What's new with files and folders
With Windows XP Professional, you can work with your files and folders more efficiently. You can perform tasks with a more intuitive Web page interface, and you can view your file and folder details in new and helpful ways. You now have more options to associate certain file types with specific programs, and working with files and folders offline has never been easier. You can also compress your files and folders quickly and easily, so they take up less space on your computer.
Tasks at your fingertips
Want to rename a file, or send a file in an e-mail message? Now links to other folders and places, and to the most common file and folder tasks, are listed with the contents of each folder. For example, you can click Picture Tasks in the My Pictures folder, and with just one click, print a picture or view all your pictures as a slide show.
File and folder management overview
New ways of viewing files and pictures
Windows XP Professional provides new ways of grouping and displaying files and pictures in your folders. You can categorize files and pictures into groups, either alphabetically or by file type. You can also display files as thumbnails or icons, and view pictures as a filmstrip.
Viewing files and folders overview
File associations
With Windows XP Professional, you can specify that files with certain file name extensions always open in the same program. You can also associate file name extensions with certain file types, or choose to modify an existing file type.
Associate a file with a program
Associate a file name extension with a file type
Offline files and folders
With Windows XP Professional, you can make network files available offline, so you can work on them when you are not connected to your network. This is helpful if you use a portable computer, or if your computer is frequently disconnected from the network. When you reconnect to the network, any changes you made to files offline will updated. By sharing your files, other people on your network can change or view your files offline.
Compressed (zipped) Folders
Using the Compressed (zipped) Folders feature in Windows XP Professional, you can decrease the amount of drive space folders (and the items they contain) occupy. You can work with a compressed folder just as you would an uncompressed folder.
Compressed (zipped) Folders overview
If your drive is formatted as NTFS, you can also use NTFS file compression. However, NTFS file compression is significantly different from compressing files with the Compressed (zipped) Folders feature. To learn more about the similarities and differences between NTFS compression and Compressed (zipped) Folders, see File compression overview
What's new for user accounts and startup
What's new for Help and support
What's new for browsing the Internet
What's new in other areas of Windows XP Professional
What's new in Windows XP Professional
