Windows Vista Forums

Where has the normal address bar drop down arrow gone?
  1. #1


    Adam_N Guest

    Where has the normal address bar drop down arrow gone?

    In windows 2000 and XP the drop down arrow at the right of the address bar at
    the top of the window would link you to all kinds of useful places including
    all of your hard drives, control panel, common folders and, most usefully,
    removable drives such as a USB flash drive, allowing you to quickly do a
    Ctrl+C on a file and naviagte to the drive, then Ctrl+V to copy over to it.

    In Vista however, the drop down arrow just gives me a bunch of websites and
    other stuff I have recently looked at, which is useless. I want to know if
    there is a way to get the same drop down menu with all the useful stuff on
    that existed in win XP and 2000.

    Can anyone help?



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  2. #2


    R. C. White Guest

    Re: Where has the normal address bar drop down arrow gone?

    Hi, Adam.

    It would help us help you if you tell us WHICH window you are looking at and
    asking about.

    In Windows Explorer, click Organize | Layout and turn on the Navigation
    pane, which appears at the left of the screen. Click Folders at the bottom
    of this pane to expand it into the familiar tree, with Desktop at the top.
    Personally, I seldom look in the top items here, but click on Computer, then
    Drive C:. If you hover the mouse over a drive, you should see a triangular
    arrow indicating that there are subfolders here. Click on the triangle to
    see the directory of that drive in the Navigation pane. Or click on the
    drive name to open that directory in the Details pane.

    This Windows Explorer window is highly customizable. Spend some time
    exploring here and you should be able to tailor it to your tastes. Some of
    the settings can also be reached from Control Panel | Folder Options | View,
    much like in WinXP. One useful setting is Always show menus; this shows the
    Menu bar in Explorer, in addition to the Toolbar.

    RC
    --
    R. C. White, CPA
    San Marcos, TX
    rc@xxxxxx
    Microsoft Windows MVP
    (Running Windows Live Mail beta 2 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 beta v.275)

    "Adam_N" <AdamN@xxxxxx> wrote in message
    news:25BEB481-05DC-44FB-A481-AFB373E0F14C@xxxxxx

    > In windows 2000 and XP the drop down arrow at the right of the address bar
    > at
    > the top of the window would link you to all kinds of useful places
    > including
    > all of your hard drives, control panel, common folders and, most usefully,
    > removable drives such as a USB flash drive, allowing you to quickly do a
    > Ctrl+C on a file and naviagte to the drive, then Ctrl+V to copy over to
    > it.
    >
    > In Vista however, the drop down arrow just gives me a bunch of websites
    > and
    > other stuff I have recently looked at, which is useless. I want to know
    > if
    > there is a way to get the same drop down menu with all the useful stuff on
    > that existed in win XP and 2000.
    >
    > Can anyone help?

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  3. #3


    Kathy Hewett Guest

    desktop folder address bar issue

    R C White's reply discussed HOW to find root drive info in a folder but I'd like to ask how to get the address bar's dropdown (in any folder on desktop) to STOP showing internet sites and only show drive info. Is it Vista's way of synchronizing desktop navigating with internet navigating?

    Thanks
    (Maybe it's me but I think, despite all of it's advantages, Vista may have made a few too many "user friendly" changes to the point of annoying!)

    EggHeadCafe - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
    http://www.eggheadcafe.com

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  4. #4


    Adam_N Guest

    RE: desktop folder address bar issue

    Dear Kathy Hewett,
    It seems that you want to know the same thing as me! Thank you for writing
    out more clearly than I could manage! I though I had been quite clear, but
    never mind. Hopefully someone will know the answer!

    Surely everyone should find it a lot more useful to have a list of
    drives/common folders than your browser history? I thought this version of
    windows was supposed to be removing the ties between Windows Explorer and IE
    on the grounds of security?


    Dear R C White,

    Thank you for your reply. In my query I was referring to a standard Windows
    Explorer window, from which you can browse files and folders. In XP, the My
    Computer and Control Panel windows also open in this type of window, with the
    drop down menu of drives and useful folder locations available to take you
    where ever on your machine you need to go.


