Windows 11 File Explorer is getting upgrade with tabs and navigation cleanup
File Explorer has been a mainstay of the Windows operating system since its inception, and it's one of Notepad and Paint's earliest companions. The program is also one that has remained virtually unchanged over time, keeping many of the fundamental ideas and ways of utilizing the program, which is a positive thing for survivors. Sure, File Explorer has updated themes in line with the rest of the system, including with boxed groups in Windows XP and the Ribbon UI in Windows 8, but the one-folder-per-window design has remained constant since version 1.0. Fast forward to today, and just as Notepad and Paint received some much-needed attention a few years ago, File Explorer is receiving it now.
Since the beginning, File Explorer has utilized a sidebar to show folders and shortcuts to pre-defined locations or networked computers. The contents of that panel have altered, expanded, diminished, and gotten somewhat chaotic over time. The appearance can sometimes make finding the files you want and need more difficult, especially if you have to delve into multiple folders repeatedly or click the incorrect one.
Microsoft is adding a new order to the navigation pane in the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.160 in order to make the interface look cleaner and also to make using it simpler, according on a blog post. For example, folders that are part of OneDrive will be labeled with the user's account name clearly. The "This PC" tree will no longer be clogged up with extra entries and will only focus on the drives on that PC, says Microsoft. Changes like these may have compounding effects when it comes to decreasing application usage friction.
The most notable new feature, however, is the introduction of tabs, which were first teased in April and are now available in some beta testers. Tabbed navigation has been around since the early days of web browsers and plenty of applications, including text editors and file managers, have adopted it. It's past time File Explorer got its due, which will hopefully allow for even more sophisticated file management capabilities.
The current implementation of tabs in File Explorer is similar to that in Microsoft Edge, with the tabs lined up along the window's title bar rather than as a separate row below it. Users will be able to easily switch between different folders without having too many Explorer windows open; whether they will appear as a single entry with Alt+Tab or if there is an option to make them appear separately hasn't been determined yet.
Explorer tabs, for all intents and purposes, improve the app's multitasking capabilities. Unfortunately, Microsoft has stopped short of going all out on this front. You can only display a handful of files at a time while Explorer provides you with multiple tabs to choose from. Explorer still doesn't have a popular dual pane or split view feature that would allow users to see two folders side-by-side. The only way to do so right now is by using two Explorer windows, which is inconvenient and prone to errors.
Source: www.slashgear.com
