Recommended Software: Explorer Breadcrumbs

One of the smarter new features of Windows Vista is the replacing of a simple text address bar for local browsing with an address bar where each part of the folder hierarchy is clickable. This allows you to jump quickly and intuitively to a parent folder.

There is a toolbar for Windows Explorer on Windows XP that provides the same functionality. I have used it for a quite a while now and it's recently been updated to remove a couple of bugs. It uses your current theme (and I use WindowBlinds to skin XP entirely) and simply does exactly what it says it will. Thankfully, it also doesn't require a restart of your computer to install.

Explorer Breadcrumbs at Minimalist

The software is fully functional but the following, entirely reasonable, request is made under the Registration / Licence section:

You're free to install this on any number of machines for any amount of time. We ask that if you find this software useful, that you register it for the low low price of $7.95. That's cheaper than seeing a movie, and we'd really appreciate it.

So, for taking up somewhat less room than Vista's hilarious 12Gb install footprint (Explorer Breadcrumbs is only 333kb) and doing exactly what it says on the tin, I recommend Explorer Breadcrumbs.