Windows Explorer Navigation Pane - What am I doing wrong?

JeffL

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I'm a 5 day Win 8 new-bee leaning new stuff every day.
The latest thing to have me stumped is the Navigation Pane in explorer.
I don't want them all to look the same. I have folders on my desktop, in which all I want to see is the short cuts to apps. I went into View/Navigation Pane, and deselected Navigation Pane. I got the look I wanted, but it applied to all folders that I opened. Whenever I click on Windows Explorer, the Navigation pane was missing. If I restored it, it again applied to all folders. I am NOT clicking on Apply to All Folders in View/Options. So why can't I get what I want?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
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    Dell Inspiron 660
    CPU
    I5
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    *GB
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    FireFox
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    Norton
Hello Jeff, and welcome to Eight Forums.

In File Explorer (renamed Windows Explorer), the navigation pane turn on or off setting is a universal setting for all folders and libraries windows. It can't be turned on or off for some and not others. :(

It was this way in Vista and Windows 7 as well.
 

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  • OS
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Thanks for the info. It would be nice to have a cleaner looking container to group my shortcuts in.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 660
    CPU
    I5
    Memory
    *GB
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    Norton
Well, the navigation pane is used to navigate your drives and file directories instead of shortcuts.

If you like, you might see if using Quick Launch or the free program 7stacks on your taskbar may work to keep your shortcuts in.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Well, the navigation pane is used to navigate your drives and file directories instead of shortcuts.
It's true, but nothing prevents one from dropping app shortcuts to shell:links.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv7t (17.3'', i7-2630QM, HD 6770M 1Gb, 8Gb RAM, 2 SSD@120Gb + 1 HDD@750Gb)
Nope. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I just put folders on my desktop for various groups of apps, and put the shortcuts in those folders. As best I can remember, that's how I've done in since Windows 3. I just had the option of having it look clean by not showing anything other than the shortcut icons when I click on one of the folders, without it affecting the appearance of other folders in the system.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 660
    CPU
    I5
    Memory
    *GB
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    Norton
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