November 17th, 2008
A deep dive into Windows 7 (build 6801)
Windows Explorer
If you look at the fossil record of Windows Explorer, you’ll see an evolution from its humble File Manager roots to something akin to an all-purpose browser capable of handling a variety of data types. In XP, the Folders List to the left of the Explorer data pane is optimized for drilling through storage hierarchies that start with drive letters. Vista muddied the waters slightly with a navigation pane that can show shortcuts to favorite folders, a tree-style Folders list, or both.
Windows 7 tries to bury tree-style navigation even more deeply by highlighting libraries as the predominant element in the navigation pane.
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For a closer look at all the changes in Windows 7, see the image gallery that accompanies this post. |
Libraries are collections of physical locations that appear as a single virtual folder in the navigation pane. Windows 7 includes a handful of predefined libraries for documents, downloads, music, pictures, and videos. You can edit these libraries or add custom libraries to serve the needs of a project. So, for example, I might create a ZDNet library that aggregates content from my Windows Live Writer Drafts folder, a directory full of screen shots from a SharePoint server, and the local Public Documents folder where other network users can open and save files.
Libraries are an especially useful way to narrow searches to locations that contain related types of files. Other subtle improvements to the built-in search tools include shortcuts at the bottom of the search box where you can filter a search. And my favorite change of all: a button that toggles the preview pane with a single click.
If your number-one gripe about Vista’s Explorer was the absence of an Up button, you will be able to continue complaining. It shows no sign of making a reappearance, ever.
Next page: Another stab at simpler networking –>
Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 11/18/08