    "Kathy Hewett" wrote:

    > R C White's reply discussed HOW to find root drive info in a folder but I'd like to ask how to get the address bar's dropdown (in any folder on desktop) to STOP showing internet sites and only show drive info. Is it Vista's way of synchronizing desktop navigating with internet navigating?
    >
    > Thanks
    > (Maybe it's me but I think, despite all of it's advantages, Vista may have made a few too many "user friendly" changes to the point of annoying!)
    >
    > EggHeadCafe - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
    > http://www.eggheadcafe.com
    >

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  5. #5
    Brink's Avatar

    Administrator


    Join Date : Apr 2007
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    Re: Where has the normal address bar drop down arrow gone?

    Quote Originally Posted by Adam_N View Post
    In windows 2000 and XP the drop down arrow at the right of the address bar at
    the top of the window would link you to all kinds of useful places including
    all of your hard drives, control panel, common folders and, most usefully,
    removable drives such as a USB flash drive, allowing you to quickly do a
    Ctrl+C on a file and naviagte to the drive, then Ctrl+V to copy over to it.

    In Vista however, the drop down arrow just gives me a bunch of websites and
    other stuff I have recently looked at, which is useless. I want to know if
    there is a way to get the same drop down menu with all the useful stuff on
    that existed in win XP and 2000.

    Can anyone help?
    Hi Adam_N,

    Perhaps you might find something that will give you what you are looking for in this tutorial.

    Windows Explorer Address Bar

    Hope it helps,
    Shawn

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  6. #6


    Kathy Hewett Guest

    address bar issue

    Hi Adam,
    Well, I continue to be frustrated with Vista...this is just ANOTHER irritating change, causing me to navigate another learning curve. To top it off, I made the mistake of upgrading to MS Office 2007...what was I thinking?... and that only made things worse!
    Thanks to Shawn's link, I identified that our desktop folder's address bar shares with IE...that's why it shows internet addresses in the dropdown. (Seems like a lot of wasted man hours just to answer that simple question, doesn't it?) It seems to me that most tutorials assume that you like all of the changes with Vista and don't wish to question basic functions.

    Now...we need to find out how to, if possible, make the address bar STOP doing that.
    HERE'S OUR QUESTION:
    Is there a way to make the address bar in any desktop folder's address bar's drop down, show ONLY desktop (C drive) folders and NOT internet sites?
    OR...
    Is there a way to STOP showing internet sites in any desktop folder's address bar's drop down list?

    EggHeadCafe - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
    http://www.eggheadcafe.com

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  7. #7
    Brink's Avatar

    Administrator


    Join Date : Apr 2007
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    Re: address bar issue

    Quote Originally Posted by Kathy Hewett View Post
    Hi Adam,
    Well, I continue to be frustrated with Vista...this is just ANOTHER irritating change, causing me to navigate another learning curve. To top it off, I made the mistake of upgrading to MS Office 2007...what was I thinking?... and that only made things worse!
    Thanks to Shawn's link, I identified that our desktop folder's address bar shares with IE...that's why it shows internet addresses in the dropdown. (Seems like a lot of wasted man hours just to answer that simple question, doesn't it?) It seems to me that most tutorials assume that you like all of the changes with Vista and don't wish to question basic functions.

    Now...we need to find out how to, if possible, make the address bar STOP doing that.
    HERE'S OUR QUESTION:
    Is there a way to make the address bar in any desktop folder's address bar's drop down, show ONLY desktop (C drive) folders and NOT internet sites?
    OR...
    Is there a way to STOP showing internet sites in any desktop folder's address bar's drop down list?

    EggHeadCafe - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
    EggHeadCafe - The .NET developer's portal of choice
    Kathy,

    Since IE7 and Windows Explorer share the same address bar, ther is no way that I am aware of. That was the way the address bar in Vista was designed.

    Sorry,
    Shawn

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  8. #8


    Michael Palumbo Guest

    Re: Where has the normal address bar drop down arrow gone?



    "brink" <brink.2z89s1@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net> wrote in message
    news:brink.2z89s1@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net...

    >
    > Kathy Hewett;497416 Wrote:

