Yesterday, Microsoft took to the blogosphere to announce a brand new build of Windows 11 hitting the Insider Preview channels. Preview Build 22621.160 isn’t new to our news cycle; however, we’ve addressed the fact that file explorer would likely be getting tabs in a future update when the feature was first rumored to be heading into beta testing. As a Windows 11 enthusiast of note, however, I cannot contain my excitement about this feature.
Tabs in File Explorer will be a game-changer when it hits the global market. This feature will bring File Explorer more in line with a web browser such as Microsoft’s own Chromium-based alternative to Google Chrome, Edge. This is exciting because you won’t have to have 100 separate windows open if you work with multiple paths or destinations within your filing directory, as do I. Instead, your workspace becomes far more organized with multiple tabs within one of two windows that share screen space. This should also reduce any lag experienced on lower-end systems due to too many active windows.
In order to implement tabs into the File Explorer ecosystem, Microsoft has had to issue a few changes to how File Explorer looks and behaves. The primary target of this ‘refreshed layout’ is the left-most navigation pane. Here, you’ll now have easier access to the folders that you interact with most.
This includes pinned folders, your OneDrive staples, and folders that automatically make it to your Quick Access list due to frequent interaction. Microsoft has also updated the way directory paths will be displayed in the new update, making it easier to distinguish whether you’re operating within local storage or the cloud simply by glancing at the address bar.
Microsoft ends off the blog post with a proviso that the newest beta build won’t be available to all Insider users as it’s still in the initial rollout phase. The company would prefer to see how a limited beta test goes before releasing the update to a larger Insider audience. This may be due to the few known bugs that the team is still working on, such as a misaligned arrow in the File Explorer interface. We should see the update hitting the wider Insider channels soo though.
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