Submission details
Differentiate the current folder being viewed in the Windows Explorer breadcrumb bar from higher level folders.
Why is the current folder clickable in the Windows Explorer breadcrumb bar? Clicking it does nothing as you're already viewing that folder. It also does not visually differentiate the current folder from higher level folders where clicking will actually do something.
Remove the ability to click on the current folder level. Visually differentiate the current folder from higher level folders. This will allow users to be able to move 'up' through the folder hierarchy more quickly (i.e. by allowing them to more easily visually locate the folder that was one level up, as was with a dedicated 'up' button on previous versions of windows).
This solution also should highlight more clearly the name of the current folder in view to the user.
Low
Low
Not fixed
EK wrote on February 13, 2010, 8:15am
You hit the nail on the head. The "up a level" button gave a stationary button we could mash to go up a specified number of levels, for example I know that I keep object x 3 folders up from other-place y and so I can mindlessly flick my wrist at that button wherever it is on the screen and click rapidly and stop exactly where I want to every time. It takes much more effort to visually look at the address bar, find the one I want, and click it, especially with how similar they all look--and don't give me any crap about your accessibility options and high-contrast themes, I don't care. It wasn't broken in Windows XP, and now it's gone, and replaced with an inferior alternative and I can't change it back, and there's no good reason for this.
With a stationary, fixed-location button that satisfies the function of the dos command "cd .." I can very quickly find that button, click it rapidly the correct number of times, and be happy. I really dislike when time-honored, effective tools are just axed for no good reason (for example, in Paint, why have the hotkeys for rotating the image (Ctrl-R), inverting colors (Ctrl-I), editing the image attributes, etc. removed, and why is it now impossible to manually edit the pixel dimensions of the image without it getting stretched as well, since you can only do this via the "RESIZE IMAGE" controls? Those were great functions that are now missing for no reason, not upgraded or replaced by something better, just removed.
Why is the "show desktop" button on the right, and why can't I move it back to the left, and why do you keep making these unilateral decisions that your awful ergonomic UI experiments are good for everyone and you don't even need to worry about making them the only option. I paid money for this software because Windows is what everyone writes programs for, including drivers, and I haven't the knowhow to do that myself. What I do know how to do is decide for myself whether I want the show desktop button on the left near the start menu or way off in Timbuktu with the clock and other crap I never look at and can barely reach. Now that I look at the clock, I realize there's no way to make it show only the time instead of both date and time. Seriously I hate you guys I wish I had pirated this POS. I don't pay you money to jerk off on your keyboards and call it a new OS and then delete everything I like about the existing one. That's what I get for giving Bill Gates money.