Exploring Ribbons

The Windows 8 version of Explorer is also getting Microsoft's ribbon interface in a bid to make the file management tool more touch friendly, efficient, expose useful commands, and to reintroduce popular Explorer features from Windows XP. Microsoft has also optimized the new Explorer for widescreen displays and will add about 200 keyboard shortcuts for power users.

        Explorer gets the ribbon interface in Windows 8.The new Windows 8 Explorer will have three main tabs--Home, Share, and View--along with a File menu on the far left side. Explorer's primary Home tab in Windows 8 includes 84 percent of the commands users employ most often, Microsoft says, such as "Move to" and "Copy to" for moving and copying files. Microsoft has also exposed the command "Copy path" for people who want to paste a file path into another Explorer window to access a file quickly or email a link to a file sitting on a corporate server.

The Share tab offers one-click access to the "Email" and "Zip" commands, as well as other options such as "Burn to disc," print and, in a nod to the 1990s, fax. The new Explorer will also show you who has access to a currently selected file on your HomeGroup or enterprise network.

Explorer's new File menu gives power users quick access to the command prompt as well as an option to open the command prompt as an administrator. Both options open a C prompt with the file path set to your currently selected folder such as My Documents or Desktop.

There are also contextual menus in Windows 8's Explorer that only show up when you are doing specific tasks. If you open up Explorer to look at photos, for example, under the "Manage" tab you'll see options to rotate the currently selected photo, start a slideshow, or set a photo as your background.

Opening up an Explorer window to look at your computer's connected drives will give you options to format, optimize, and clean up your hard drive, eject an external thumb drive, or activate Windows' Autoplay feature. Windows 8's Explorer will also include XP's 'Up' button that allows you to move backwards through your file directories.

That's all for now, but Microsoft is expected to reveal more details about Windows 8 during the company's BUILD conference that starts September 13 in Anaheim, CA. We'll keep an eye on Microsoft's blogs for more Windows 8 news.