How to Use Windows File Explorer — A Beginner’s Guide

By / Windows 10, Windows 11 / 8 minutes of reading

Windows File Explorer — sometimes called Windows Explorer, File Explorer, or simply Explorer — is the built-in file manager for Windows 10 and Windows 11. It is the central hub for finding, opening, copying, moving, and saving files and folders on your PC.

Think of File Explorer as a digital filing cabinet for your computer. It gives you access to every file and folder on your system — quickly and without needing any technical knowledge.
You’re already using File Explorer every time you open a folder, save a document, move a photo, or plug in a USB drive.

This guide covers everything a beginner needs to know to use Windows File Explorer confidently.

Table Of Contents
  1. How to Open File Explorer
  2. The File Explorer Window Explained
  3. Quick Access in File Explorer
  4. How to Change the View in File Explorer
  5. How to Open Two File Explorer Windows at the Same Time
  6. How to Search for Files in File Explorer
  7. How to Show File Extensions in File Explorer
  8. How To Show Hidden Files in File Explorer
  9. Frequently Asked Questions
  10. Summary
  11. Data Storage Units Explained

How to Open File Explorer

There are several ways to open File Explorer in Windows 10 and Windows 11:

  1. Click the folder icon on the taskbar (usually pinned near the Start button).
  2. Press Windows key + E on your keyboard — the fastest method.
  3. Click the Start button and type Explorer, then press Enter.
  4. Open any folder — doing so automatically opens File Explorer.
How to open File Explorer using a keyboard and the icon on the taskbar.
Open File Explorer by hitting the Windows key and the letter E on your keyboard, or by clicking the icon on your taskbar.

Quick Tip

The keyboard shortcut Windows key + E is by far the quickest way. It works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

If File Explorer is Missing from your Taskbar

If you cannot see the folder icon on your taskbar, you can easily add it back. See our guide: File Explorer Missing From Taskbar.

The File Explorer Window Explained

When you first open File Explorer, the window is divided into three key areas:

AreaWhat It Does
Navigation Pane (left)Lets you jump quickly between folders and drives
File View (centre)Shows the contents of whatever folder you have selected
Address Bar (top)Shows which folder you are currently in

The layout is almost identical in Windows 10 and Windows 11 — Windows 11 just has a slightly cleaner, more modern look.

Address bar, File View area and Navigation panel indicated in Windows File Explorer.
Address bar (box), File view area and Navigation panel.

The Address Bar

The Address Bar runs along the top of the File Explorer window. It always shows you exactly which folder you are currently viewing — your location on your computer.

For example, if you click the Pictures folder in the Navigation Pane, the word Pictures appears in the Address Bar and its contents appear in File View.

The address bar is highlighted showing the current folder (Pictures).
You can always tell which folder you’re viewing by looking at the Address Bar.

You can also click directly in the Address Bar and type a folder path to jump straight to it — for example, typing C:\Users\YourName\Documents and pressing Enter will take you directly to your Documents folder.

The Navigation Pane (Panel)

The Navigation Pane on the left-hand side shows:

  • Your Quick Access folders (your most-used locations)
  • This PC — your local drives, including your hard drive, USB sticks, and CD/DVD drives
  • OneDrive — if you use Microsoft’s cloud storage. We’ll be looking at OneDrive later in the course.
  • Network locations (if connected to a home or office network).

Items in the Navigation Pane can be expanded or collapsed by clicking the small arrowhead beside them.

A right-pointing arrow means the item is collapsed (or closed); a downward-pointing arrow means it is expanded (open).

Expand and collapse arrowheads highlighted in File Explorer navigation panel.
Items are often collapsed (closed) when you first open File Explorer to save space. Expand (open) them by clicking the arrowhead.

Quick Access in File Explorer

Quick Access is the section at the top of the Navigation Pane. It gives you one-click access to your most important folders. You can pin (add) folders to Quick Access. Pinning to Quick Access works very similar to pinning to the taskbar and Start menu.

Windows 10 pins your Desktop, Downloads, Documents, and Pictures folders by default.

Windows 11 pins all user folders by default: Desktop, Downloads, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos.

Both versions of Windows also automatically adds folders you have visited recently to Quick Access and may remove any that you haven’t used, so it adapts to how you work over time.

How to Pin a Folder to Quick Access

  1. Navigate to the folder you want to pin.
  2. Right-click on the folder.
  3. Click Pin to Quick Access (Windows 10) or Pin to Quick access (Windows 11).

The folder will appear at the bottom of your Quick Access list. You can drag and drop pinned folders up or down the list to put them in any order you prefer.

