The management of folders and windows, which has been the basis of every version of Windows since its inception, has had significant improvements in Windows 10 compared to Windows 7 and 8. To better use the new PC or the old one after running the update to the new version of Windows, here we see a short guide on how to use folders in Windows 10 and then discover the new Windows 10 folder options for managing windows and files . 1) Most useful quick keys
Without going to make a long list, to move well between the Windows 10 folders you just need to know two basic key combinations. The first is Windows + E to open Windows Explorer from its initial position (which we will see how to modify later).
Pressing Windows-E multiple times will open multiple folders which is useful when you want to move files from one folder to another.
The second is a single key, ALT, which in Windows 10 allows you to view the shortcut options to switch to one menu or another from the keyboard. For example, the F key opens the File menu, H the Home menu while the numbers are the links in the quick access bar. For each menu, the keys to use the various options will be displayed so that you can manage the window even without using the mouse.
READ ALSO: New and important key combinations in Windows 10
2) Minimize the options menu to make it smaller.
As in Windows 8.1, also in Windows 10 the folder menu at the top is composed of large keys arranged in a ribbon. By pressing the up arrow located at the top right you can hide the menu buttons so that they only appear when called up by the main buttons.
3) Add items to the quick access bar at the top
The icon bar at the top left, small and somewhat bare, can be made very useful by adding the favorite buttons that appear in the various ribbon menus. As the menus change according to the selected file or folder, these can be added to the quick access bar to always have an eye on them and be able to use them without having to search for them. To add one of the buttons to the quick access bar, just press on it with the right mouse button and select the option to add it. The added button will also be activated with the keyboard after pressing the ALT key as explained in point 1.
4) Change the appearance of the folders
For each folder it is possible to set a customized layout, that is changing the way the files are displayed in that folder.
You can choose to see larger, medium or small icons or you can view the files in a list, with or without details.
The various options are on the View menu. You can also add various panes, including that of previewing files or that of details, which fill when selecting a file. In the current view you can obviously sort the files by size, name, date etc. and add columns of information in the view for details.
NOTE: When sorting files, you can press on one column and then on another by holding down the SHIFT key to give a secondary order .
5) Show and Hide files and file extensions
Still in the Display menu you can show or hide, quickly and without having to search for the option, the file name extensions and hidden files. Furthermore, by selecting some files, you can press the Hide selected elements button in the View menu to make them hidden elements (which can then be hidden by removing the cross of the Hidden elements ).
6) Change the root folder in which to open Windows Explorer .
From the main menu, go to File -> Folder Options and change the Open file explorer option to put it on This PC which is much more useful than Quick Access which remains in view however from the left bar in each folder. Press on Apply and stay in this menu to change another useful option in the next point.
7) Remove recently used folders and recently used files from quick access .
Then go to Folder Options and, in the General tab, under the Privacy section, deselect the two options and, while we're at it, also press the button to clear the history of the files used.
8) Change some advanced settings for all folders or restore default settings .
Going to File -> Folder Options -> View there are some advanced settings that are worth changing. Among these, I like to activate: View the full path in the title bar, View folders, files, hidden drives, restore open folders on access and instead deactivate: Hide extensions for known file types and Run folder windows in a separate process . Once the changes have been made, press the " Apply to folders " button of this type.
NOTE: To set the type of a folder, right click on it, go to the Properties, go to the Customize tab and choose the type of folder based on the files it contains under the words Optimize folder for .
In case errors have been made, go to Folder Options on the View tab and press the button to restore default settings .
9) Customize Quick Access and Added Items
Quick access is the list of folders that you see in the left sidebar at the top, with your favorite or most used folders.
By default there are the folders that are accessed most often. To add a favorite folder to this list, right-click on this folder and choose the option to add it to Quick Access . As seen in step 7, you can remove recently used folders from Quick Access so as to keep only your favorite folders.
The Added elements, on the other hand, are those that can be clicked by right clicking on the Explorer icon on the desktop taskbar at the bottom of the screen. In this list there are the recently used files and folders and those selected to be in Quick Access. In practice, in Windows 10, the Added list is the Quick Access list.
10) Share files directly from a folder
The context menu of Windows 10 folders allows you to share a file or photo via Email or Facebook directly. To do this, just select a file and then press on the top menu Share to find the share button.
Sharing works in Windows 10 using installed apps like Mail, Messages or the Facebook app for Windows 10, Twitter and Onenote. This sharing menu, in truth, has a somewhat unexpected behavior in certain cases and seems almost to be improved.
READ ALSO: Optimize file search in Windows 10
