Windows Vista Annoyances

Optional Window Panes

Most Explorer windows have some basic informational stuff across the top: the Address bar and the task toolbar, at the very least.

But that’s just the beginning. As shown in Figure 3-4, the Organize menu on the task toolbar lets you hide or show as many as four other strips of information. Turning them all on at once may make your windows feel a bit claustrophobic, but at least you’ll know absolutely everything there is to know about your files and folders.

Figure 3-4. Windows Vista has you surrounded—or at least your Explorer windows. Use the Organize menu (top) to summon or dismiss each of the optional panes that can line a window. A subtle outline appears around the icon for each pane you’ve summoned. Choose the name of a pane once to make it appear, and a second time to hide it.

The trick is to choose a pane name from the Organize→Layout command, as shown in Figure 3-4. Here are the options you’ll find there.

Tip

You can adjust the size of any pane by dragging the dividing line that separates it from the main window. (You’ll know when you’ve got the right spot when your cursor turns into a double-headed arrow.)

Search Pane

As shown in Figure 3-1, the Search pane appears across the top of the window, just below the Address bar. Of course, the Search box already appears in every Explorer window, next to the Address bar—so why do you need a Search pane as well?

Because ...