Running Windows Explorer

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Any time you open a folder, Windows Explorer displays the contents of that folder. That's the simplest way to run Windows Explorer. You can also run it by opening the Start menu and choosing Programs, Accessories, Windows Explorer. (You can also open the Start menu, choose Run, and type explorer.exe.)

SEE ALSO

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For information about clicking vs. double-clicking, see "To Click or to Double-Click?"

When you run Windows Explorer from the Start menu, the folder that appears initially is My Documents. This behavior represents a change from earlier versions of Windows, in which Windows Explorer opened My Computer by default. If you want, you can restore the older behavior. To make the Windows Explorer menu command open My Computer by default:

1. Open the Start menu and choose Programs, Accessories.
2. Right-click the Windows Explorer item on the Accessories menu and choose Properties.
3. Click the Shortcut tab.
4. Replace the contents of the Target field with %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,"

What's in a Folder?

The basic unit of display in Windows Explorer is the folder, of which there are two kinds in Windows 2000. One kind of folder, called a file folder, corresponds with what, in MS-DOS days, was called a directory. Most of the folders you'll work with are of this type. If you open Command Prompt by clicking the Start menu, pointing to the Programs menu, and pointing to Accessories, and you poke about with the cd (change directory) command, you can find an MS-DOS-style directory corresponding to each file folder on your system. To learn more about the Command Prompt, search Windows 2000 Help.

The other kind of folder is the system folder. Control Panel, Printers, My Computer, My Network Places, and Scheduled Tasks are examples of system folders. These don't correspond to MS-DOS-style directories, but when displayed in Windows Explorer, they look just like ordinary folders. The reason for pointing out the distinction is that you can't perform certain tasks with system folders. You can't rename, share, or delete Control Panel, for example.