Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2. Basic Explorer Coping Skills

The part of Windows XP with which we interact most frequently is Windows Explorer, commonly referred to simply as "Explorer." The Explorer application (Explorer.exe) is known as the shell, since it's the pretty face that is used to conceal what lies under the hood of the operating system. Although Explorer is really only an application like any other, it is responsible for the desktop, the Start Menu, Recycle Bin, Control Panel, folder windows, and a million other things.

Given the amount of time you probably spend starting programs, copying files and folders, and looking for documents — not to mention actually writing all those documents — it makes sense to invest a little time to find better ways to accomplish these tasks. By following some of the solutions in this book, you can make your experience with Windows a lot more pleasurable, reducing stress and your recurring urges to toss your computer out a window seven stories off the ground.

The ideal user interface should adapt to you rather than the other way around. Indeed, one of the primary goals of this book is to show you how to change the way Windows looks, feels, and operates so that it is more closely in tune with the way you think and work. The problem is that there are some fundamental features of the interface that simply can't be changed, so some of the time you'll simply have to settle for the best compromise between the ideal solution and what is actually possible.

A classic example ...