    >> Hi Adam,
    >> Well, I continue to be frustrated with Vista...this is just ANOTHER
    >> irritating change, causing me to navigate another learning curve. To top
    >> it off, I made the mistake of upgrading to MS Office 2007...what was I
    >> thinking?... and that only made things worse!
    >> Thanks to Shawn's link, I identified that our desktop folder's address
    >> bar shares with IE...that's why it shows internet addresses in the
    >> dropdown. (Seems like a lot of wasted man hours just to answer that
    >> simple question, doesn't it?) It seems to me that most tutorials assume
    >> that you like all of the changes with Vista and don't wish to question
    >> basic functions.
    >>
    >> Now...we need to find out how to, if possible, make the address bar
    >> STOP doing that.
    >> HERE'S OUR QUESTION:
    >> Is there a way to make the address bar in any desktop folder's address
    >> bar's drop down, show ONLY desktop (C drive) folders and NOT internet
    >> sites?
    >> OR...
    >> Is there a way to STOP showing internet sites in any desktop folder's
    >> address bar's drop down list?
    >>
    >> EggHeadCafe - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
    >> 'EggHeadCafe - The .NET developer's portal of choice'
    >> (http://www.eggheadcafe.com)
    >>
    >
    > Kathy,
    >
    > Since IE7 and Windows Explorer share the same address bar, ther is no
    > way that I am aware of. That was the way the address bar in Vista was
    > designed.
    >
    > Sorry,
    > Shawn
    >
    >
    > --
    > brink
    >
    > *There are no dumb questions, just the people that do not ask them.*
    > WWW.VISTAX64.COM (\"HTTP://WWW.VISTAX64.COM\")
    > *Please post feedback to help others.*
    Okay, don't take this as an insult, but I'm going to assume that no one has
    noticed the right-pointing arrows next to the folder names in the address
    bar.

    Click on one of these to see all sub-folders located in that particular
    folder . . . there is also, to the far-left, a "top-level" icon that will
    give you access to the Computer "folder" all shared folders, Control Panel,
    etc.

    After a short learning curve I've found this system to be much more
    intuitive, and easier to navigate than the XP style drop-down menu/address
    bar.

    YMMV

    Mic


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  9. #9
    Brink's Avatar

    Administrator


    Join Date : Apr 2007
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    Re: Where has the normal address bar drop down arrow gone?

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Palumbo View Post
    "brink" <brink.2z89s1@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net> wrote in message
    news:brink.2z89s1@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net...

    Okay, don't take this as an insult, but I'm going to assume that no one has
    noticed the right-pointing arrows next to the folder names in the address
    bar.

    Click on one of these to see all sub-folders located in that particular
    folder . . . there is also, to the far-left, a "top-level" icon that will
    give you access to the Computer "folder" all shared folders, Control Panel,
    etc.

    After a short learning curve I've found this system to be much more
    intuitive, and easier to navigate than the XP style drop-down menu/address
    bar.

    YMMV

    Mic
    Mic,

    No offense taken, but it is included in the tutorial link I posted above.

    Windows Explorer Address Bar

    Shawn

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  10. #10


    Michael Palumbo Guest

    Re: Where has the normal address bar drop down arrow gone?



    "brink" <brink.2zcm17@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net> wrote in message
    news:brink.2zcm17@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net...

    >
    > Michael Palumbo;500134 Wrote:

    >> "brink" <brink.2z89s1@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net> wrote in message
    >> news:brink.2z89s1@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net...
    >>
    >> Okay, don't take this as an insult, but I'm going to assume that no one
    >> has
    >> noticed the right-pointing arrows next to the folder names in the
    >> address
    >> bar.
    >>
    >> Click on one of these to see all sub-folders located in that particular
    >> folder . . . there is also, to the far-left, a "top-level" icon that
    >> will
    >> give you access to the Computer "folder" all shared folders, Control
    >> Panel,
    >> etc.
    >>
    >> After a short learning curve I've found this system to be much more
    >> intuitive, and easier to navigate than the XP style drop-down
    >> menu/address
    >> bar.
    >>
    >> YMMV
    >>
    >> Mic
    >
    > Mic,
    >
    > No offense taken, but it is included in the tutorial link I posted
    > above.
    >
    > Windows Explorer Address Bar
    >
    > Shawn
    >
    >
    > --
    > brink
    >
    > *There are no dumb questions, just the people that do not ask them.*
    > WWW.VISTAX64.COM (\"HTTP://WWW.VISTAX64.COM\")
    > *Please post feedback to help others.*
    Sorry, didn't follow the link (though I do have that site bookmarked) so I
    wasn't aware.

    I've found that often when a link is given as, or as part of, an answer, the
    question is still asked again and again, even if the link clearly answers
    the aforementioned question.

    Again, no offense intended, just something I noticed. People are lazy about
    looking for answers on their own and when they post to a group such as this,
    will often ignore, or only skim through, links posted so I tend to try to
    answer as completely as possible in the hopes that the question will be
    sufficiently answered without the need for a link, as the link is often
    ignored . . . etc . . . I can loop this forever. :-)

    Mic


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