Figure 04

For those not a fan of the new Start Menu (there are many who are not), use the [Classic Start Menu] option to revert to previous Windows versions of Start Menu.

A better idea is to right click the Taskbar > Toolbars > New Toolbar... and select a folder you have created containing programs, shortcuts, e-mails or anything else you need quick access to on a regular basis. Essentially it's another Quick Launch folder.

Figure 14

Browse Folders - Exactly what it states. If you have the room and don't mind the clutter, opening each folder in its own window can be very useful.

Click Items As Follows - There's no doubt the accepted standard is the single click to select and double click to open method when selecting and navigating with the mouse, but there are alternatives.

This certainly isn't new to Vista, but if you want to try something different use the point to select and single click to open scheme. It does take some getting used to and you'll end up with some unexpected results until you master the concept, but once it has become second nature you may prefer it to the standard method.

Figure 16

• Always Show Icons, Never Thumbnails - Icons are static representations of a file type. Thumbnails are a visual representation of what is actually inside a file. It's really a matter of preference which is used, although on severely underpowered systems icons may speed up performance slightly.
• Always Show Menus - Vista has hidden the menu bar in Windows Explorer. Checking this option makes the menu bar visible. If you don't want it visible by using this option, the Alt key will toggle the menu bar on and off.
• Display File Icon On Thumbnails -  I've never claimed to be the brightest penny in the stack and this option confirms I'm not. After toggling it on/off a few hundred times I still don't know what it does. Enlighten me, please.
• Display File Size Information In Folder Tips - When the mouse is hovered over a folder a balloon appears showing the date and time the file was created. Checking this option also shows the file size.
• Display Simple Folder View in Navigation Pane - To see the vertical lines that connect folders and subfolders in the navigation pane, check this option. To eliminate the lines for a cleaner look, remove the check.
• Display The Full Path In The Title Bar - From the description of this item I thought it would apply even if the Windows Vista theme was in use. I was wrong. You have to use Windows Classic to get this to apply in spite of the fact it states (Classic Folders Only) in the description.
• Hidden Files and Folders - The default here is not to show hidden files and folders. Personally, I want everything visible.
• Hide Extensions for Known File Types - In spite of the fact the default is to hide extensions, this is just simply wrong. Extensions should never be hidden. File names are fairly useless when trying to identify a file. A quick example. I have four files, all named TheElderGeek. One is a text file (.txt), one a photo (.jpg), one a spreadsheet (.xls) and the last one a Portable Document Format (.pdf) file. Without file extensions enabled and visible, all four files appear exactly the same in Windows Explorer. Totally useless.

There are also security implications by not displaying extensions. In a nutshell, with extensions hidden you really have no idea what type of file you are viewing. A file that appears as 'New Text Document.txt' with extensions hidden could really be named 'New Text Document.txt.exe' and be a malicious program file trying to fool you into clicking it thinking it is a text file. Shame on Microsoft for hiding extensions by default, but even worse is if you leave them hidden.

• Hide Protected Operating System Files - Hiding protected operating system files isn't nearly as bad as hiding file extensions, but if you do any tinkering with the system or are an experienced user you'll want them visible.
• Launch Folder Windows In A Separate Process - If the system has the necessary resources this should be enabled. With each instance being in a separate process it protects against closing all the instances if one crashes.
• Remember Each Folders View Settings - When you change the View in a Windows Explorer folder, the new setting will be retained for the next time the folder is opened. This is not a global folder setting; the setting is retained only for the individual folder.
• Restore Previous Folder Windows At Logon - Opens whatever folders were open at the last Vista shutdown.
• Show Drive Letters - Displays or removes the drive letters in Windows Explorer. If unchecked the drive will be identified using what is commonly referred to as the 'friendly' name if one has been supplied.
• Show Encrypted or Compressed NTFS Files in Color - Shows the specified files in color for easier visual identification.
• Show Pop-Up Descriptions for Folder and Desktop Items - Enables the descriptions visibility when the item is moused over. Note this does not eliminate the yellow descriptions/balloons associated with the notification area of the taskbar.
• Show Preview Handlers in Preview Pane - I have no idea what 'preview handlers' means, but if this is unchecked you won't see any previews in the Explorer Preview Pane, even if you have the Preview Pane activated in Explorer.
• Use Check Boxes to Select Items - Enabling will place check boxes next to items in Windows Explorer as well as on the desktop. In theory this sounds great for easy selection of files, but the implementation is horrible.
• Use Sharing Wizard - Enabled by default, this places a Share icon on the ribbon in Windows Explorer. Select the folder or file to be shared and click the Share icon. If disabled, right click any folder or file and select [Share...] to open a far more optioned dialog box to set up the share.

At the top of this tab there is  section called Folder Views. When working in Windows Explorer you can set the way files are viewed using the [Views] button. Choices range from extra large to small icons, list view, details view and a tile view. Personally, I prefer the details view in all folder windows, but this is seldom the default view. All you have to do is set the view you want in Windows Explorer then click the [Apply To Folders] button to have all folder windows use your selection. Unfortunately, there will still be occasions where your new default doesn't take effect, but for the most part your wishes will be respected.

Figure 17

In an effort to help with storage and retrieval of information, indexing and search capabilities have been under constant development. The way I look at it, how valuable indexing and search is to you depends on two things; how organized you are as an individual and how good a memory you have.

In my case, I'm a very organized person and know exactly what I have saved and where it is located on my system. I spend a lot of time developing and organizing directory and file storage structures so I can find an item very quickly. That's not to say I never use search, because I do, but good system organization can reduce your reliance on a feature that can use a lot of room.

You can instruct to search only 'filenames' or 'filenames and contents', then break that down further into whether or not search looks at every file on the machine or only files that reside in an indexed location. Your choice is largely determined by your degree of organization I mentioned earlier. If you have files everywhere with random names that don't reflect the files contents you're going to have to cast a broader net to get results.

Search, while convenient, doesn't come without a price. Files have to be indexed and that requires processing power as well as storage space. The less you index, the less system overhead is required, but if you don't have locations indexed with the search pointed to all files the search process can take much longer.

Experiment and see if you're satisfied with the search results you get. If not, fine tune the settings here and try again. Read the Windows Help and Support section on Search. It answers a lot of questions about the index and how to maximize its efficiency as well as offering tips on what not to do to make search fast and efficient.