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Why doesn't closing a file return me to Microsoft Windows Explorer?
If you open a Windows document in Windows Explorer rather than in the Microsoft Word interface, closing it launches File Explorer. The file hasn't moved.
Opening files from Microsoft Windows Explorer works a little differently from opening files in other situations. For example, when you open a file from a dialog box in an application, such as Microsoft Word, once you select the file and it is opened, you are returned to the main Microsoft Word interface.
When you click Start and select Documents, Windows Explorer actually closes and launches File Explorer. From there you open the file. In essence, you have left Windows Explorer and actually opened the file from File Explorer.
This is a bit different from the way users work with most dialogs and file interfaces and can leave us wondering if we missed something. Fortunately, this difference in Microsoft Windows Explorer seems to be a conscious design decision on Microsoft's part.