Definition of Windows Explorer in Network Encyclopedia.
What is Windows Explorer?
Windows Explorer is the primary tool for accessing file systems in Microsoft Windows Operating System after Windows 3.1. Included on Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8. You can use Windows Explorer (or Windows NT Explorer, as it is called in the Windows NT operating system) to:
- Create, move, copy, open, edit, and delete files or folders
- Search for files using complex queries
- Map and disconnect network drives to shared folders on network servers
- View and manipulate properties of files and other file system objects
- Share folders and printers for use on the network
- Configure NTFS permissions, auditing, and ownership (Windows NT and Windows 2000 and above)
Windows Explorer displays a hierarchical window-based view of file system and network resources in two panes. The left pane shows a hierarchical view of all available file system resources, including the desktop, local drives, mapped network drives, printers, and Network Neighborhood (in Windows NT, Windows 95, and Windows 98) or My Network Places (in Windows 2000). In Windows 2000, the left pane can also show search tools or a history of recently accessed resources. The right pane shows the files and folders or other objects within the currently selected drive or folder in the left pane.
Windows Explorer in Windows 10
In Windows 10 Windows Explorer has a new name. It’s called File Explorer. Here are three ways to open it:
- Select the Start button and find it on the Start menu.
- Press the Windows logo key + E.
- Select the folder icon on the taskbar.
