I've done my fair share of Windows Vista-bashing over the years, but the OS has a lot of hidden talents. One of them is stacking, a handy way to organise the files contained in any given folder.
Suppose you have a folder packed with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. Wouldn't it be nice if you could divide them into 'stacks', with one stack for each file type? Alternately, if you have a folder that contains a large quantity of files, it might be helpful to organise them into alphabetical stacks: A-H, I-P and Q-Z.
Before you get started with stacking, keep in mind that Vista makes no changes to the physical location of your files. Rather, stacks are really just virtual folders, and they're temporary to boot. Thus, you can feel free to fiddle and experiment without worrying that you'll mess anything up.
1. Open a folder containing some documents, photos, MP3s or whatever.
2. Right-click any open area within that folder and mouse over Stack By.
3. Choose the kind of stack you want: Name, date modified, file type, size and so on. Note that the available options will differ depending on the kinds of files in the folder.
Presto: Vista creates your stacks, which appear under the banner of 'search results'. That's what I mean when I say they're temporary: stacks are really just a filtered, folder-specific form of searching.
If you want to save a stack for future use, click the Save Search button up on the toolbar.
Neat, huh?
Rick Broida writes for PC World
Comments
pip317pec said: aaaa551zzz
pip317pec said: aaaa551zzz
Patr100 said: Yes looks like a gimmicky visual representation of what Windows has alwsy been able to do - sortingHardly impressive or useful
Patr100 said: Yes looks like a gimmicky visual representation of what Windows has alwsy been able to do - sortingHardly impressive or useful
DieSse said: Neat huhHuh I think rather than neatIts always been possible to sort the file view into Name Type Size Date etc And it stays sorted that way This Vista trick is hardly a change worth mentioning IMHO
DieSse said: Neat huhHuh I think rather than neatIts always been possible to sort the file view into Name Type Size Date etc And it stays sorted that way This Vista trick is hardly a change worth mentioning IMHO