Windows Explorer 1
What is Windows Explorer?
In Windows XP you can find its icon here: Start button » All Programs » Accessories » Windows Explorer.
Other easier ways of accessing Windows Explorer are listed at the end of the next page.
As the name implies, this program allows you to navigate around Windows, to find disks, files, programs and folders, and to copy them, execute them (as in launching a program), or move them about when necessary.
The Windows Explorer and the My Computer windows were once different beasts, with the first having two panes and the second having only one.
With Windows XP the distinction is blurred. If you click on the My Computer icon in the Start Menu, or double-click the My Computer (or My Documents) icons on your Desktop, you'll produce a single pane window similar to the one below.
This Window shows your disks, your documents folder and, on the left,
a number of options for places to go and things to do.
If you then click on the Folders button on the Toolbar of My Computer you'll see a two pane window like this one:
This is the same view that you'll get if you open Windows Explorer. The left pane shows drives, locations and folders. The right pane shows these plus individual files.
So what? I hear you cry. Well, look at the first window shot on the following page:
