CertiGuide to A+ (A+ 4 Real)  9  Chapter 1: What are Operating Systems and How Do They Work?       9  Operating System Features            9  Explorer: Understanding the Structure

Customizing Explorer 1 File Associations

The General tab allows the configuration of some basic preferences. These options only control the visual appearance of Explorer, and can be set according to personal preference. The tab we actually require is “View”, which presents the options in Figure 54.

Highlighted in the screenshot is the option we want to change: “Hide protected operating system files”. Unchecking it causes Windows to display the following warning:

Before clicking “Yes”, try to click on any option in the “View” tab. You will notice that the title bar of the message box flashes and your click is ignored. This is because the message box is waiting for your input and cannot continue without it. When a message box and application behave in this manner, the box is said to be “modal”.

Dismiss the warning by clicking “Yes”, and close the dialog by clicking OK. The previously hidden operating system files will now be visible.

The above process is specific to Windows 2000 and XP. Windows 95, 98 and NT will have a slightly different set of options on the “View” tab. To achieve the same result under these earlier versions of Windows, select the “Show all files” radio button under the “Hidden Files” heading.

Customizing Explorer 1 File Associations