14 DAY TRIAL // Back in April when Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 build 14328, the company also made a slight change to the taskbar, removing the File Explorer icon in order to give users more space for their own stuff.
Although Microsoft said from the very beginning that this was just an experiment, posts in the Feedback app clearly show that users want the File Explorer icon pinned to the taskbar and some claim that “it would be a disaster for normal users not to have it.”
While anyone can pin the icon back by simply right-clicking File Explorer in Start, it’s not hard to see why some are afraid that such a change would only create more confusion. Every change that Microsoft makes to traditional Windows settings is prone to criticism from users who expected nothing more than a traditional working environment from the next Windows version.
Another “how do I shut down my PC” moment?
Back in 2012 when the company rolled out Windows 8, the OS version that dropped the Start menu in the favor of the Start screen, the Internet was invaded with videos showing users having a hard time getting around the operating system, accessing their apps, or shutting down their PCs.
This time, however, Microsoft is trying to handle the transition in a more gentle way and is first asking insiders for feedback before anything else.
“We hear feedback from Windows Insiders about how important the space on the taskbar is for them, and we made a major change in Windows 10 early last year based on their feedback when we added an option to hide the search box,” Microsoft said when releasing build 14328.
“We’re continuing to look at things we can do to make this the best use of space possible, including what gets pinned by default. In this build we are unpinning File Explorer by default to see whether Insiders prefer it pinned, or would rather have the space for their own use and launch File Explorer when they need it from Start.”
The Windows user community is undoubtedly the largest out there, mostly because Windows is the top OS on the PC, so it’s good to see that Microsoft is listening to feedback. It remains to be seen, however, if the company is repinning File Explorer to taskbar or not.
