In Windows 95 and the first version of Windows 98, files were managed using one of two views -- a two-pane Explorer window (with a folder tree on the left and file icons on the right) or a single folder window displaying only files, without the tree pane. There was no switching back and forth; you could click the Control menu icon (the upper left icon on any window's title bar) and select Explore to open the dual-paned Explorer, but that was not a very elegant solution. IE 4's Desktop Update component added the ability to remove the tree pane if you started out with an Explorer window, but if you started with a folder window, you couldn't add the tree pane.

In Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows 2000, you can turn the folder tree on or off instantaneously by clicking the Folders button on the toolbar. Clicking the Search, History, or Favorites buttons will also replace the folder tree pane with one of those panes. That changeable area is known as the Explorer Bar. (The Favorites button is not on the toolbar by default; you have to right-click the toolbar and choose Customize to add it.) To activate the Explorer Bar from the keyboard, press <Ctrl>-E (Search), <Ctrl>-H (History), or <Ctrl>-I (Favorites). Folders, unfortunately, don't get their own <Ctrl> key. To launch that bar, press and release <Alt>, then type veo (which translates to View-Explorer Bar-Folders). And, of course, you can close an Explorer Bar by clicking the X in the pane's upper right corner.

If you're running in full-screen view (press <F11> to toggle this mode), you can AutoHide any Explorer Bar by clicking the Push-pin button next to the Explorer Bar's Close (X) icon. One click keeps the pane in sight; clicking again and moving the pointer over the file icon pane makes the Explorer Bar disappear until you move your pointer to the left edge of the screen.

Scott Dunn