Windows 8 Bible

Using File Explorer

Knowing about drives, folders, and files is certainly important. In fact, you really can’t do much with a computer until you’ve mastered those concepts. To review:

• All computer information is stored on some medium, usually disks.
• All the stuff that’s in your computer right now is stored on a hard disk that you never see or remove from the computer.
• Information is stored in files.
• Files are organized into folders just like files in a filing cabinet are organized into folders.

Once you understand the concepts, the next step is to learn how to use the tool that gives you access to drives, folders, and files. That tool is a program named File Explorer (or just Explorer for short).

File Explorer is the main program for getting around your computer to access all the disks, folders, and files available to you. Notice that we didn’t say Internet Explorer. Despite the name similarity, the two programs serve two entirely different purposes:

• File Explorer (or Explorer): Enables you to explore and access stuff that’s inside your computer or on your local area network (LAN).
• Internet Explorer: Enables you to explore and access stuff that’s outside your computer on the Internet.

That’s a huge difference. For one thing, you have to be online (connected to the Internet) to use Internet Explorer to access resources currently online because the Internet exists outside of your personal computer. You don’t have to be online to use File Explorer because all the stuff you’re ...