Universal Design Symbol Using the Keyboard to Navigate and Explore Files and Folders



Browsing using Windows Explorer:

You can use Windows Explorer to see all the folders and files on your computer.  From the desktop screen display you can go into Explorer with using the keyboard by pressing Control than ESCape.   From the popup menu select Programs by pressing "p".  With the Up or Down arrow key color highlight Windows Explorer.  Press Enter to see the entire contents of  Windows Explorer.  The right side of Windows Explorer shows the contents of the drive or folder you highlight on the left.

To see the hierarchy of folders on a disk drive

  1. Press Control than ESCape
  2. From the popup menu select Programs by pressing "p"
  3. With the Up or Down arrow key color highlight Windows Explorer
  4. Press Enter to see the entire contents of  Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer

In Windows Explorer, you can see both the hierarchy of folders on your computer and all the files and folders in each selected folder. This is especially useful for copying and moving files. You can also open the folder that contains the file you want to move or copy, and then drag it to the folder you want to put it in.

Keys for Windows Explorer only:

         Press                                                                             Result

CTRL+G ----------------------- Go to Folder in pane
F6 ----------------------- Switch between left and right panes 
NUMLOCK
ASTERISK
{*}on numeric keypad Expand all subfolders under the selected folder 
NUMLOCK
PLUS SIGN 
{+}on numeric keypad Expand the selected folder 
NUMLOCK
MINUS SIGN 
{-} on numeric keypad Collapse the selected folder 
RIGHT ARROW ----------------------- Expand current selection if it’s collapsed, otherwise select first subfolder 
LEFT ARROW ----------------------- Collapse current selection if it’s expanded, otherwise select parent folder

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