Master the Basics of Windows XP! Windows Tutorial 6 - More on Folders

Last updated March 2009

In this Windows tutorial, Marc Liron demonstrates how to customise the look and feel of your folders in Windows XP.

To start the video presentation, please click on the picture below.

This Windows XP tutorial is copyright Marc Liron and may not be downloaded or distributed without express written permission.

Additional hints for beginners

Beware of Hidden Files and Folders! As Marc says in the tutorial, remember to be careful if you enable "Show hidden files and folders". The developers of Windows XP deliberately hid some files and folders to prevent users accidentally moving or deleting them and then causing serious problems with their PC's.

Hide File Extensions? Marc also covers the "Hide extensions for known file types" option. A file extension is usually a dot followed by three letters on the end of a file name. By turning this option off, you will see these three letters (for example, on a Microsoft word document, the file name will change from "document" to "document.doc").

Many users, especially more advanced users, prefer to have "Hide extensions for known file types" turned OFF. This way, they can see exactly what type of file they are dealing with. However, if you do turn this option off then accidentally remove or rename a file extension (for example by renaming "myfile.doc" to "myfile") Windows can become confused and have difficulty opening your files.

As you become more confident with your computer, you may want to turn this option off, but if you are unsure, leave it turned on. For more information, see our guide to working with files in Windows.

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