Note
Open the Folder Options dialog box by opening Control Panel, clicking Appearance And Themes, and opening Folder Options.

Troubleshooting Folder View Settings

When a user requests help regarding how folders are viewed, how windows open, and what can and cannot be seen inside a folder, check the configured folder options first. There you can discover the cause of many common problems and resolve them easily.

Before starting any troubleshooting in the Folder Options dialog box, ask the user if he or she has made any changes there already. If a user tells you he or she has made changes to the folder options but cannot remember what the changes were, use the Restore Defaults button on the General tab and the View tab to restore the defaults. Many times this solves the problem. Table 3-2 shows some other common problems and their resolutions, all of which are available in the Folder Options dialog box.

Table 3-2: Common Folder View Issues and Their Solutions
Common Problem	Solution
A user reports that each time he opens a folder or clicks an icon in Control Panel, it opens a separate window. Sometimes he has 15 open windows on his desktop, and he finds it quite annoying. He wants you to change this behavior.	In the Folder Options dialog box, on the General tab, in the Browse Folders area, select Open Each Folder In The Same Window.
A user reports that she needs to view encrypted and compressed folders in a different color when using Windows Explorer to locate them. She wants to know how to do this.	In the Folder Options dialog box, on the View tab, select the Show Encrypted Or Compressed NTFS Files In Color check box.
A user reports that his co-workers often see new folders and printers in My Network Places, but he never does. He has to search for and add them manually. He wants you to resolve this problem.	In the Folder Options dialog box, on the View tab, select the Automatically Search For Network Folders And Printers check box.
Your CEO fancies himself a power user and wants to be able to view and access protected system files and hidden files and folders. How do you allow this?	In the Folder Options dialog box, on the View tab, select the Show Hidden Files And Folders check box and clear the Hide Protected Operating System Files (Recommended) check box.
A user who has recently upgraded from Windows 98 to Windows XP does not like the “Web” look associated with the folders and the interface. What can you do in the Folder Options dialog box to make the user more comfortable?	In the Folder Options dialog box, on the General tab, click Use Windows Classic Folders.

Note

If you change the Tasks setting in the Folder Options dialog box (on the General tab) to Use Windows Classic Folders instead of Show Common Tasks In Folders, you will not have the option in Control Panel to switch to Category view. Users might miss this feature and have a difficult time connecting the missing options with selecting this setting.

Exam Tip

Go over all the folder options available before the exam, but particularly try to remember those listed in Table 3-2.

Adopting Best Practices

Because changing default folder behavior is so simple (just select or clear any check box in the Folder Options dialog box), you might think that changes performed here are harmless. This is not true. Here are some reasons to leave the default options configured:

Although you can easily allow users to view hidden files and folders or access system files, you should avoid it at all costs. Changes made to these files, especially system files, can make the computer inoperable. If the changes are severe enough, you might have to perform a repair installation.
Although you might be tempted to disable Simple File Sharing to give a user more options for configuring security on his or her small workgroup or home network, it is not always necessary and might confuse the end user. In addition, the user might try to configure complicated options and create unnecessary file sharing problems.
Although you might think that switching a user to use Windows classic folders just because he or she is initially uncomfortable with the interface is helpful, in the long run it might be better for that user to learn to work with the new technology. Technologies will change, and it is generally beneficial to keep up.

Practice: Configure Folder Options

In this practice, you will configure four folder options. First you will set each new folder opened to have its own window. Second you will set folders to behave more like Web pages so that the user needs to click only once to open an item rather than double-click. Third you will make file extensions visible. Finally you will make hidden folders visible.

Log on to Windows XP.
On the Start Menu, choose Control Panel.
Click Appearance and Themes. (Note that if Control Panel is configured to show the Category view, you must click Switch To Classic View before performing this step.)
Click Folder Options.
In the Folder Options dialog box, on the General tab, in the Tasks section, select Use Windows Classic Folders.
In the Browse Folders section, select Open Each Folder In The Same Window.
In the Click Items As Follows section, select Single-Click To Open An Item (Point To Select).
On the View tab, in the Advanced Settings list, under Files And Folders, clear the Hide Extensions For Known File Types check box.
In the Advanced Settings list, under Hidden Files And Folders, select Show Hidden Files And Folders. Click OK.
In Control Panel, select Folder Options, and on the General tab, click Restore Defaults. On the View tab, click Restore Defaults. Click OK.

Lesson Review

The following questions are intended to reinforce key information presented in this lesson. If you are unable to answer a question, review the lesson materials and try the question again. You can find answers to the questions in the “Questions and Answers” section at the end of this chapter.

After configuring folder options, you notice you can no longer switch to Category view in Control Panel. What must you do to resolve this problem?
1. Clear the Use Windows Classic Folders check box in the Folder Options dialog box.
2. Select the Use Windows Classic Folders in the Folder Options dialog box.
3. In Control Panel, click View, select Choose Details, and select the Show Tasks check box.
4. In Control Panel, click the View tab, select Choose Details, and clear the Hide Task Options check box.
There are many ways to access the Folder Options dialog box. Which of the following are valid examples?
1. In Windows Explorer, click Tools, and click Folder Options.
2. In the My Documents folder, click Tools, and click Folder Options.
3. In Control Panel, open Folder Options.
4. In My Computer, click Tools, and click Folder Options.
5. From the All Programs list, under Accessories, click Folder Options.

Lesson Summary

To configure how folders open, how they look, and what they contain, use the Folder Options dialog box. There you can choose to show hidden files and folders, open folders with a single click, configure how encrypted and compressed files look, and more.
Often simply restoring folder options to their default settings is enough to fix a user’s problem, but you should still examine a user’s configuration and try to understand the problem. The user might also want some options reconfigured.