Collectively, these features are known as the Windows shell.Īfter a user logs in, the explorer process is created by the userinit process. While 'Windows Explorer' or 'File Explorer' is a term most commonly used to describe the file management aspect of the operating system, the Explorer process also houses the operating system's search functionality and File Type associations (based on filename extensions), and is responsible for displaying the desktop icons, the Start Menu, the Taskbar, and the Control Panel. Successive versions of Windows (and in some cases, Internet Explorer) introduced new features and capabilities, removed other features, and generally progressed from being a simple file system navigation tool into a task-based file management system. There is also a shortcut key combination: Windows key+ E. Explorer could be accessed by double-clicking the new My Computer desktop icon or launched from the new Start Menu that replaced the earlier Program Manager. Windows Explorer was first included with Windows 95 as a replacement for File Manager, which came with all versions of Windows 3.x operating systems.
2.8 Windows 10, version 1809 and Windows Server 2019.2.5 Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.2.4 Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.2.1 Windows 98 and Windows Desktop Update.
