Microsoft Windows XP lets you show the contents of folders in a variety of ways, such as a simple or detailed list of the files, or as thumbnail images. Each folder in My Computer or My Documents can have its own view. That's useful for folders like My Music or My Pictures, because you can look at your digital photos in Thumbnails or Filmstrip view, and see your song titles in Tiles view. But changing the view for every folder can be time-consuming.

If you prefer to have all your folder contents displayed in a particular way, you can save yourself some time by changing the view for all the folders on your computer at once.

To set your windows so they all have the same view

1.       Click Start, and then click My Documents.

2.       Click the Views button, and then click the view you want to apply to all folders.

3.       Click Tools, and then click Folder Options.

4.       Click the View tab, and then click Apply to All Folders.

5.       Click Yes.

6.       Click OK.

The next time you open a folder, it will be displayed using the view you chose. To restore your original folder settings, repeat steps 1-3. Then, in step 4, click Reset All Folders.