2. Configuring Folder Options
Although the version of Windows Explorer found in
Windows 7 is quite a bit different from that found in Windows XP and
Windows Vista, some things haven't changed much at all. One of these
things is Explorer's Folder Options functionality, which is typically
accessed via the (hidden, in Windows 7) Tools menu. (You can also
access Folder Options directly via Start Menu Search; just type folder options.) The Folder Options dialog, shown in Figure 5, presents three tabs that are chock-full of configurable goodness.
On the default General tab, you'll see options that
broadly affect all Explorer windows. For example, you can switch
between opening each folder in its own window or a single window and
choose whether or not to automatically show all folders in the
Navigation pane.
Things really get interesting on the View tab. As shown in Figure 6, this tab provides a massive number of settings, so it's easy to get lost.
Some of the key settings you can configure here include the following:
Always show menus: By default, menus are hidden (made visible by pressing the Alt key).
Hidden files and folders: By default, hidden files and folders are ... hidden.
Hide extensions for known file types and Show drive letters:
In a long-standing bid for simplicity, Microsoft is working to at least
hide things that confuse people, such as drive letters and file
extensions. You can re-enable the display of file extensions, however,
and you can hide the display of drive letters.
Hide protected operating system files (Recommended): There are hidden files, and then there are hidden
files. Protected operating systems are the latter, and they are
replaced automatically by Windows 7 if you try to modify or delete
them, so Microsoft just hides them to avoid any confusion.
Use check boxes to select items: it's enabled by default on Tablet PCs (and Ultra-Mobile PCs)
but disabled by default on all other systems (including touch-based
PCs, where this functionality would also be quite useful).
Use Sharing Wizard:
When you right-click a folder and click Share with, then click Specific
people, Windows 7 utilizes an easy-to-use File Sharing Wizard.
If you disable this option, you will be left with the old XP-style
Sharing dialogs and tab. While normally we would prefer the latter,
Windows 7's File Sharing Wizard is refreshingly simple and easy to use.
You should leave it enabled, really. (Remember, too, that Windows 7's
HomeGroup feature makes it easier to share digital media content,
documents, and printers without resorting to these legacy sharing
technologies.)
3. Replacing Windows 7's Compressed Folders with Something More Useful
Microsoft has included ZIP compression compatibility
in Windows for a while now courtesy of an incurably lame feature called
Compressed Folders. This feature is still present in Windows 7, but
it's pretty basic, so we recommend replacing it with a worthier
alternative—WinRAR (www.rarlabs.com),
which works with the more efficient RAR compression format as well as
older formats such as CAB, ARJ, and TAR. WinRAR is shown in Figure 7.
WinRAR isn't the only compression game in town. If you're looking for maximum squeeze capabilities, look into WinRK (www.msoftware.co.nz). Other more popular alternatives to consider include PKZIP for Windows (www.pkware.com), WinZIP (www.winzip.com/), SecureZIP (www.securezip.com), and 7-Zip (www.7-zip.org).
