Explorers
This feature is included in the following editions of Windows Vista:
In Windows, the Explorer windows are the main tools that you use to find, view, and manage information and resources. With Windows XP, the Explorer interface changes depending on what you’re working with. Windows Vista simplifies the Explorer windows so you’ll use the same interface to work with virtually anything on your PC, including your documents, photos, programs, devices, and Internet content. The Windows Vista Explorer interface combines the following elements:
Instant Search, which is always available and finds files rapidly.
Navigation Pane, which contains quick links to the places your documents, pictures, and Search Folders are stored.
Command Bar, which displays tasks appropriate for the files being displayed.
Live Icons, which display a thumbnail image of the actual contents of each file.
Details Pane, which provides rich information (metadata) about files so you can easily add or edit their metadata.
Preview Pane, which you can use to browse through a preview of a file's contents in programs that have this feature.
Enhanced title bars, borders, and Address Bar.
With Windows Vista Explorer windows, you can find, sort, and organize information in whatever way works best for you. Watch the What's new with finding and organizing files? demo to get a quick five-minute overview of how the new Explorers can make everyday tasks much easier.
Explorers are powerful, intuitive, and flexible.
Instant Search
Every Explorer window in Windows Vista contains an integrated Instant Search field in which you can enter part of a word, a word, or a phrase—even a date. Instant Search rapidly searches file names, file properties (metadata), and text within each file and returns results in just moments. For example, as shown in the illustration, entering the name Claudia in the Instant Search field results in a list of files related to Claudia—files for which Claudia is the author and files in which Claudia is mentioned in either the contents or the file name.
Get instant results when you search.
Navigation Pane and Search Folders
The Navigation Pane in each Explorer has been redesigned to make it simpler to navigate across your PC and quickly find what you're looking for. The default view is a series of quick links to your documents, pictures, and music. Additionally, clicking a Searches link displays all of the Search Folders on your PC.
A traditional folder and its contents have specific addresses on the hard disk drive. In contrast, a Search Folder is really a saved search that executes the moment you click it. Search Folders can automatically organize your files logically, without moving the files themselves. This makes it easy for you to view your files in many different ways without having to worry about where your files are actually stored. If you prefer the traditional, folder-based or tree-based view in the Navigation Pane, just select the folder control at the bottom of the pane.
Command Bar
In each Explorer, the new Command Bar displays tasks that are appropriate to the files being shown. For example, the Documents Explorer contains Command Bar tasks that you might need for documents, while the Pictures Explorer contains tasks appropriate to digital images. Unlike the Explorers in Windows XP and earlier, the Command Bar and the Navigation Pane in Windows Vista are available simultaneously, so tasks on the Command Bar are always available—you don't need to toggle between the Navigation Pane and the Command Bar to take action on your files.
Relevant tasks a