Exploring the File Manager Window

When you first start File Manager, a directory window appears, displaying the contents of the current drive. Illustrated in the figure below, is the File Manager screen as it appears. Notice that the directory window only partially fills the file manager window until you maximize it by clicking the maximize button, represented by the right arrow facing upward.

The window title bar shows the directory path for the selected directory. File Manager uses lines in the directory tree view to indicate the relationship between directories and subdirectories. The directory tree uses miniature folders as icons to indicate directories and subdirectories. An open folder icon indicates that the directory's contents are shown in the right side of the directory window, the contents list.

Table 4: Elements in a Directory Window

Element Description
Directory Path The location of the current directory; it appears in the title bar of a directory window.
Drive Icon Icons that represent the drives on your computer and the network you are attached to. Different icons are used to represent the hard and floppy disk drives on you computer, any network drives you may be connected to, RAM drives you may have set up in our computer's memory, and CD-ROM drives. You change drives simply by clicking on them.
Volume Label* The name that identifies your disk; it appears in brackets ([ ]) to the right of the drive icons. *This feature is not displayed in Figure 4: See "Network Name" in the box below.
Network Name The name assigned to your network-drive connection. If a network drive is selected, the network name is displayed instead of the volume.
Directory Icon An icon that represents a directory on your disk. In the directory tree, directory icons are connected by a vertical line to the directory level above them. In the contents list, directory icons represent directories in the current directory.
Current Directory The directory you are currently using, represented by an icon that looks like an open directory folder in the directory tree. File Manager commands affect the current directory or files within it.
File Icons Icons that are next to file names; they indicate file type. There are icons to represent program files, document files, and other types of files.
Up Icon This icon (shaped like and up arrow followed by ellipsis) takes you up on directory level in the directory tree.
Split Bar The bar that divides the window so that you can view both the directory tree and the contents list. You can move this bar by pointing to it, holding down the mouse button, and moving it either to the right or left.