To view or change the properties of an application, file, or folder, right-click the icon and select Properties.
Application and File Properties
The Properties view, as shown in Figure 1, for an application or file may contain the following tabs:
- General - Displays basic information, including location and the attributes.
- Security - Provides the option to change file access permissions for user accounts and the system.
- Details - Displays basic information for the file, including attributes.
- Compatibility - Provides options for configuring file compatibility mode and operational settings. In Windows 7, compatibility mode allows a user to run a program created for earlier versions of the Windows OS. For Windows Vista and Windows XP, the number of options available in compatibility mode is limited.
Folder Properties
The Properties view, as shown in Figure 2, for an individual folder may contain the following tabs:
- General - Displays basic information, such as location and size. Provides options to change attributes, such as making a folder read-only or hidden.
- Sharing - Displays options for folder sharing. Users can share folders with computers on the same network. Password protection settings can also be configured.
- Security - Displays options for basic and advanced security settings.
- Previous Versions - Displays options for restoring a folder from a previous version.
- Customize - Displays options for customizing the appearance of the folder and optimizing it for specific file types, such as music or photo files.
Shadow Copy
Shadow Copy is a feature of Windows Operating Systems that automatically creates backup copies of files and data on a hard drive. It can be found under the Previous Versions tab, and is often referred to as the previous versions feature. Shadow Copy requires the hard disk to be formatted as NTFS and works in conjunction with System Restore and Windows Backups. Before Shadow Copy can be used, it must be enabled. To enable Shadow Copy, use the following path:
Start > Control Panel > System Protection link > Click the checkboxes next to the desired drives > Click OK.
After Shadow Copy has been enabled, users can view, copy, or restore previous versions of file. Selecting the view option will open the file as read-only, while the copy option will save an older version of the file in another folder. Restore will overwrite the file in its current state.