Subscribe to How-To Geek

Recommended: Click Here to Run a Free Scan for Common PC Errors   [Sponsored Link]

Minimalist Explorer Breadcrumbs for Windows XP

One of the more popular changes in Windows Vista is the Explorer Breadcrumbs feature that lets you easily navigate to folders below the current folder by using the drop-down arrows. We've already featured one alternative for Windows XP users, but we've come across a much better solution to share with you.

This explorer add-on is written to be as minimal as possible, and is much easier to install. Overall quite a nice solution for those stuck on Windows XP.

Installation

All you really have to do is download and install the utility. Close out all Windows Explorer windows, and then open up a new window, and you'll see the new toolbar over to the right.

Uncheck "Lock the Toolbars" if checked…

image 

And then drag the toolbar down underneath the other toolbars. You can also hide the regular Address Bar toolbar if you'd like.

image 

Usage

Since we are all running now, you can use the arrows to quickly navigate through the folders.

image

Or if you click in the address bar it will convert into a textbox address bar (which is why you don't need the original address bar)

image

You'll also notice that memory usage is extremely light, since it's a plugin for Explorer but written to be as minimal as possible.

image

Overall this is a much better choice than the other breadcrumbs alternative we featured before.

Download Explorer Breadcrumbs from minimalist.com

The Geek is the founder of How-To Geek and a geek enthusiast. When he's not coming up with great how-to articles, he's probably writing at his personal blog. This article was written on 12/20/07 and tagged with: Windows

Comments (2)

  1. WindowsObserver

    You always have such great stuff - I appreciate it all because there are occassions I use some of it on my site - giving you full credit of course!

    Keep up the great work.

  2. jd2066

    Oddly enough this and the other program are more functional then the built in Vista breadcrumbs.
    As you can click a folder and browse it's sub folders and then select it.
    Someone should make a program to add that ability to Vista's breadcrumbs.


Leave a Comment




Leave your friendly comment here. If you have a computer help question, leave it on the forums instead.

Note: Your comment may not show up immediately on the site.

Copyright © 2006-2008 HowToGeek.com. All Rights Reserved.