How to Unpin a Folder from Quick Access

  1. Right-click on the pinned folder in Quick Access.
  2. Click Unpin from Quick Access.

Make a habit of pinning folders you are actively using and unpinning old ones. It keeps Quick Access tidy and saves you time when saving or opening files.

Pinning a folder to File Explorer Quick Access area.
Pin folders to Quick Access to make them easy to find.
Unpinning a folder from Quick Access.
Unpin them when you’ve finished using them.

How to Change the View in File Explorer

File Explorer gives you several ways to display your files and folders. You can switch between views at any time using the View menu.

File Explorer View OptionBest For
Large Icons / Extra Large IconsPhotos and images — see thumbnails at a glance
ListBrowsing folders with many files quickly
DetailsSeeing file name, date modified, type and size together
TilesA balance of icons and file info

To change the view in Windows 11: Click View in the File Explorer toolbar, then choose your preferred layout.

View menu open in Windows 11 File Explorer.
Windows 11.

To change the view in Windows 10: Click the View tab in the ribbon, then pick a layout from the Layout section.

Changing the View options in Windows 10 File Explorer.
Windows 10.

Quick Tip

The Details view is especially useful because it shows you the date each file was last modified and the file size — handy for finding the most recent version of a document.

How to Open Two File Explorer Windows at the Same Time

Having two File Explorer windows side by side makes it much easier to copy or move files between folders — you can see the contents of both at once.

The easiest way to open a second window is to press Windows key + E while File Explorer is already open. This opens a fresh Explorer window on top of the first.

Then resize each window so that both are visible on screen. See our guide: How To Resize Or Move A Computer Program Window. You can then drag and drop files from one window into the other.

How to Search for Files in File Explorer

The search bar is in the top-right corner of every File Explorer window. Click on it and start typing to search for files and folders within the current location.

Basic search tips:

  • You don’t need to type the full file name — a partial word is enough. Windows will try to find files and folders that include the letters you’ve typed. The more you type, the better the match will be.
  • To search a specific file type, type the extension: for example, type .pdf to find all PDF files, or .docx to find all Word documents. (We’ll look at file extensions later in the course).
  • To search everywhere on your PC, click This PC in the Navigation Pane first, then search.

For example, if you wanted to search your Pictures folder, open Pictures and then use the Search bar (box).

Search box in File Explorer

How to Show File Extensions in File Explorer

A file extension is the short suffix at the end of a file name that tells Windows what type of file it is — for example .jpg (photo), .docx (Word document), or .pdf.
Windows hides file extensions by default, which can be confusing. Here is how to show them:

Windows 11

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Click View > Show.
  3. Tick File name extensions.
How to show file extensions in Windows 11.
Windows 11.

Windows 10

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Click the View tab.
  3. Tick the File name extensions checkbox.
How to show file extensions in Windows 10.
Windows 10.

How To Show Hidden Files in File Explorer

Windows hides certain files and folders — mostly system files that Windows needs to run properly. In everyday use you won’t really need to see these, but here is how to reveal them if you do:

Windows 11

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Click View > Show.
  3. Tick Hidden items.

Windows 10

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Click the View tab.
  3. Click Options > Change folder and search options.
  4. Click the View tab, then select Show hidden files, folders and drives.
  5. Click OK.

Important

Be careful with hidden files. Most are hidden for a reason — they are Windows system files. Do not delete anything you are not sure about.

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

File Explorer is your primary tool for managing every file and folder on your Windows PC. Once you know your way around the Navigation Pane, Quick Access, and the Address Bar, and have learned a few keyboard shortcuts, you will find managing your files much faster and easier.

In the next lesson we will look at all things folders — how to create them, name them, rename them and delete them.

Lesson 8

All About Folders

A place for everything and everything in its place. Using folders to keep related files together just makes sense.

Next Lesson

Course Progress – 7 of 35

Part of the At Home Basic Computer Course — free computer guides for beginners.

Data Storage Units Explained

What are Kilobytes, Megabytes, Gigabytes, and Terabytes?

Have you ever wondered why your new 1TB hard drive only shows 931GB of space in Windows File Explorer? Or why your 50Mbps internet doesn’t download a 50MB file in one second?

Understanding data storage units like Kilobytes (KB), Megabytes (MB), Gigabytes (GB), and Terabytes (TB) will help you to manage your computer’s own storage capacity.

Click Here
Data Storage Units Explained-Kilobytes, Megabytes, Gigabytes, and Terabytes

Find this and other related guides in – Computer Tech Guides

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