By Lance Whitney
File Explorer
in Windows 11 works mostly the same as in Windows 10, but there are
visual and layout tweaks as well as new menus and locations for key
commands.
Those of you who upgrade to
Windows 11 have to contend with a new and decidedly unimproved Start
menu, a more limited Taskbar, and other changes that may leave you cold.
Fortunately, File Explorer is one feature that survived the move to
Windows 11 without major damage.
Instead of crippling the
functionality of File Explorer, Microsoft actually enhanced it in
certain ways. The feature has a new look and layout that give it some
pizzazz. The ribbon has been jettisoned. Several key menus and commands
have been relocated or condensed. I’d say the changes help for the most
part, though some people will likely be thrown by them — at least at
first.
So how does the Windows 11 File Explorer compare with its Windows 10 counterpart?
The first time you open File
Explorer in Windows 11, you’ll notice the visual changes. The square
corners have been replaced by rounded corners as part of the new Windows
11 aesthetic. Depending on your Windows color scheme, the overall tone
is softer.
The most obvious difference
lies with the folder icons. Instead of the generic yellow icons, the
built-in default folders sport different colors with embedded images
representing the various functions. So the Downloads folder is green
with a down arrow on it. The Music folder is reddish-brown with a
musical note on it. And the Videos folder is purple with a play button
on it. In addition to being more colorful and compact, the new icons
look sleeker (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The core folders in Windows 11 get a paint job with different colors and embedded images.
Drill down to the subfolders,
and those still use the same generic folder icons. But as in Windows 10,
you can tweak the look and imagery of any folder icon through the
Customize area of the Properties window.
Look around further. Another
significant change is the new and more compact command bar, which
replaces the bigger and bulkier ribbon in Windows 10. On the plus side,
the smaller command bar leaves more room to view your folders and files.
But there are a few downsides.
One drawback is that most of
the icons have no labels. If you don’t know the function of a particular
icon, you’ll have to hover over it for a second to see its name.
Experienced Windows users will be able to identify Cut, Copy, Paste, and
other commands right off the bat. Newbies will have to get used to the
nameless icons. The other core commands include Rename, Share, and
Delete. After you select a subfolder or file, most of the commands
become available, allowing you to cut or copy and then paste an item,
rename it, share it, or delete it. (See Figure 2.)
Figure 2. Select a subfolder or file, and the command bar activates commands for cut, copy, paste, rename, share, and delete.
Select or open just about any
folder, and the New menu becomes available. Click on New to create a new
folder, shortcut, bitmap image, text file, or compressed folder.
Certain applications, such as Microsoft Office, populate the New menu
with their own commands (see Figure 3). As in Windows 10, there’s no
easy way to edit the New menu without diving into the Registry or using a
third-party utility.
Figure
3. The New menu lets you create a new folder, shortcut, and certain
other items, but there’s no easy way to edit the list.
From the command bar, click
the Sort icon to sort your folders and files by name, date, size, and
type as well as group them by different criteria. Click the View menu
(Figure 4) to change the view among different size icons, lists,
detailed view, and tiles. A compact view mode shrinks the space between
listed items. From the View menu, you can opt to see the details pane,
preview pane, check boxes, filename extensions, and hidden items.
Figure 4. Select the View menu to change the view of your folders and files and turn on different panes and other items.
The “See more” icon (three
dots) paves the way to even more commands, some of which always appear
and others that are context-sensitive. Such commands as Select all and
Select none show up all the time. But others pop up, depending on your
current location or selection.
For example, select the entry
for This PC, and this menu displays commands to add a network location,
map a network drive, and disconnect a network drive. Select a folder or
file, and the menu adds a command for Pin to Quick Access to add that
item to the Quick Access section. Select one or more files, and you’ll
see a command to compress them to a ZIP archive. Select a specific type
of file, such as an image, and you get commands to set that image as
your background, rotate it left, and rotate it right (see Figure 5).
Figure
5. The "See more" menu item (three dots) is context-sensitive with
commands that change depending on your current folder or file.
From the same menu, selecting
the Properties command shows you the location, size, attributes,
security details, and folder-customization settings. And selecting the
Options command takes you to the Folder Options screen to tweak the
behaviors, layouts, and other settings for your folders.
Most of the commands
accessible from the command bar should be familiar to long-time Windows
users. What’s different is where and how you access these options. In
the Windows 10 File Explorer, you select different ribbons to get to
specific commands. For example, the Home ribbon provides commands for
Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Rename, etc. The Share ribbon offers commands
to share a folder or files, email a file, burn a file to disc, and print
a file. And the View ribbon lets you change the views of your folders
and files.
By dispensing with all the
ribbons, the Windows 11 File Explorer shoves everything into one single
toolbar, a change that’s both good and bad. I like the condensed layout
of the command bar and won’t really miss the ribbons. But finding
certain commands is now more challenging as you have to hunt for them
throughout the new menus — especially the ones that are context
sensitive.
Another significant change in
the Windows 11 File Explorer is the context menu, aka the right-click
menu. In Windows 10, one drawback of the right-click menu is that it can
easily turn into a long and cluttered mess, especially as you install
more applications (see Figure 6).
Figure 6. The right-click menu in Windows 10 File Explorer easily turns into a lengthy mess of commands.
To cut down on the potential
clutter in Windows 11, Microsoft reduced the menu to display only the
basic commands. Mimicking the command bar, the right-click menu displays
icons for Cut, Copy, Rename, Share, and Delete. The other commands are
context-sensitive, depending on what type of folder or file you select.
To access all the available commands, click the one for Show more
options, and you’ll see the more familiar and likely more crowded menu
(see Figure 7).
Figure 7. The right-click menu in Windows 11 File Explorer is much more compact, and you can still access the full menu.
Because the right-click menu
can so easily get out of hand in Windows 10, Microsoft needed to do
something to clean it up. The change in Windows 11 works for me,
especially because the full menu is still accessible. But that doesn’t
mean it will work for everyone, particularly if your favorite commands
aren’t visible right off the bat. For those of you who prefer the
Windows 10 menu, there are a couple of ways to get it back — one via
Windows Terminal and another via the Registry. Just do a Web search for
“windows 11 right click menu," and you’ll find several results to guide
you through the process for reverting to the old-style menu.
I'll be very interested to hear your opinion about the context menu changes in the Forums.
Finally, one flaw with the
Windows 11 File Explorer is the same split personality that affects the
entire operating system. Most windows and menus display the new
aesthetic with a different font and rounded corners, while others are
stuck in the Dark Ages with the old look. A good example is the
right-click menu. Right-click on an item, and the menu uses the Windows
11 aesthetic. Click the command for Show more options, and that menu
still uses the older legacy style. Though this is a stylistic issue that
shouldn’t impact how you use File Explorer, it smacks of a certain
sloppiness. And it serves as yet another clue that Microsoft rushed
Windows 11 out the door before it was ready.
Overall, the new File Explorer
is a bit of a mixed bag, especially for Windows 10 users who upgrade.
The aesthetic changes are fine, though I don’t think they’ll affect your
work or productivity one way or the other. The new menus and the more
condensed locations save on space, but people accustomed to the Windows
10 interface will likely need time to adapt. I give Microsoft an A for
effort and a B for execution. At the very least, let’s be thankful
Microsoft didn’t screw up File Explorer in Windows 11, as it did the
Start menu and Taskbar.
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology reporter and former IT
professional. He's written for CNET, TechRepublic, PC Magazine, and
other publications. He's authored a book on Windows and another about
LinkedIn.
Source: https://www.askwoody.com/newsletter/free-edition-how-windows-11-changes-file-explorer-for-better-or-for-worse/
