Enable & Use Panes in Windows 10

Windows 10 allows you to enable different panes to make the most of your user experience. The different panes include: The Preview pane, the Details pane, and the Navigation pane.

Here, you find details about enabling and using each of these panes.


ENABLE AND USE THE PREVIEW PANE

In File Explorer, you can enable a Preview pane that is shown on the right side of the window. As the name implies, you can use it to preview the contents of certain types of files. For example, if you select an image file in File Explorer, you can see a preview of it; if you select a text file, you can preview its contents.



You can see previews of only certain file types: text, images, and videos.


Enable the Preview pane: Open File Explorer and follow these steps:

  1. In the File Explorer window, click the View tab.

  2. In the Panes section, click the Preview Pane button. The Preview pane is added to the right side of the File Explorer window.

  3. Select several files one by one. You can preview their contents in the Preview Pane, if they are text, images, or videos.

  4. To disable the Preview pane, just follow the preceding steps.

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You can also enable and disable the Preview pane by pressing Alt+P on your keyboard

 

ENABLE AND USE THE DETAILS PANE

In File Explorer, you can enable a Details pane that is shown on the right side of the File Explorer window. As its name implies, you can use the Details pane to find more information about each file, such as its size, the date it was created, and the date it was last modified. The fields of data shown in this pane vary from file to file. For some files, such as pictures, you see lots of data; whereas for other files, such as PDF files, you see less data.

 

Enable the Details pane: Open File Explorer and follow these steps:

  1. In the File Explorer window, click the View tab.

  2. In the Panes section, click the Details Pane button. The Details pane is added to the right side of the File Explorer window.

  3. To see a file’s details, click it to select.

  4. To disable the Details pane, just follow the preceding steps.

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You can also enable and disable the Details pane by pressing
Alt+Shift+P on your keyboard

 

DISABLE OR ENABLE THE NAVIGATION PANE

In File Explorer, the Navigation pane is shown, by default, on the left side of the window. As the name implies, you can use it to quickly jump to different locations on your computer.

When the Navigation pane is disabled and you start File Explorer, either Quick Access or This PC is loaded, depending on your start location for File Explorer.


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It is generally NOT a good idea to disable the Navigation pane because
doing so makes navigation more difficult.

Disable the Navigation pane (Not Recommended): Follow these steps:

  1. Open File Explorer.

  2. In the Panes section, click the Navigation Pane button. The Navigation Pane menu appears.

  3. In the menu, click Navigation Pane. The Navigation pane no longer appears at the left side of the File Explorer window.