ADD TABS TO FILE EXPLORER
File Explorer, or Windows Explorer as it was once called, has been needlessly streamlined in Windows 11. By removing the ribbon toolbar, Microsoft was clearly trying to make File Explorer easier to use, but we think it’s achieved the opposite effect, forcing you to hunt for options that were once just a click away. Worst of all, File Explorer still doesn’t include tabs for switching between multiple folders – a long-awaited feature we assumed would finally arrive with Windows 11.
Happily, there are ways to get a better File Explorer in both Windows 10 and 11. Our favourite is a new app called Files, which you can download from the Microsoft Store ( www.snipca.com/40139).
This excellent free tool provides tabbed browsing – just right-click a folder and choose ‘Open in new tab’ (see screenshot above right) – and a host of other useful features. These include a preview pane that provides much more information than File Explorer; a ‘compact overlay’ view that works like a picture-in-picture mode; the ability to select multiple files without pressing Ctrl; a dark mode; and the option to open files and folders with a single click. You can set Files as your default file manager by clicking its Settings cog and choosing Experimental, then clicking ‘Set Files as default file explorer’.
If you’d prefer to use tabs in the official File Explorer, install the free program Qttabbar ( www.snipca.com/40140). This lets you open File Explorer folders in new tabs by right-clicking them and choosing ‘Open in New Tab’, and it’s just released a beta version that works with Windows 11.
To use tabbed browsing in Windows 10, you’ll first need to click the View tab in File Explorer and select Qttabbar from the Options dropdown menu. Windows 11 removes this menu, but you can turn on the feature by running the ‘Qttabbarenabler.exe’ file that’s included in the beta download, then clicking Save.