InformIT: Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

Browsing Folder Options

In Windows 2000, folder views have Web-style characteristics, which can be enhanced by enabling a single-click option to open items. Additionally, you can change the way you browse folders and the way the window contents appear. To change folder options, choose Tools, Folder Options from the menu.

The General tab of the Folder Options dialog box (see Figure 8.4) lists four categories of options.

Figure 8.4 Some options you change in the Folder Options dialog box will not take place until you restart your computer.

Table 8.1 lists the options found on the General tab of the Folder Options dialog box and describes each item.

Table 8.1. Folder Options for My Computer

Section	Item	Effect
Active Desktop	Enable Web content on my Desktop	Enables Active Desktop which makes your computer desktop look like and act like a Web page. With this option, you can add Web content to your desktop. With this option enabled, items on the desktop such as the My Computer icon, display with underlined titles (like Web links) when you hold your mouse over them.
	Use Windows classic desktop	This is the default setting and displays the desktop in what's referred to as the classic Windows look.
Web View	Enable Web content in folders	Displays folder contents as Web pages. Allows you to customize the appearance of folders by modifying or creating Web pages in HTML. The contents of My Computer are always displayed as Web pages even if this option is not selected. (See Figure 8.5.)
	Use Windows classic folders	Displays folders in the classic Windows look. (See Figure 8.6.)
Browse Folders	Open each folder in the same window	This is the default setting. When you click a folder to view it's contents, the folder contents appear in the same window.
	Open each folder	When you open a folder in its own window to view its contents, the contents appear in a new window.
Click items as follows	Single-click to open an item (point to select)	Makes your desktop work like a Web browser.
	Underline icon titles consistent with my browser	Uses the settings in your Web browser to determine how your desktop appears.
	Underline icon titles only when I point at them	Underlines appear on desktop items and icon titles only when you point at them with your mouse.
	Double-click to open an item (Single-click to select)	This is the default setting.

To turn the Web "look" on or off for a folder in My Computer, choose Tools, Folder Options from the menu. On the General tab, choose Use Windows classic. When you do this, the Web-style graphics disappear (see Figure 8.5), but you still have the Web single-click functionality. Also, this affects only the current window.

Figure 8.5 This window is viewed as a Web page.

Figure 8.6 This window is viewed in the classic Windows format.

The Folder Options dialog box also gives you control over which files are displayed in the folders, whether you see the file extensions, and how you see some files and folders. These options are all available on the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box (see Figure 8.7). Table 8.2 lists what you can accomplish with the Folder Options Advanced Settings and which setting to select.

Figure 8.7 The View tab of the Folder Options dialog box.

Table 8.2. Folder Options Advanced Settings

Check	To
Remember each folder's view settings	Retain the view settings for the folder so you see them when you reopen the folder
Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items	Have a brief description of a desktop item or folder appear in a popup window whenever you point at it (doesn't affect pages that are displayed as Web pages; the description appears in the left pane of the window instead)
Display the full path in the title bar	Display the full path (location) of the folder in the title bar instead of just the folder name
Hide file extensions for known file types	Not see the file extensions (familiar to DOS and Windows 3.1 users) that define the type of file
Display compressed files and folders with alternate color	Show compressed files with a different color
Do not show hidden files and folders	Prevent your hidden system files from being accidentally changed or deleted

You may want to experiment with some of these settings to see if you like them. Don't worry about getting the options back to their original settings. Click the Restore Defaults button in the Folder Options dialog box to get back your original settings.

After you've set the options for your folder, you may decide you'd like all the folders to look the same. Click the Like Current Folder button in the Folder Options box. To set the folder view options back to the original specifications in place after installation, click Reset All Folders.

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