Knowing different ways to open File Explorer gives you much-needed flexibility in different tasks. Here are some of the must-know ways to open File Explorer in Windows 10.
File Explorer is one of the most important parts of Windows. It allows you to browse your folder structure and manage all your files. In fact, most of us use File Explorer multiple times on any given day. For the most part, many of us a favorite way to open File Explorer. However, do you know that Windows gives you several different ways to open the File Explorer?
Knowing multiple different methods to access File Explorer helps you in tight and unexpected situations. To help you with that, here’s a list of must-know ways to open File Explorer in Windows.
1. Press Start Key + E
One of the easiest ways to open File Explorer is to press the “Start key + E” shortcut. If you open File Explorer often, there is no better way than a dedicated keyboard. This is especially true if you like to use keyboard shortcuts compared to point and click.
When I say Start key, I’m talking about the key with the Windows logo on it
2. Click on the File Explorer icon on taskbar
By default, the File Explorer is pinned to the taskbar. Whenever you want to open the File Explorer, just point the mouse cursor on the File Explorer icon on the taskbar and left-click. This action will immediately open the File Explorer. If you want to, you can also open multiple File Explorer windows by holding down the Shift key while clicking.
3. Search for “File Explorer” in the start menu
You can also search for File Explorer in the Start menu. This is very useful if you cannot use the keyboard shortcut or if there is not File Explorer icon on the taskbar.
Open the Start menu and type “File Explorer”. Click on the File Explorer search result to open it.
4. Click on File Explorer icon in the start menu
The Start menu also has a dedicated icon to quickly open the File Explorer. Just open the Start menu and click on the “File Explorer” icon appearing to the leftmost side of it.
If you cannot find the File Explorer icon on the Start menu. It might be disabled. To enable it, open the Settings app with the “Windows Key + I” shortcut and go to “Personalization → Start menu”. Here, click on “Choose which folders appear on the Start” and turn on the “File Explorer” option.
5. Open File Explorer from the power user menu
The power user menu too has a dedicated option to access File Explorer. First, right-click on the Start menu. From the list, select the “File Explorer” option to open it.
6. Run command to open File Explorer
The run dialog box gives you quick access to the File Explorer. This method is especially useful when the File Explorer is unresponsive.
First, open the start menu, search “Run” and open it. In the blank field, type “explorer” and press “Enter”.
7. Open File Explorer using Task Manager
Though this is not a well-known method, you can actually access the File Explorer from the task manager itself. In fact, this method is very similar to the Run method shown above.
First, right-click on the taskbar and select “Task Manager”. Now, select the “File → Run task”. Type “explorer” in the blank field and click “Ok”.
8. Run File Explorer from Command Prompt
Like with any program in Windows, you can access File Explorer from the Command Prompt.
First, search and open “Command Prompt” from the Start menu. In the command window, type “explorer” and press Enter.
9. Run File Explorer from PowerShell
Just like with the Command Prompt, you can also access File Explorer from PowerShell. First, search and open “PowerShell” from the Start menu. In the PowerShell window, type “explorer” and press Enter.
That is all. If you think I missed any other cool ways to open the File Explorer in Windows, do let me show.
I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.
