Navigational file manager

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In computing, a navigational file manager is a file manager that uses a "navigational" metaphor to represent filesystem locations. It is the dominant style of file manager for desktop computers, being used, for example, in most recent Microsoft Windows products. For Mac OS X, the Finder is an example of a navigational file manager.

[edit] Concepts

  • The window displays the location currently being viewed.
  • The location being viewed can be changed by the user, by opening folders, pressing a back button, typing a location, etc.
  • Icons represent files, applications, and directories.

The interface in a navigational file manager may strongly resemble a web browser, complete with back, forward, and maybe even reload buttons, and an address bar where file locations can be typed and the current location is shown. Moving from one location to another need not open a new window.

The main alternative to a navigational file manager is a spatial file manager, the key difference being that, in the spatial style, each directory in the filesystem is represented by its own unique window, which maintains its size and position between being closed and being opened; thus, changing the location being viewed implies opening a new window.

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