The Fastest Way to Files and Folders

Windows Explorer is not the only way to locate your files or folders. You can modify a toolbar into a cascading menu that lets you browse quickly through any local or network drive until you find the file you're looking for, without ever opening an Explorer window. Just follow these steps:

Right click on any empty space of the Taskbar and choose Toolbars, New Toolbar from the menu. In the new Toolbar dialog box, select My Computer and click on OK. The My Computer toolbar will appear, with separate icons for every object like local drives, Control Panel, and so on. Put your mouse to the toolbar's sizing handle (the vertical line at the left of the My Computer toolbar). When the mouse pointer turns to a two-headed arrow, click and drag to the right until all you see is only the My Computer label and a double arrow.

Now click on the double arrow. Each entry on the pop-up menu reveals a cascading menu with additional files, folders, and other objects. Browse until you find the file you're looking for, and then click to open it.

If you only want to browse inside a drive or a folder, using the same trick you can create a new toolbar for that object, D:\ or C:\My Documents for example. You can also create it for Network Neighborhood folder. As long as only the toolbar name is visible, Windows will treat it as a cascading menu.

Note: Be careful since the cascading menu contains the actual files and folders, not their shortcuts. If you delete them, then they are gone!