14 DAY TRIAL // The most recent Windows 11 preview build, which is available right now for users in the Dev and the Beta channels of the Windows Insider program, comes with some good news for File Explorer fans out there.
But before you ask, no, the tabs are still nowhere to be seen, with Microsoft apparently focusing on improvements in other regards.
More specifically, Windows 11 build 22593 introduced a new default homepage for File Explorer. It’s called Home, and it’s supposed to make accessing your most important files much easier.
“The default homepage of File Explorer is now called Home. The name Quick access has been repurposed for the pinned/frequent folders section and Pinned files is now called Favorites to align with Office and OneDrive,” Microsoft explains.
File Explorer tabs
As for tabs, Microsoft has already confirmed this feature is coming, but no ETA has been shared as to when it’s supposed to happen.
The company announced at its hybrid work event this week that tabs are indeed part of the next-generation feature lineup of File Explorer.
“We want to help Windows users be more efficient and more productive in every experience. The redesigned, cloud-powered File Explorer makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, allowing you to see all files in one centralized place. You can also pin files and create tabs in File Explorer, bringing what used to take six clicks to get to an important file to one,” Microsoft’s Panos Panay said in an announcement earlier this week.
If anything, we should expect tabs in File Explorer to be part of the next feature update for Windows 11, which should theoretically go live for production devices in the second half of the year, with a preview likely to be offered at the Build developer conference.