If you were familiar with Windows Explorer in
Windows 7, right off the bat you’ll notice a number of big changes. The
ribbon is a smart and welcome change, bringing together all the tools
you need for specific operations in one quick-look offering. You’ll find
four basic tabs (File, Home, Share, and View) as well as numerous
contextual tabs (such as Library, Picture, and Shortcut Tools, which
contain tools and options related to the specific task you’re
performing.
Learning the Ribbon Layout
The four basic tabs—File, Home, Share, View—in Windows Explorer reflect five different ways to use your files and folders.
The File tab is positioned at the far
left side of the ribbon, displaying access to the folders you access
frequently and commands for working with the command prompt, deleting
file history, accessing help, and closing Windows Explorer.
The Home tab includes tools for copying and
pasting files and paths; moving, deleting, and renaming files and
folders; adding folders; opening files and folders; displaying file and
folder properties; and selecting files and folders.
The Share tab gives
you various tools for sharing the content you’ve selected, whether you
want to email the files or folders, compress them into a Zip file, share
them with your Homegroup, or fine-tune the security settings in play.
The View tab controls the way the
Windows Explorer window appears. You can use the tools in the View tab
to set Windows Explorer up the way you want it, displaying the
Navigation pane, either the Preview or Details pane, the size of the
icons you want to use, and the data that will be either hidden or
displayed.
Recognizing Contextual Tabs
You’ll know when a
contextual tab appears on the Windows Explorer ribbon because it looks
different from the regular tabs. The tabs that appear when you’ve
selected a file, folder, or other object in Windows Explorer appear in a
light orange shade. When you click the contextual tab you’ll find tools
that help you works specifically with the file or folder you’ve
selected.
>>>step-by-step: Displaying and Hiding the Windows Explorer Ribbon
When Microsoft first introduced the
ribbon in Office 2007, not everyone was thrilled with it. Power users
felt the ribbon took up too much room; others felt it was
counterintuitive. I, for one, love the ribbon design and functionality,
and I find the same kind of ease of use in the ribbon that is now part
of Windows Explorer. But having learned the lesson that for many users
less is more, Microsoft hides the ribbon by default in Windows Explorer
as part of Windows 8. The ribbon is easy to display and hide as you are
so moved, however.
1. In Windows Explorer, display the Ribbon by tapping or clicking the Expand the Ribbon tool just to the left of the Help tool.
2. You can hide the ribbon by tapping or clicking the same tool, which is now called the Minimize the Ribbon tool.
