See the window from File Explorer above. Then see the one below.
Why does the one below have a blue bar across the top? This seems to happen at random. Ever since about the time I started using Windows 10, I’ll randomly get windows like this when I’m hunting for something in the file structure. Sometimes a blue bar; sometimes not.
Not that I care about the aesthetics or anything, but when I get a window with a blue bar, I lose some functionality. For instance, if I want to highlight some files in order to copy or delete or move them, the highlighting doesn’t show — so I lose track of what I’ve selected and what I haven’t.
When you move around files as much as I do, this gets to be a pain.
What I’d like is for Explorer just to show up the normal way, without the blue bar.
Any idea how I can make that happen? I’ve tried searching for an answer from Microsoft, to no avail…
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If you refresh (F5), does the blue bar go away? It kind of looks like maybe you came into the File Manager using different navigation.
I don’t use Windows 10 even at work (yet), so I don’t know what its purpose is.
Yes, the navigation was different: In the clear one, I went straight to Explorer. I got the blue bar one when I went looking for a picture to pull into a person’s entry on my family tree.
But I have no alternative — if I want to get a picture or file onto my tree, there’s no other way to do it…
And I don’t THINK I’ve only had this trouble from Ancestry — although maybe so…
Does it happen when you add a picture to the blog? I’m assuming you navigate to your files from the blog interface when you add pictures.
Yes! At least, it did just now when I tried…
It’s not as problematic on the blog because I’m usually adding one picture at a time. But on Ancestry, I’m frequently adding multiple pictures at once, and when you can’t see what you’ve selected and what you haven’t, that’s a pain…
I don’t know how to change it, but it looks like it must be something that’s triggered by accessing the files through a browser window. What browser do you use? Maybe try a different one and see if it happens.
What happens when you click the little icons in the upper right–like the question mark?
Oh, and NOTHING happens when I hit f5. The window just sits there. Thinking that maybe I need to hold the fn key when I hit f5, I tried it that way, too. Nothing happens either way.
I wonder if the function keys don’t work on Windows 10…?
No… f11 (full-screen toggle) worked just now…
Brad, this may help you:
https://www.technipages.com/windows-files-and-folder-names-appear-in-blue
Thanks, Juan, but that’s not the problem. The files aren’t blue; there’s just a blue bar at the top across where you’d normally see headings such as “Name,” “Date Modified,” “Type” and such…
To me it appears that Chrome is mimicking (but not very well), the Windows 10 Explorer navigation window. The two screen shots look similar except for the blue bar you are berating AND the Chrome icon in the upper lefthand corner, saying “Hi, Chrome here…not Windows…” The Chrome window also doesn’t have the Windows “resize” box and the “minimize” –- icon. Using Edge, since it is Microsoft’s gift to mankind, might get you closer to your normal environment…
Interesting! That may well be it! I just assumed I was looking at Explorer, but it was messed up.
But dang — using a Microsoft product for browsing? I’m not sure I could bring myself to do that…
And I feel really stupid not noticing the Chrome icon.
Why would Chrome do that? I assumed it was just going to my hard drive and letting me use Explorer to find the file. Why would it substitute a fake interface with reduced functionality?
I’m having the same problem except it’s the save as pop up window.
I too am having this issue and it does bother me. I am wondering tho if it could be due to Chrome having a theme installed? I haven’t tested out this theory yet. Brad do you have a theme?
I had the same problem today and searched “blue bar pop-up window” or something and came here. I think that it’s chrome’s new annoying update. Maybe I’ll try to change it in settings?