Windows Explorer allows you to browse files and folders on Windows computers. Whenever you open a folder, you use Explorer. You can also take advantage of Windows Search to find specific files, or the command prompt if you prefer to work with the command line.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Open File Explorer
Step 1. Click on Start
You can find the button in the lower left corner of the screen and in some cases it will only show the Windows logo.
Step 2. Click the Computer or File Explorer button
On Windows 10, this button looks like a folder and you can find it on the left side of the menu or in the task bar at the bottom of the screen.
Step 3. Click This PC in the left bar (Windows 10)
You will see a window with the disk drives present in the computer.
Step 4. Find the hard drive
You will see your computer's main hard drive in the "Disk Drives" or "Devices and Drives" section. The disk on which Windows is installed will have the operating system icon and is usually marked with the letter "C:".
Step 5. Find the other devices and drives
If you have installed other hard drives on your computer, they will also appear in the "Disk drives" or "Devices and drives" section. If you have connected USB drives to your system, you will find them in the "Removable Storage Devices" or "Devices and Drives" section.
You can also expand the "Computer" or "This PC" items in the left bar to see all connected devices and drives
Step 6. Log in to your user folder
You will see it appear at the top of the window on Windows 10 and 8. Inside you will see the subfolders Documents, Pictures, Downloads and others.
You'll likely find most of the files you use most often in these user folders
Method 2 of 4: Browse Folders
Step 1. Double-click a drive or folder to open it
All the contents will appear in the window.
Step 2. Click the Back and Forward arrows at the top of the window
This way you can go back to the previous path, or to the one you just left after clicking Back.
Step 3. Click the Up arrow to move up one level between folders (Windows 10)
You will find the button next to the Forward and Back arrows. Clicking it will open the folder that contains the one you are currently viewing. For example, if you are in C: / Program Files / Adobe, pressing Up will take you to C: / Program Files.
Step 4. Click the address bar to view the current path
If you need the exact path of the folder you have opened, click an empty spot in the address bar and you will see it appear already selected, ready to be copied.
Step 5. Right-click on a folder to view more options
A context menu will open with many items, to which more will be added if you install certain programs.
- Select "Open in new window" to open the selected folder in a window other than the current one. This can be useful for moving items between the two folders.
- Select "Pin to Taskbar" to add a folder you use often to the Windows taskbar. This way you can easily open it at any time.
Step 6. Enable viewing of hidden files
If you want to see these files, you need to change a setting:
- Windows 10 and 8 - Click the View tab within File Explorer. Check the "Hidden items" box.
- Windows 7 - Click the Organize button and select "Folder and Search Options". Click the "View" tab in the window that opens and enable "Show hidden drives, folders and files".
Method 3 of 4: Search for a File
Step 1. Click the Start button
You can start the search directly from the Start menu.
Step 2. Type the name of the file or folder you are looking for
You can also write an extension to search for all files in that format, such as "docx" for Word documents.
Step 3. Click a result to open it
If it is a file, it will be opened using the default program. If it's a folder, it will open in a new window. If it is a program, it will start.
Step 4. Click the name of one of the sections of the results tab to view all matching entries
For example, if there are many documents that share a search term, click on the Documents header to view all of them.
Step 5. Right-click on one of the results and select Open File Location
The folder containing the file will open in a new window.
Method 4 of 4: Using the Command Prompt
Step 1. Click the Start button
Step 2. Type cmd and press Enter
The command prompt will open.
Step 3. Note the current route
When Command Prompt starts, you will start in your user's folder.
Step 4. Type dir / p and press Enter
You will see the contents of the current folder appear. Items will continue to appear until they fill the screen and you can press any button to continue scrolling.
- Entries with are subfolders.
- Next to the name of each file you can see its size.
Step 5. Type cd
. and press Enter.
This opens the folder that is higher than the current one.
Step 6. Write cd FolderName to open a specific folder within the current path
For example, in the User folder you can type cd documents and press Enter to open the Documents folder.
Step 7. Type cd path to open a specific folder
For example, to go directly to the Microsoft Office 15 folder within Program Files, you should write cd C: / Program Files / Microsoft Office 15
Step 8. Type a file name and press Enter to open it
The file will open with the default program. You must type the full name, complete with extension.
