Customize file views

Customize file views to show some useful extra information.


WINDOWS’ FOLDER VIEWS DEFAULT to big, annoying icons. To get down to serious business, you need to view items in a list with detailed information. To do this, open a folder by clicking on My Computer\C: drive, then on one of the folders, or click on Start, then My Documents. Under the View menu select Details, which reveals columns for name, creation date, size, and more. Hone your view with the directional triangles in each column to change the way items are sorted.

When you have set up the view you want as the default, don’t sail away just yet; as soon as you navigate to another folder, you’ll lose those settings. If you want to keep your sort settings when moving in and out of different folders, follow along here. Pull down the Tools menu and select Folder Options. Click the View tab at the top, then press the Apply to All Folders button. This applies the view to all the folders you ever navigate to.