Lost Treeview in Windows Explorer for Windows 7 Found

For those of us who have avoided Vista there will be a large number of changes as we move into and learn Windows 7. Amongst those changes, you will find that Windows Explorer’s look and feel has totally changed.

Much of that is supposed to be good, but of course any such goodness is probably for each of us to decide. One thing that I found frustrating was the apparent absence of the old folder treeview in the left hand pane that you would see when you started Explorer using the Windows-E keyboard shortcut.

This became especially frustrating when I needed to copy files to a folder nested one level above the folder I was currently viewing using drag and drop. In the default Windows 7 Explorer view, the method for doing this is simply not immediately apparent. Or at least, it wasn’t to me.

I think the problem stems from the way that the icons and graphics in the left hand pane are now displayed: some of them fade in and out as you hover your mouse over the treeview, which may not be what you’re likely to be doing when you’re trying to figure out how to move a file or folder from where your Explorer view is currently located.

Ok, so we’ve identified the problem, and I think we now understand why it occurs. How do we address it?

Pretty simple, really, and the answer is, I’m afraid to say, painfully obvious, once understand what you’re now seeing. As you hover your mouse over the treeview, note the icons that now magically appear: these are your old open/close icons (the plus and minus symbols from Windows 2000 and XP) that you are probably accustomed to seeing.

Windows Explorer Default View

Hovering over the treeview in Windows Explorer

An unfilled right arrowhead icon is used to indicate an unopened folder, while a filled arrowhead, pointing down and to the right, indicates a folder that is open. Clicking on these icons toggles the folder view open and closed.

Treeview visible in Windows Explorer

And thus you now have your old treeview back.